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

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