At 03:49 PM 3/23/00 +0900, Wayne Dawson wrote:
>Allan Harvey wrote:
> > As an aside, I recently finished reading "Why People Believe Wierd
> > Things" by skeptic Michael Shermer. Not a bad book, covering some of
> > the silly and often harmful things believed by many today like UFO
> > abductions, "recovered memories", "creation science" (including an
> > interesting account of a debate with Duane Gish), and Holocaust
> > denial. He draws interesting parallels between Holocaust deniers and
> > antievolutionists, such as pumping up little discrepancies while
> > ignoring the overall weight of evidence and a conspiratorial view of
> > those who disagree. [SNIP]
>
>I did not read Shermer's book, so maybe I don't have the context
>correct, however, even given that I see the parallels between the
>*techniques* or *strategies* of creationists and holocaust
>revisionists, I find lumping them together rather distasteful.
>
>Although I flatly disagree with any 6 x 24 terrestrial hour scenario,
>or a literal reading of Noah's arc, the motives of creationists and
>neo-nazi crackpots cannot be compared. For all my disagreement, the
>few creationists I know personally have in their hearts the desire to
>do what they think is right, and they live by the Word (or at least
>what they *think* is the Word). I cannot fault them in that way.
>Neither do creationist share any particularly strong psychological
>parallels with any people who become Nazis that I can discern.
>
>Under such narrow minded generalizations, we could classify anyone we
>dislike or disapprove of as a group of mentally diseased individuals.
>What I find disturbing is that skeptics would resort to such
>generalizations in the first place. The point of skepticism is to
>require "evidence" before accepting something as "fact", but where
>are the facts for these kind of generalizations.
I'm somewhat sympathetic with your distaste. While the context in
Shermer's book was just one of drawing parallels in *tactics* between
"creationists" and Holocaust deniers (and some other followers of
irrational things), placing those side by side could give the impression
that he was claiming moral equivalence or equivalent motives between the
two. I don't *think* that was what Shermer intended, but to be fair he
probably should have made some explicit disclaimer.
Still, I think there is some value in drawing this parallel of
tactics. Holocaust deniers make a big deal out of minor glitches in the
standard story (for example, pointing out that there is no evidence of soap
being made of human remains) and avoid confronting the mass of evidence
against them. Many evolution deniers do similar things with, for example,
Piltdown Man. Holocaust deniers talk of a conspiracy that keeps their
truth from being heard, not unlike the way others talk about scientists
conspiring to keep methodological and metaphysical naturalism on top. Both
usually bypass normal routes of scholarship to appeal directly to the
masses (usually playing to their emotional prejudices) who are ill-equipped
to discern how they are twisting the truth. Some Holocaust deniers claim
impressive credentials they have not earned, much like the diploma-mill
doctorates of some prominent creationists.
Of course the motives of Holocaust deniers (often racism) are quite
different from the motives of "Creationists" (usually a sincere [but
misguided] belief that the position is essential to defend the Bible and
thereby the faith). But I think it is helpful for those want truth to
prevail (a category that should include all Christians) to recognize these
general characteristics of irrational movements. And maybe pointing out
these parallels in tactics will cause some Christians to reassess their
support of a movement that often operates in ways we would condemn if it
was unbelievers using the tactics.
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| Dr. Allan H. Harvey | aharvey@boulder.nist.gov |
| Physical and Chemical Properties Division | "Don't blame the |
| National Institute of Standards & Technology | government for what I |
| 325 Broadway, Boulder, CO 80303 | say, or vice versa." |
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