Who's driving the anti-Enlightenment?
Archive: Skeptics & Atheists
From a review of Francis Wheen’s How Mumbo-Jumbo Conquered the World: A Short History of Modern Delusions.
Listening to Wheen talk about crazy creationists who spin yarns about the beginnings of mankind and politicians who ought to know better begs a question: who’s driving the anti-Enlightenment? Is it outside forces, virulent strains in the body politic like creationists and other assorted anti-modernists and sects? Or has there been a corrosion at the centre itself, a loss of faith in the ‘gains of the Enlightenment’ among the political elite and intellectuals which has allowed irrationality to flourish?
2 · Posted by: limon on June 25, 2004 06:02 PM
These anti-enlightenment, non-science tendencies I think stem from the following:
The miserably poor state of science education throughout society is a large contributor. As applied science has become the realm of the researcher even educated people are absolutely mystified by things like floating exchange rates, futures markets, derivatives or concepts like the conservation of mass and energy. We lack the internal understanding of the underpinnings of todays technology driven world.
In addition, acceptance of all kinds of kooky ideas from astrology to nutritional additives, talking to plants, Atlanteans in pre-colombian america one could go on.
Increasingly fundamentalists of all religions also add to the attack on enlightment principles of balance and reason.
Many of these tendencies have been around but large numbers of these people are now politically active. So its not enough to be a Creationist but they try to force the local school board to teach it instead of evolutionary Biology.
Thus the line between sense and nonsense has blurred beyond all hope.
Feel free to say something about Who's driving the anti-Enlightenment?.
Please keep your comment on topic.
I'm a happily gay atheist. Homophobic, racist comments and conversion attempts are deleted.
Disagreement is fine but hate speech won't be tolerated. Even if you share my prejudices I'd rather you not insult other people who leave comments here.
This is a personal hobby and shouldn't be confused with a more general sort of public forum or chatroom. you'd like to know more about me check about page.
Thanks, Richard
1 · Elsewhere: bbCity.co.uk May 28, 2004 9:03 AM
Read more in I killed a creationist. …