Sam Harris: It’s not about atheism, it’s about reason and genuine respect for the well-being of others
February 15, 2008 — L. Ron BrownHaving just watched the recent Sam Harris + Rabbi David Wolpe debate on the existence of God, I was reminded of Sam Harris’ very important and agreeable position that a big part of the cultural struggle being fought be secularists should not be about atheism specifically, but about reason generally. Now, the subject of religion surely earns very special consideration in the struggle because it is one of the few, if not the only, domains in which people are not pressed for evidence for their beliefs, and are often even treated favourably for holding these beliefs in the absense of evidence. And of course, there is also the aspect of the secularist movement which is pushing for the raising of consciousness with the respect to the fact and inappropriateness that atheism is apparently one of if not the last hot button social characteristics for which it is still fairly socially acceptable for one the display overt bigotry toward. So definitely, given all of this and the great political import, considerations of religion remains the highest individual priority for the movement. However, at its core this movement needs to be more generally about anti-dogmatism and open-minded and genuine respect for the well-being and freedom from suffering of others. Read the rest of this entry »









