Monday, October 11, 2010

The Great Accommodationist Dud: Round 2

 
Point of Inquiry is a series of podcasts financed by the Center for Inquiry. Chris Mooney is one of the people CFI pays to produce the podcasts. He decided to continue the accommodationist debate with PZ Myers and selected the moderator from round 1 to step in for him on the podcast. Unfortunately, Jennifer Hecht doesn't understand the concept of "moderator" so the podcast ends up being Jennifer and Chris against PZ.

PZ does a good job but it's tough defending yourself against two people who are coming at you from very different directions. Jennifer Hecht does not sound very convincing to me. She seems to believe that "a little bit of religion" is perfectly compatible with science and shouldn't be challenged. Towards the end of the podcast, Chris tries to bring up the fact that there are people who find the Gnu Atheists annoying and offensive. PZ replies, very effectively, by pointing out that many people find Chris Mooney annoying, arrogant, and offensive but they aren't telling him to shut up! I would add Jennifer Hecht to the list of people I find arrogant,1 annoying, and offensive.

Here's the podcast, it's a better utilization of your time than the first round was.

PZ Myers, Jennifer Michael Hecht, and Chris Mooney - New Atheism or Accommodation?


1. By my definition, you aren't "arrogant" if you are right. You are only arrogant when you are close-minded and wrong.

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