All entries by this author

More tiresome guff

Apr 25th, 2007 10:46 am | By

This is getting to be an entire cottage industry, or maybe not even so cottage, this enterprise of saying ‘that Richard Dawkins and those other militant fundamentalist atheists are insulting and patronizing and rude and aggressive while the rest of us are tolerant and respectful and kind and good.’ Now it’s Robert Winston’s turn to take the same old guff out for a spin.

“I find the title of ‘The God Delusion’ rather insulting,” said Lord Winston, “I have a huge respect for Richard Dawkins but I think it is very patronising to call a serious book about other peoples’ views of the universe and everything a delusion. I don’t think that is helpful and I think it portrays science

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Because they are so clear, they tell you nothing

Apr 24th, 2007 1:48 pm | By

Someone made a very funny comment on Stephen Law’s interview with Nigel Warburton on the subject of clarity. It’s hard to be sure whether the hilarity is intentional or accidental – I find myself hoping, perhaps maliciously, that it’s accidental, because if so it does so neatly make Nigel’s points for him. This point especially:

[M]any lightweight thinkers are attracted to Philosophy because it seems to promise them power through looking clever. Hiding behind a veil of obscurity is one way in which such people have traditionally duped their readership.

Now the dupe:

although you raise some good points about clarity, i think you are only rehearsing the rather tired analytic vs continental divide;clarity is certainly important, especially for

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Strut strut strut

Apr 24th, 2007 1:15 pm | By

And let’s not neglect good old Iran, and its positive discrimination in women’s favour.

Police say they stopped more than 1,300 women for dressing immodestly on the first day of the campaign in Tehran. More than 100 women were arrested on Saturday; half of them had to sign statements promising to improve their clothing, the other half are being referred to court. The focus of the new campaign is to stop women wearing tight overcoats that reveal the shape of their bodies or showing too much hair from beneath their headscarves…The police complain that some young women strut the streets looking like fashion models – and it is not a bad description.

Oh, well then. Lock them up. If … Read the rest



50% of News Must be ‘Positive’ *

Apr 24th, 2007 | Filed by

New managers tell Russia’s largest independent radio news network what’s what.… Read the rest



David Halberstam 1934-2007 *

Apr 24th, 2007 | Filed by

His dispatches infuriated policy makers, but they accurately reflected the realities on the ground.… Read the rest



More Than 100 Women Arrested in Iran *

Apr 24th, 2007 | Filed by

For ‘dressing immodestly.’ The sluts.… Read the rest



Pittsburgh Imam on Death Penalty for ‘Defamation’ *

Apr 24th, 2007 | Filed by

No punishment for children though. ‘It’s a very merciful religion if you try to understand it.’… Read the rest



Israel’s ‘Voluntary’ ‘Modesty’ Buses *

Apr 24th, 2007 | Filed by

‘This really is about positive discrimination, in women’s favour.’ Hence the need to hit them if they refuse.… Read the rest



Get back, slut

Apr 24th, 2007 10:50 am | By

Taking the bus in Jerusalem.

When the Number 40 bus arrived, the most curious thing happened. Husbands left heavily pregnant wives or spouses struggling with prams and pushchairs to fend for themselves as they and all other male passengers got on at the front of the bus. Women moved towards the rear door to get on at the back. When on the bus, I tried to buck the system, moving my way towards the driver but was pushed back towards the other women.

Towards the other servants, the other slaves, the other niggers, the other untouchables.

The separation system operates on 30 public bus routes across Israel. The authorities here say the arrangement is voluntary, but in practise, as

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The quality of mercy

Apr 24th, 2007 10:26 am | By

It’s a very merciful religion if you try to understand it – we’re told. Is that right?

A community debate over religious freedom surfaced in Western Pennsylvania last week when Dutch feminist author Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a Somali refugee who has lived under the threat of death for denouncing her Muslim upbringing, made an appearance at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown. Islamic leaders tried to block the lecture…They argued that Hirsi Ali’s attacks against the Muslim faith in her book, “Infidel,” and movie, “Submission,” are “poisonous and unjustified” and create dissension in their community.

Thus artfully demonstrating just how open to discussion and criticism ‘the Muslim faith’ is, at least according to them.

Imam Fouad ElBayly, president of

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When in doubt, issue a press release

Apr 23rd, 2007 6:34 pm | By

This guy is worse than I thought – this ‘humanist chaplain’ guy. I thought he’d just been talking to a reporter about ‘atheist fundamentalists’ – but no. He (and perhaps other people tangled up in the ‘Harvard chaplaincy,’ whatever that means) put out a press release on March 6 that started right out with that stupid inaccurate (indeed oxymoronic) phrase, along with the fact that the humanists were having a conference for the very purpose of ‘taking on’ these here ‘atheist “fundamentalists.”‘ This wasn’t some chat with a journalist at Starbuck’s, this was the subject of a conference. These humanists are so distraught about the ‘militancy’ and ‘fundamentalism’ of Dawkins and Harris that they’re holding an entire conference to ‘take … Read the rest



Humanist chaplain talking nonsense

Apr 23rd, 2007 1:35 pm | By

Hey guess what! News flash! Red hot item fresh off the presses that no one knew before – sit down before you read it, or the shock and surprise might kill you.

Atheists are under attack these days for being too militant, for not just disbelieving in religious faith but for trying to eradicate it. And who’s leveling these accusations? Other atheists, it turns out.

Oh, gee, really? I had no idea, and neither did anyone else. Sharp reporting; well done.

Among the millions of Americans who don’t believe God exists, there’s a split between people such as Greg Epstein, who holds the partially endowed post of humanist chaplain at Harvard University, and so-called “New Atheists.” Epstein and other humanists

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Gen-X Humanism for the Passionately Confused *

Apr 23rd, 2007 | Filed by

Cynical misappropriation of Harvard’s national reputation as a way of bottling humanism. … Read the rest



Evangelist Saves Sinners From Enjoying Park *

Apr 23rd, 2007 | Filed by

‘All of you will burn in hellfire, so sayeth the Lord,’ Hilson informed a toddler. [The Onion]… Read the rest



Atheists are Splitters! *

Apr 23rd, 2007 | Filed by

‘New’ atheists are fundamentalists, says ‘humanist chaplain’.… Read the rest



Pope Abolishes Limbo *

Apr 23rd, 2007 | Filed by

It was a mere hypothesis, and not nice, so it goes. Next up: about this god fella…… Read the rest



Zambian Conservationist Wins Goldman Prize *

Apr 23rd, 2007 | Filed by

Hammerskjoeld Simwinga helps women, local communities and elephants all at once.… Read the rest



Five Questions About Clarity

Apr 23rd, 2007 | By Stephen Law and Nigel Warburton

Nigel Warburton is senior lecturer in philosophy at The Open University. He is one of the world’s foremost popularizers of philosophy, and has a particular gift for explaing things clearly. His books include Thinking from A to Z (about to come out in its 3rd edition this summer), Philosophy: The Essential Study Guide and The Basics of Essay Writing.

As the issue of clarity came up in the comments on a recent blog of mine, I asked Nigel five questions about clarity (questions in bold).

At the top of your website the Virtual Philosopher you quote John Searle: “If you can’t say it clearly, you don’t understand it yourself”. What is clarity, and why is it important in Read the rest



An Essay on Man: A Trumpet Blast Against the “New” Humanism

Apr 23rd, 2007 | By R Joseph Hoffmann

Pressed to apologize for a silly comment he’d made about the full-frontal atheism of Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris, the humanist chaplain at Harvard replied to Brian Fleming (The God who Wasn’t There, etc.) – the slightly offended party – as follows:

I think apologizing is really a wonderful, necessary thing to do often. We human beings are so imperfect, we hurt each other and fail to live up to our own standards so often that learning to properly apologize is practically a survival tool. At least in my life it has been – I fail often to be as loving, or as smart, or just plain as right as I’d like to be. And I have seen

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Normblog Writer’s Choice: Allen Esterson *

Apr 22nd, 2007 | Filed by

On Evgenia Ginzburg’s Into the Whirlwind.… Read the rest