Friday, February 24, 2006
Michael Ruse takes Dennett and Dawkins to Task
In a remarkable exchange of e-mails published by Dembski's Uncommon Dissent Blog, hard-line Darwinian Prof. Michael Ruse responds to philosopher Daniel Dennett's suggestion that he (Ruse) is 'being enlisted on the side of the forces of darkness'. Ruse's robust response extends to a critique of zoologist Richard Dawkins:
www.uncommondescent.com/index.php/archives/844#more-844
(you need to read from the bottom of the page upwards)
Highlights from Ruse' e-mails:
''It is true that I condemn or at least want to point to evolutionism, which I do think functions as a secular religion – but never have I said that Darwinian evolutionary theory is anything but a genuine theory... I have no more belief than either you or Dawkins – I call myself a sceptic because I think that atheism is unprovable, but I don’t believe in the trinity or whatever – and have never concealed this... I think that you and Richard [Dawkins] are absolute disasters in the fight against intelligent design – we are losing this battle, not the least of which is the two new supreme court justices who are certainly going to vote to let it into classrooms – what we need is not knee-jerk atheism but serious grappling with the issues – neither of you are willing to study Christianity seriously and to engage with the ideas – it is just plain silly and grotesquely immoral to claim that Christianity is simply a force for evil, as Richard claims – more than this, we are in a fight, and we need to make allies in the fight, not simply alienate everyone of good will.'
www.uncommondescent.com/index.php/archives/844#more-844
(you need to read from the bottom of the page upwards)
Highlights from Ruse' e-mails:
''It is true that I condemn or at least want to point to evolutionism, which I do think functions as a secular religion – but never have I said that Darwinian evolutionary theory is anything but a genuine theory... I have no more belief than either you or Dawkins – I call myself a sceptic because I think that atheism is unprovable, but I don’t believe in the trinity or whatever – and have never concealed this... I think that you and Richard [Dawkins] are absolute disasters in the fight against intelligent design – we are losing this battle, not the least of which is the two new supreme court justices who are certainly going to vote to let it into classrooms – what we need is not knee-jerk atheism but serious grappling with the issues – neither of you are willing to study Christianity seriously and to engage with the ideas – it is just plain silly and grotesquely immoral to claim that Christianity is simply a force for evil, as Richard claims – more than this, we are in a fight, and we need to make allies in the fight, not simply alienate everyone of good will.'
