RE: Conservatives have more self-control
January 26, 2018 at 2:57 pm
(This post was last modified: January 26, 2018 at 3:01 pm by GodisintheTV.)
Quote: Yeah, and we need more Christians like Pat Robertson...I don't think so.Neo-Scholastic: To compare Dawkins to Pat is an absurd false equivalency if I ever heard one! You can't be a fanatic about facts.
(January 26, 2018 at 2:36 pm)Neo-Scholastic Wrote: The sweeping generalizations on this thread have gotten a little bit out of hand. At the same time, I do not doubt that personality and temperament differences dispose people towards different political leanings. Likewise, I don't doubt that biology is at least partially, if not largely, responsible the life and career choices made by men and women.
I tend to be skeptical of social science studies, in general. It's all in how you label things and the connotations they imply. "Self-control" could be restraint but it could also be up-tight. The same for all kinds of personality traits - stingy/frugal, passionate/belligerent, bravery/foolhardiness, visionary/unrealistic...
(January 26, 2018 at 2:20 pm)GodisintheTV Wrote: We need more atheists like Dawkins,...
Yeah, and we need more Christians like Pat Robertson...I don't think so.
(January 26, 2018 at 2:56 pm)FatAndFaithless Wrote:I'm a huge fan of his straight talk. Blatant falsities demand a blunt response.(January 26, 2018 at 2:52 pm)GodisintheTV Wrote: It is kind of encouraging to see so many religious/conservative people on an atheist forum. It should be, uh, an eye-opening experience, if they keep an open mind. I'm always reminded (nerdily, I suppose) of Morpheus and his red and blue pills whenever such folks show an interest in atheism. Take the red pill, buy The God Delusion, see what the truth really is, how deep the rabbit hole goes...
Oof...don't do that. Whenever atheists talk about themselves like they're 'enlightened' or 'woken up to reality' I always cringe a bit. It's that sort of attitude that gets us the edgy fedora-behatted stereotypes. Theists just believe stuff that I don't think is correct, and I like to know why or if they're in fact right.
And there are far better atheist books than the God Delusion. Dawkins is a fantastic scientist, and his books on biology are great. But he's not the best when it comes to philosophy or atheism or politics. Suggesting people only read one book is creepily similar to how some theists act.