The sickness of secularism
The threat to tolerance and coexistence no longer comes from religion.
Soumaya Ghannoushi
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October 31, 2006 04:57 PM | Printable version
We are witnessing the rise of an arrogant secularist rhetoric founded on belief in the supremacy of reason and absolute faith in science and progress, dogmas which arouse ridicule in serious academic and intellectual circles nowadays. Hearing its proponents defend their rigid notions, you would be forgiven for thinking you were in the presence of the fathers of positivism: Auguste Comte, Diderot, or Condorcet, or that you were back in the Victorian and Napoleonic eras with their high hopes of remaking the world and human destiny in light of the utopias of reason and progress.
These high priests of rationality, who in Britain include in their ranks such names as Richard Dawkins and Anthony Grayling have erected a world of dichotomies, borders and fences: secular v religious, rationality v superstition, progress v backwardness, public v private. This simplistic worldview fails to take account of the complexity of cultural and historical processes, or of intellectual and human phenomena.
"Reason" itself, whose praises they sing night and day, is a perpetually changing mixture of many overlapping elements. It is neither abstract, nor intentional and does not confront the rich, labyrinthine human world as its other. It is quintessentially imbedded therein, in its emotions, languages, historical experiences, religious traditions and cultural heritage. There is no such thing as an ahistoric reason.
This means that we do not have one but many rationalities, the Christian European, the Islamic, the Chinese, the Indian to name a few, each stamped by the specific conditions of its evolution, and in turn incorporating a multitude of sub-rationalities. Neither do these traditions of rationality exist isolated from each other. They have much in common, the product of the interactive and communicative activity of cultures.
Aristotle's logos, Descartes' intellect and Kant's transcendental reason, are illusions, which no self-respecting thinker can afford to defend in the 21st century. The truth is that today's self- proclaimed guardians of enlightenment and rationality are offshoots of the intellectual poverty of eighteenth century positivism and scienticism, who disfigure philosophy and thought, history and reality. They are the victims of what may be referred to as a sick secularist consciousness.
These contrast reason's absolute virtue with the evil of a straw man they have christened religion: a pack of superstitions, fairytales, demons, and angels, which intervene in the world only to corrupt and destroy it. They fail to realize that just as there are different species of secularism - the intolerant and the dogmatic (such as theirs), the open and the tolerant - there exist multiple forms of religion. Religion can be legalistic, spiritual, Gnostic, rationalized, conservative, innovative, quietist, reactionary, moderate and radical. These many expressions do not exclude one another but may be present in the same type of religiosity. An example of such intricate overlapping is the great Muslim thinker Abu Hamid al-Gazali (d. 1111), who was at once a brilliant jurist, philosopher, theologian, and mystic.
Just as they simplify the breathtakingly complex phenomenon that is the human being, these missionaries of secularism impoverish the social order, filling it with sacred boundaries between the private and the public, and strictly laying down what may and may not be practiced in each. You may indulge in your religious "superstitions" behind the thick closed doors of your home, church, temple, or mosque. But the moment you step outside into the light of the secular sphere, you must discard your cross, turban, or headscarf. Communication, they insist, is only possible within uniformity. Such was the argument used in France to ban the Islamic headscarf in schools and government offices last year, and which is gaining currency in Britain today.
What these ignore, willingly or naively, is that unless you suffer from schizophrenia, everything in your cognitive universe is interlinked and forms part of a single coherent whole through which you make sense of the world, its components and what takes place therein. There is a difference between recognizing the sanctity of the private and transforming it into a high fenced prison cut off from the rhythm of public life. A measure of the dynamism of a public sphere is its ability to incorporate multiple modes of expression and forms of life. If the radically secularist have a problem communicating with those who dress or speak differently from themselves, it is their problem and a symptom of their exclusionist dogmatism. It is not the problem of the religious.
Secularist dogmatism is no less dangerous than its religious sibling. Secularism itself can be, and indeed has been in many historical instances, highly destructive. We should remember that Europe's modern history is scarred with the brutality of secular totalitarianism. Neither the Jacobites, fascists, Nazis or Stalinists were priests or theologians. They were fanatical secularists who worshipped in reason's grand temple and sacrificed hundreds of thousands for the god of progress, fervently vowing to create a new man and a new world on the ruins of the old.
With the retreat of Christianity and shrinking of the ecclesiastical institution in Western Europe, the threat to tolerance and coexistence no longer comes from religion. What we should be dreading today is the tyranny of an arrogant secularism which hides its exclusionist and intolerant face behind the sublime mask of reason, enlightenment and progress.
Big Dog
JoinedPosts by Big Dog
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35
Why is it considered so wrong to be anti-religious or aggressively atheist?
by nicolaou ini'm not talking about the simple belief that there is no god and that religion is a brake on the development of humanity but the aggressive and vocal campaign to convince others of such?.
what's wrong with that?
why do believers feel so offended when i try to reason with them on the invalidity of their faith and the abusive nature of religious institutions?
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Big Dog
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103
The God Delusion
by Peppermint inold dawkins is on the rampage again.
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/newsnight/5372458.stm.
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Big Dog
Do you think Dawkins is the one strapping bombs on his chest and blowing up civillians, assassinating abortion doctors or trying to prevent the teaching of scientific facts in public schools in the name of some fictional deity? Give yourself a reality check.
I always have to chuckle at these kinds of threads where religion is so demonized and science is praised to the hilt. Yes I appreciate what science has given us in terms of quality of life etc. but many seem to forget science has its own darkside. The chemical explosives these that these guys strap on were developed by chemists somewhere, and let's not forget those wonderful chaps in the white lab coats that gave us biological weapons, sarin gas, ICBM's, etc. I have often wondered how a scientist who works on developing a virus that will indiscriminately kill every man, woman and child it is loosed upon rationalizes that is a higher use of science and his vast intellect, how does he sleep at night?
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72
What does your REAL name mean?
by Peaches-n-Cream injordon is hebrew and it means "to descend or flow"....ha~!
not very interesting, .
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Big Dog
Abbagail, I was just quoting from Pulp Fiction when the Mexican cab driver asks Bruce Willis what his name means and that was his response. My first name means warrior and my middle name means to conquer, lol, no wonder why I was a decent football player.
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72
What does your REAL name mean?
by Peaches-n-Cream injordon is hebrew and it means "to descend or flow"....ha~!
not very interesting, .
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Big Dog
I'm an American, our names don't mean shit.
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23
What song do you listen to........
by whyamihere in...when your heart is broken????.
i can't make you love me: by bonnie raitt.
turn down the lights, turn down the bed.
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Big Dog
MICHAEL STANLEY | Why Should Love Be This Way Lyrics
Well, I've been here--I'll be back again But this time really feels like the end... We rolled out our promises and they all came up lies And no one even mentions one more try... Why should love be this way? It lifts you up-- then brings you to your knees... There's got to be another way another way-- there's just got to be... Well, it's over--the damage is done But the questions have only begun... And lying beside you, just hasn't put right this lonliness night after night... Why should love be this way? --It's taken everything I need... There's got to be another way another way-- there's just got to be another way... BRIDGE: It isn't that we've changed our minds --it's just that love got hard to find in the silence we were living in... And now the exits must be grand --to see who wins the final hand... Why should love be this way? First it lifts you up-- then brings you to your knees... There's got to be another way ohh, another way-- there's just got to be... Why should love be this way? It just keeps takin'-- all the comfort that I need... There's got to be another way ohh, another way, baby-- there's just got to be...
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7
Universe Bigger and Older Than We Thought
by Big Dog inastronomers crunch numbers, universe gets bigger
columbus , ohio that intergalactic road trip to triangulum is going to take a little longer than you had planned.. an ohio state university astronomer and his colleagues have determined that the triangulum galaxy, otherwise known as m33, is actually about 15 percent farther away from our galaxy than previously measured.. kris stanek.
this finding implies that the hubble constant, a number that astronomers rely on to calculate a host of factors -- including the size and age of the universe -- could be significantly off the mark as well.. that means that the universe could be 15 percent bigger and 15 percent older than any previous calculations suggested.. the astronomers came to this conclusion after they invented a new method for calculating intergalactic distances, one that is more precise and much simpler than standard methods.
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Big Dog
I wonder how it will affect all the calculations regarding the age of this planet and how long life has been around.
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Big Love Anybody?
by Big Dog inthis is right out of the hbo series big love.. the fugitive leader of a polygamist sect, and one of the fbi's 10 most wanted, has been arrested by a nevada highway patrol.warren steed jeffs, 50, who is considered a prophet by his 10,000 followers, faces charges of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution in utah and arizona, sexual conduct with a minor, conspiracy to commit sexual conduct with a minor, and rape as an accomplice, the fbi said.
it seized wigs, mobile phones, laptop computers and more than $us54,000 in cash from his car.
mr jeffs, called a religious zealot and a dangerous extremist by critics and former members of his church, is said to have fathered more than 50 children by 40 wives.
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Big Dog
This is right out of the HBO series Big Love.
THE fugitive leader of a polygamist sect, and one of the FBI's 10 most wanted, has been arrested by a Nevada highway patrol.Warren Steed Jeffs, 50, who is considered a prophet by his 10,000 followers, faces charges of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution in Utah and Arizona, sexual conduct with a minor, conspiracy to commit sexual conduct with a minor, and rape as an accomplice, the FBI said.
It seized wigs, mobile phones, laptop computers and more than $US54,000 in cash from his car.
Mr Jeffs, called a religious zealot and a dangerous extremist by critics and former members of his church, is said to have fathered more than 50 children by 40 wives.
He was stopped by the Nevada Highway Patrol yesterday over expired licence plates.
The patrolman recognised Mr Jeffs and held him until FBI agents could arrive to identify him.
Mr Jeffs took control of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, also known as the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints, from his now-dead father.
The sect, long based in an enclave in the twin border towns of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Arizona, split from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints when the Mormon Church banned polygamy more than a century ago, and has no connection with it.
Mr Jeffs, who had been on the run for at least two years, is accused of arranging marriages between older men and underage girls in the FLDS settlement, which is generally closed to outsiders.
Young men and boys are often forced out of the enclave to ensure a supply of young brides for male elders.
Mr Jeff's group is believed to be one of the largest polygamist sects that exist in the US.
A Utah-Arizona Attorneys-General report has estimated 20,000 to 40,000 Americans still engage in the outlawed practice of multiple marriages.
Elaine Tyler, head of Utah-based group HOPE, which helps people leave polygamist homes, hailed the arrest.
"I can't believe they found him," Ms Tyler said.
"He has broken up families. He has married off young girls against their will.
"It is time he started paying for what he did."
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91
Evolution still bugs me
by Geronimo ini know there are a lot of threads on evolution and creation and i've read a few here and there.
how can complex systems arise of themselves in the face of entropy?
one evolutionist book i read used snowflakes to show this is possible.
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Big Dog
Interesting article J, it will be interesting to see how long it takes to crack that nut. Think it will happen in our life time?
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7
Universe Bigger and Older Than We Thought
by Big Dog inastronomers crunch numbers, universe gets bigger
columbus , ohio that intergalactic road trip to triangulum is going to take a little longer than you had planned.. an ohio state university astronomer and his colleagues have determined that the triangulum galaxy, otherwise known as m33, is actually about 15 percent farther away from our galaxy than previously measured.. kris stanek.
this finding implies that the hubble constant, a number that astronomers rely on to calculate a host of factors -- including the size and age of the universe -- could be significantly off the mark as well.. that means that the universe could be 15 percent bigger and 15 percent older than any previous calculations suggested.. the astronomers came to this conclusion after they invented a new method for calculating intergalactic distances, one that is more precise and much simpler than standard methods.
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Big Dog
Go Buckeyes! Not only do we kick butt on the gridiron, we kick butt in the lab.
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7
Universe Bigger and Older Than We Thought
by Big Dog inastronomers crunch numbers, universe gets bigger
columbus , ohio that intergalactic road trip to triangulum is going to take a little longer than you had planned.. an ohio state university astronomer and his colleagues have determined that the triangulum galaxy, otherwise known as m33, is actually about 15 percent farther away from our galaxy than previously measured.. kris stanek.
this finding implies that the hubble constant, a number that astronomers rely on to calculate a host of factors -- including the size and age of the universe -- could be significantly off the mark as well.. that means that the universe could be 15 percent bigger and 15 percent older than any previous calculations suggested.. the astronomers came to this conclusion after they invented a new method for calculating intergalactic distances, one that is more precise and much simpler than standard methods.
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Big Dog
ASTRONOMERS CRUNCH NUMBERS, UNIVERSE GETS BIGGER
COLUMBUS , Ohio – That intergalactic road trip to Triangulum is going to take a little longer than you had planned.
An Ohio State University astronomer and his colleagues have determined that the Triangulum Galaxy, otherwise known as M33, is actually about 15 percent farther away from our galaxy than previously measured.
Kris Stanek
This finding implies that the Hubble constant, a number that astronomers rely on to calculate a host of factors -- including the size and age of the universe -- could be significantly off the mark as well.
That means that the universe could be 15 percent bigger and 15 percent older than any previous calculations suggested.
The astronomers came to this conclusion after they invented a new method for calculating intergalactic distances, one that is more precise and much simpler than standard methods. Kris Stanek, associate professor of astronomy at Ohio State, and his coauthors describe the method in a paper to appear in the Astrophysical Journal (astro-ph/0606279).
In 1929, Edwin Hubble formulated the cosmological distance law that determines the Hubble constant. Scientists have disagreed about the exact value of the constant over the years, but the current value has been accepted since the 1950s. Astronomers have discovered other cosmological parameters since then, but the Hubble constant and its associated methods for calculating distance haven't changed.
"The Hubble constant used to be the one parameter that we knew pretty well, and now it's lagging behind. Now we know some things quite a bit better than we know the Hubble constant," Stanek said. "Ten years ago, we didn't even know that dark energy existed. Now we know how much dark energy there is -- better than we know the Hubble constant, which has been around for almost 80 years."
To their surprise, the distance to two stars in M33 was 15 percent farther than they expected. If this new distance measurement is correct, then the true value of the Hubble constant may be 15 percent smaller -- and the universe may be 15 percent bigger and older -- than previously thought.
Still, Stanek said he and his colleagues didn't start this work in order to change the value of the Hubble constant. They just wanted to find a simpler way to calculate distances.
To calculate the distance to a faraway galaxy using the Hubble constant, astronomers have to work through several complex steps of related equations, and incorporate distances to closer objects, such as the Large Magellanic Cloud.
"In every step you accumulate errors," Stanek said. "We wanted an independent measure of distance -- a single step that will one day help with measuring dark energy and other things."
The new method took 10 years to develop. They studied M33 in optical and infrared wavelengths, checking and re-checking measurements that are normally taken for granted. They used telescopes of all sizes, from fairly small 1-meter telescopes to the largest in the world -- the 10-meter telescopes at the Keck Observatory in Hawaii .
"Technologically, we had to be on the cutting edge to make this work, but the basic idea is very simple," he said.
They studied two of the brightest stars in M33, which are part of a binary system, meaning that the stars orbit each other. As seen from Earth, one star eclipses the other every five days.
They measured the mass of the stars, which told them how bright those stars would appear if they were nearby. But the stars actually appear dimmer because they are far away. The difference between the intrinsic brightness and the apparent brightness told them how far away the stars were -- in a single calculation.
To their surprise, the distance was 15 percent farther than they expected: about 3 million light-years away, instead of 2.6 million light-years as determined by the Hubble constant.
If this new distance measurement is correct, then the true value of the Hubble constant may be 15 percent smaller -- and the universe may be 15 percent bigger and older -- than previously thought.
"Our margin of error is now 6 percent, which is actually pretty good," Stanek said. Next, they may do the same calculation for another star system in M33, to reduce their error further, or they may look at the nearby Andromeda galaxy. The kind of binary systems they are looking for are relatively rare, he said, and getting all the necessary measurements to repeat the calculation would probably take at least another two years.
Stanek's coauthors on the paper include Alceste Bonanos of the Carnegie Institute of Washington, Rolf-Peter Kudritzki of the University of Hawaii, and Lucas Macri of the National Optical Astronomy Observatory, as well as astronomers from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Copernicus Astronomical Center in Poland, the Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics in Canada, Liverpool John Moores University in the United Kingdom, and the Astronomical Institute of the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg in Germany.
This work was funded by NASA and the National Science Foundation.
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Contact: Krzysztof Stanek, (614) 292-3433; [email protected]
Written by Pam Frost Gorder, (614) 292-9475; [email protected]
