X-Message-Number: 29559 References: <> From: David Stodolsky <> Subject: Re: Sam Harris is brilliant, one of the finest thinkers of ou... Date: Sat, 16 Jun 2007 11:33:44 +0200 On 14 Jun 2007, at 17:30, wrote: > Sam Harris is one of three influential and articulate writers in > public > discourse currently. The other two being my other heroes Richard > Dawkins and > Daniel Dennett. It is not clear that these popular writers are in fact promoting a more rational view. Sam Harris appears to have an irrational acceptance of Buddhism and his aggressive denunciations of religion may strengthen religion by making it stronger as a source of identity/meaning. Daniel Dennett bases his analysis upon the 'meme' concept, which is useless from a scientific standpoint. Dawkins is the best of the lot, but has done a lot of damage by promoting 'memes', the 'selfish gene' and other nonsense. The efforts of these two also may backfire for the same reason as Harris's denunciations. Any attempt to overcome irrationality in society has to be based upon an understanding of the reasons for its existence. None of the above are qualified to do this. They don't have the background in the social sciences or history of religion required. The search for meaning / identity is crucial for human beings. Merely attacking the dominant sources is most likely to prove counter productive. Anyone serious about this problem should connect with the organizations that offer people the benefits of organized religion, without the irrationality. The American Humanist Association is one option, the International Ethical and Humanist Union is another. A good info source: http://humaniststudies.org/ As long time readers here will recall, I have suggested that an effective program for promotion of cryonics would be best integrated into a comprehensive 'full-service' organization providing all the services of current churches. dss David Stodolsky Skype: davidstodolsky Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=29559