(August 14, 2013 at 9:02 pm)Faith No More Wrote: Get ready for a lot of butt-hurt. Someone seems to be upset at the articles saying atheists are smarter.
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/seanth...tally-ill/
Quote:Obviously, it’s the believers who are smarter. Anyone who thinks otherwise is mentally ill.
And I mean that literally: the evidence today implies that atheism is a form of mental illness. And this is because science is showing that the human mind is hard-wired for faith: we have, as a species, evolved to believe, which is one crucial reason why believers are happier – religious people have all their faculties intact, they are fully functioning humans.
Therefore, being an atheist – lacking the vital faculty of faith – should be seen as an affliction, and a tragic deficiency: something akin to blindness. Which makes Richard Dawkins the intellectual equivalent of an amputee, furiously waving his stumps in the air, boasting that he has no hands.
Apparently, not believing in the magic man watching over your shoulder is crazy.
Perhaps we have just evolved past the need for delusional crutches?
It could equally mean the notion of god and the capacity for systems of belief (not 'faith' as he incorrectly states) evolved, proving Darwin right and put god in it's place as an artefact of developmental retardation.
Mr Thomas has clearly not read - and IMO seems to stand no chance of understanding - the research but appears to be relying on other people's comments on it. Piss poor journalism.
He does seem to be very angry about something... which is not an excuse to write histrionic crap.
MM
"The greatest deception men suffer is from their own opinions" - Leonardo da Vinci
"I think I use the term “radical” rather loosely, just for emphasis. If you describe yourself as “atheist,” some people will say, “Don’t you mean ‘agnostic’?” I have to reply that I really do mean atheist, I really do not believe that there is a god; in fact, I am convinced that there is not a god (a subtle difference). I see not a shred of evidence to suggest that there is one ... etc., etc. It’s easier to say that I am a radical atheist, just to signal that I really mean it, have thought about it a great deal, and that it’s an opinion I hold seriously." - Douglas Adams (and I echo the sentiment)
"I think I use the term “radical” rather loosely, just for emphasis. If you describe yourself as “atheist,” some people will say, “Don’t you mean ‘agnostic’?” I have to reply that I really do mean atheist, I really do not believe that there is a god; in fact, I am convinced that there is not a god (a subtle difference). I see not a shred of evidence to suggest that there is one ... etc., etc. It’s easier to say that I am a radical atheist, just to signal that I really mean it, have thought about it a great deal, and that it’s an opinion I hold seriously." - Douglas Adams (and I echo the sentiment)
