Darwin\u2019s House of Cards<\/em>, which I said I had found \u201cextremely stimulating.\u201d \u00a0I didn\u2019t denounce Darwin or evolution, let alone science. \u00a0I simply said that I that thought that many would find the book \u201cinteresting.\u201d \u00a0(I tend to like to look at contrarian thinking on various topics.)<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI would,\u201d I said, \u201cbe interested in reactions to the book from people who have actually read it. \u00a0Not, that is, from people who object in principle to any questioning of Darwinian ideology, from people who fear that any serious deviation from Darwinian orthodoxy might expose society to a rebirth of religion, or, even, from people who, not interested in reading the book for themselves, skim a couple of reviews of it and feel themselves, therefore, fully equipped to pronounce judgment on it. \u00a0I don\u2019t care to hear slogans or witty quips or impassioned denunciations. \u00a0I have no interest in irrelevant fallacies of distraction. \u00a0I would be interested in hearing about genuine engagements with\u00a0Darwin\u2019s House of Cards.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Thus far, while a couple of folks have denounced the book in a knee-jerk fashion \u2014 one of them (\u201cProp 8\u201d) even claimed to have read it (it\u2019s 300 pages long) and to have thoroughly seen through it and written a critical review of it within about two hours<\/em> (he actually plagiarized somebody else\u2019s hostile Amazon comment) \u2014 there has been no sign of \u201cgenuine engagements\u201d with it.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
This isn\u2019t surprising, perhaps, because Darwin\u2019s House of Cards<\/em>\u00a0is\u00a0a substantial and complex book, and a normal person (that is, most people other than the poseur \u201cProp 8\u201d) would have to read it slowly and carefully before meaningfully opining on it.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve been amused, however, to see responses elsewhere. \u00a0It seems that, for some, even looking<\/em> at something that raises even the slightest<\/em> question about Darwinism \u2014 not, mind you, about genetics, or a very old earth, or the emergence and extinction of species, and so forth, but, in this case, about the sufficiency (and logical coherence) of the principle of \u201csurvival of the fittest\u201d as the sole source of speciation is to commit sacrilege, blasphemy,\u00a0l\u00e8se-majest\u00e9<\/em>. \u00a0It\u2019s a crime against science, which apparently depends for its flourishing on solid, lock-step conformism and a refusal to ask or entertain questions. \u00a0Certain ideas should not even be considered. \u00a0Books that contain them (or that might<\/em> contain them) are, effectively, on an\u00a0Index Librorum Prohibitorum.<\/i> \u00a0To read such books is to reveal oneself as both hostile to science and absurd. \u00a0Or, in my case, morally depraved and lacking integrity. \u00a0(Honest. \u00a0They\u2019re saying that.)<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
One of the participants at that other place \u2014 a fellow who has sent me scores and scores of anonymous notes for a number of years now, was so exercised by my latest plunge into Crimethink that he wrote to me directly, and with his characteristic eloquence. \u00a0Here is his epistle, in its entirety but with some slight family-friendly editing:<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201csputtering blubbering cultist bloated noise.\u00a0\u00a0you and mope shill\u00a0smeldrum otta road show\u2026..[vulgar insult deleted].\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Posted from Las Vegas, Nevada<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u201cPhilosophise this \u2013\u00a0psychology research by philosophers is robust and replicates better than other areas of\u00a0psychology\u201d \u00a0 *** \u00a0 \u201cThe fate of giant planets depends on where they grow up:\u00a0The more crowded and chaotic their initial environment, the more likely they are to move out.\u201d \u00a0 *** \u00a0 \u201cOur Postmodern World: Science Is Political […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-62959","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n
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