Wednesday, June 03, 2009

The trouble with Dawkins: loving intellectual enemies


In another CPX vodcast, John Dickson talks with philosopher Michael Ruse about Dawkins' intellectual shortcuts. H/T Dave.

This discussion is not simply about Dawkins but is a reminder to all of us to treat our intellectual opponents with respect. It is quite safe to assume that not everyone is an idiot, and that most intellectual positions that have been held for some time by some number of people will have some measure of coherence and attractiveness to them. Searching for that coherence and attraction is at once a winsome conversational strategy and a basic requirement of Christian love for one's enemies.

2 comments:

John S said...

Thanks, Byron - beautifully put!

byron smith said...

SMH: A Muslim, a Christian and an atheism walk into a pub. I thought this was a pretty decent example of an attempt at respectful conversation on an important topic. Of course I might not agree at every point, but worth noting.