Just in time for the holidays, here’s Driven to Abstraction, the newest blog in the nonreligious section of Patheos. Welcome, readers and posters!
This is going to be a place for discussions about knowledge, science, culture, and society. We’ll examine our beliefs about history, progress, and truth. It’s not the low-hanging-fruit orchard, it’s not the argument clinic, it’s a new kind of public space.
I’m Shem, and I’ve been blogging here and at Disqus for over a year. I’ve discussed subjects like history, philosophy, music, literature, and science from a perspective that’s informed by satire, lefty politics, feminism, and postmodern thought. I’m hoping to make this blog something unique, where we can examine subjects that are rarely discussed rather than have endless rounds of the God-is-God-ain’t debate.
I’m going to be posting about current events and recent articles from around the Web, reviewing books about various topics, and digging into the way we conceptualize matters like CRISPR, evolutionary psychology, free speech, and female autonomy. I’ll be asking questions like “What do we mean when we talk about evidence?” and “How does knowledge function in the post-truth society?”
We’re probably not always going to agree, and that’s fine. There are plenty of ways to interpret and approach these issues, and everyone has his or her own perspective on them. But I insist on civil dialogue here, and I want people to come here to contribute and engage.
Welcome aboard!
