The Harris-Chomsky exchange, in my mind, summarizes a lot of what I find unpleasant about [the skeptic and atheist movements]: a community who worships celebrities who are often intellectual dilettantes, or at the very least have a tendency to talk about things of which they manifestly know very little; an ugly undertone of in-your-face confrontation and I’m-smarter-than-you-because-I-agree-with [insert your favorite New Atheist or equivalent]; loud proclamations about following reason and evidence wherever they may lead, accompanied by a degree of groupthink and unwillingness to change one’s mind that is trumped only by religious fundamentalists; and, lately, a willingness to engage in public shaming and other vicious social networking practices any time someone says something that doesn’t fit our own opinions, all the while of course claiming to protect “free speech” at all costs.
De emaildiscussie tussen Sam Harris en Noam Chomsky die Sam Harris online gooide in de hoop alsnog gelijk te krijgen van zijn fans, heeft een merkwaardig neveneffect.
Voor bioloog en filosoof Massimo Pigliucci vormt het de aanleiding om afscheid te nemen van de skeptische en atheïstische beweging, die hij steeds sterker als dogmatisch, persoonsverheerlijkend, zelffeliciterend en oppervlakkig is gaan ervaren.
