The Lippard Blog: Proud atheists: Salon interview with Steven Pinker and Rebecca Goldstein

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Proud atheists: Salon interview with Steven Pinker and Rebecca Goldstein

At Salon, Steve Paulson interviews Steven Pinker and Rebecca Goldstein about their relationship, their work, and their atheism.

(Hat tip to Wade Smith on the SKEPTIC list.)

6 comments:

Einzige said...: Jim,

I find much to disagree with in your assessment of Pinker in this post.

:-); October 16, 2007 at 8:24 AM
olvlzl said...: I used Steven Pinker's voice for Professor Lockheart when I read my niece the second Harry Potter book. Other than that he's pretty useless.

There, does that satisfy you, Einzige?; October 16, 2007 at 9:30 AM
Einzige said...: olvlzl,

In the sense that you and your funhouse mirror through a cloudy lens view of the world is endlessly entertaining--yes, I am quite satisfied.; October 16, 2007 at 9:44 AM
Einzige said...: Oops. I fucked up the verb in that sentence--and just after my English lesson from olvlzl, too.

How embarassing!; October 16, 2007 at 9:47 AM
Hume's Ghost said...: Great! Now I remembered that I've been meaning to read her book on Spinoza.; October 16, 2007 at 11:49 AM
olvlzl said...: your funhouse mirror through a cloudy lens view of the world is endlessly entertaining-

Odd, I was under the impression you weren't having any fun. Maybe it's Pinker's hair that put you in the carnival mood.

I don't think a charge of distortion or fuzzy thinking is exactly accurate. Though I am rather inclined to acknowledge the limits of human reasoning and knowledge. Perhaps its the insistence on real standards of skepticism instead of a pre-ordained program of attitudes and assumptions, not to mention platitudes, that causes the misunderstanding.

You know, I have been accused of being too nit-picky on atheist-skeptic blogs in the past.; October 16, 2007 at 4:27 PM