{"id":5739,"date":"2012-11-05T13:58:47","date_gmt":"2012-11-05T18:58:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/?p=5739"},"modified":"2012-11-08T17:45:08","modified_gmt":"2012-11-08T22:45:08","slug":"put-your-moral-philosophical-hands-where-we-can-see-them-dennett","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/2012\/11\/put-your-moral-philosophical-hands-where-we-can-see-them-dennett.html","title":{"rendered":"Put Your Moral Philosophical Hands Where We Can See Them, Dennett!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

This post is part of\u00a0a series discussing Daniel Dennett\u2019s\u00a0<\/a><\/em>Breaking the Spell<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Very early on in the book, (page 17 in my edition), Dennett explains the title of his book:<\/p>\n

The spell I say must<\/em> be broken is the taboo against a forthright, scientific, no-holds-barred investigation of religion as one natural phenomenon among many.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I\u2019ll have more to say about this endeavor (which comprises the vast majority of the text) tomorrow, but let me say briefly here that I have no particular objection to this goal of Dennett. \u00a0But now that he\u2019s finished writing this book, I have a suggestion for a topic worthy of Breaking the Spell 2:<\/p>\n

The spell I<\/em> say must be broken is the taboo against a forthright, philosophical investigation of atheisms as one subset of metaphysics and ethics among many.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The book is not primarily about Dennett\u2019s personal philosophy, and he may have written more about his beliefs elsewhere, but I was frustrated enough to dog-ear the page where he wrote:<\/p>\n

In spite of the religious connotations of the term, even atheists and agnostics can have sacred values, values that are simple not up for reevaluation at all. I have sacred values\u2013in the sense that I feel vaguely guilty even thinking about whether they are defensible and would never<\/em> consider abandoning them (I like to think!) in the course of solving a moral dilemma. My sacred values are obvious and quite ecumenical: democracy, justice, life, love, and truth (in alphabetical order).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I have a great and abiding love for Alasdair MacIntyre\u2019s Whose Justice? Which Rationality?<\/a><\/em>, since you can get a pretty good sense of the thesis from the title. \u00a0If I start to cudgel someone with a copy, it\u2019s much clearer why I\u2019m upset than if I had used MacIntyre\u2019s\u00a0After Virtue<\/a><\/em> instead. \u00a0The problem with Dennett\u2019s comment is that, democracy\u00a0excepted, almost\u00a0everyone<\/em> is in favor of the nouns he listed. \u00a0The disagreements come when people start to define them (or break one down into four definitions<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Breaking the Spell<\/em><\/a> isn\u2019t pitched an apologetic for Dennett\u2019s worldview, but it gives me the heebie-jeebies when people bring up their ethics without making them specific enough to actually have something to defend<\/a>. \u00a0I\u2019m sure Dennett thinks something more detailed than this, but when this is the explanation he gives of his philosophy in his big book for lay audiences, he\u2019s giving his readers license to be lazy. \u00a0Even though these are Dennett\u2019s most important values, the way he\u2019s talking about them doesn\u2019t help me improve my predictions of his behavior over my prior estimate for anyone I happen to meet.<\/p>\n

This is why I blog (both pre and post conversion) about weird things like old timey sin-eaters<\/a> and Sondheim<\/a> and whatnot. \u00a0They\u2019re specifics (albeit uncommon specifics) that differentiate my philosophy from others. \u00a0They point to parts of my philosophy that, like Dennett, I\u2019d be really surprised to have to give up. \u00a0But it\u2019s cheating and unhelpful to say that your non-negotiable is The Good, which is\u00a0essentially\u00a0Dennett\u2019s summation. \u00a0It\u2019s unfair to your readers, because you\u2019re not giving them a fair shot at you, and it\u2019s bad for you, because, when push comes to shove, you\u2019ll have an easier time clinging to your non-negotiables\u00a0if they\u2019re a little less diffuse.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This post is part of\u00a0a series discussing Daniel Dennett\u2019s\u00a0Breaking the Spell. Very early on in the book, (page 17 in my edition), Dennett explains the title of his book: The spell I say must be broken is the taboo against a forthright, scientific, no-holds-barred investigation of religion as one natural phenomenon among many. I\u2019ll have […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":5741,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,48,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5739","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-atheism","category-morality-in-practice","category-reviewsrecommendations"],"yoast_head":"\nPut Your Moral Philosophical Hands Where We Can See Them, Dennett!<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This post is part of\u00a0a series discussing Daniel Dennett's\u00a0Breaking the Spell. 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