Another five chapters, mostly addressing the fears people have with the idea of an innate human nature, as opposed to the idealized blank slate: concerning inequality, imperfectibility, determinism, and nihilism.
Earlier posts about this book: post 1, post 2, post 3.
–Ch7, The Holy Trinity
Further examples of traditionalists trying to save the concepts of the blank slate, the noble savage, and the ghost in the machine, presumably as sources of meaning and morality. Their claims, even from scientists like Gould and Lewontin, are political, or moral, not evidence based. The ghost in the machine is especially important to the right, and to religious fundamentalists with their moral fears and Biblical literalism, as if without such morality we’d behave like beasts. This has led to the corruption of American science education. They don’t like neuroscience any more than evolution. Scientists reject the Intelligent Design folks, like Michael Behe, while leading (political) neoconservatives have embraced the idea. (Author quotes “Inherit the Wind” about how simple, poor people need to believe in something beautiful, so why take that away from them?)
The influence of the right on intellectual life is limited by its denial of evolution. Continue reading
