Books on Atheism Are Raising Hackles in Unlikely Places By Peter Steinfels
Hey, guys, can't you give atheism a chance?
Yes, it is true that "The God Delusion" by Richard Dawkins has been on The New York Times best-seller
list for 22 weeks and that "Letter to a Christian Nation" by Sam Harris can be found in virtually every
airport bookstore, even in Texas.
So why is the new wave of books on atheism getting such a drubbing? The criticism is not primarily, it
should be pointed out, from the pious, which would hardly be noteworthy, but from avowed atheists as
well as scientists and philosophers writing in publications like The New Republic and The New York
Review of Books, not known as cells in the vast God-fearing conspiracy. ...
Scientists and philosophers criticize two authors as lacking knowledge of theology.
...Finally, these critics stubbornly rejected the idea that rational meant scientific. "The fear of religion
leads too many scientifically minded atheists to cling to a defensive, world-flattening reductionism," Mr.
Nagel wrote.
"We have more than one form of understanding," he continued. "The great achievements of physical
science do not make it capable of encompassing everything, from mathematics to ethics to the
experiences of a living animal. We have no reason to dismiss moral reasoning, introspection or
conceptual analysis as ways of discovering the truth just because they are not physics."
So what is the beleaguered atheist to do? One possibility: take pride in the fact that this astringent
criticism comes from people and places that honor the honest skeptic's commitment to full-throated
questioning.
www.edge.org/documents/archive/edge204.html#NYT2
Why do we read novels more than non-fiction? Because novels make it clearer what part of the mind is
being used by the speakers.
Truman Capote created the nonfiction novel, ''In Cold Blood,'' in which true facts are told in story form,
dramatically reinventing the scope of nonfiction writing.
Next
Hey, guys, can't you give atheism a chance?
Yes, it is true that "The God Delusion" by Richard Dawkins has been on The New York Times best-seller
list for 22 weeks and that "Letter to a Christian Nation" by Sam Harris can be found in virtually every
airport bookstore, even in Texas.
So why is the new wave of books on atheism getting such a drubbing? The criticism is not primarily, it
should be pointed out, from the pious, which would hardly be noteworthy, but from avowed atheists as
well as scientists and philosophers writing in publications like The New Republic and The New York
Review of Books, not known as cells in the vast God-fearing conspiracy. ...
Scientists and philosophers criticize two authors as lacking knowledge of theology.
...Finally, these critics stubbornly rejected the idea that rational meant scientific. "The fear of religion
leads too many scientifically minded atheists to cling to a defensive, world-flattening reductionism," Mr.
Nagel wrote.
"We have more than one form of understanding," he continued. "The great achievements of physical
science do not make it capable of encompassing everything, from mathematics to ethics to the
experiences of a living animal. We have no reason to dismiss moral reasoning, introspection or
conceptual analysis as ways of discovering the truth just because they are not physics."
So what is the beleaguered atheist to do? One possibility: take pride in the fact that this astringent
criticism comes from people and places that honor the honest skeptic's commitment to full-throated
questioning.
www.edge.org/documents/archive/edge204.html#NYT2
Why do we read novels more than non-fiction? Because novels make it clearer what part of the mind is
being used by the speakers.
Truman Capote created the nonfiction novel, ''In Cold Blood,'' in which true facts are told in story form,
dramatically reinventing the scope of nonfiction writing.
Next
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