Rob Knop on Gnu Athiests

[Andara Bledin]

Actually, he's quite specific about which group he's talking about:

... most of those in the movement formerly known as “New Atheism” seem to share the following characteristics. They are atheists. They believe the world would be a better place if religion would go away, becoming nothing more than cultural history and cultural tradition. They think that any religion that claims to be anything other than just cultural tradition is incompatible with science and the scientific world view. They believe that if somebody aims to accept science and is intellectually honest and consistent, the success of modern science must necessarily lead that person to accept philosophical materialism. They use the word “reason” as a synonym for “application of scientific reasoning”, thereby making anybody who is religious by definition guilty of thinking without reason.

And more specifically:

Beyond that, a subset of them are incredibly strident and combative.

He quite specifically names the ideas. That's all the entire second paragraph is about, and much of the third.

The last section of the blog post is the best. Confusing "Gnu Atheism" with software? Hilarious.

Do you have anything to add other than your scorn? I already know that respect is too much to ask.

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[Hyena Dandy]

He repeatedly explained what they're supposed to be fundamentalist towards.

So what specific things do you need numbers to back up here, so we can get the debate going?

[Ghel]

Knop's basic premise is that the "New Atheism" movement is self-titled or self-selected. But it's not. It is only those who don't agree with "New Atheism" that think that it is anything new. It's funny that Knop refers to "fundamentalist atheists" without saying what ideas or principals they're supposedly fundamentalist towards. Plus, he never specifies who he's talking about. It's always "they" or "some scientists" or "many." Provide some quotes to back up your statements, Knop.

The last section of the blog post is the best. Confusing "Gnu Atheism" with software? Hilarious.

[Hyena Dandy]

He's wrong about what?

[Ghel]

That's really funny. This guy's got it all wrong. It's the theists who have coined the term "New Atheists." Some of us atheists have chosen to change it to "Gnu Atheists" as a joke. Because the only real difference between modern atheists and atheists of the past is that we tend to be more outspoken. I like PZ Myers' definition of "New Atheists": "Atheists who value the truth of a claim foremost, and who have found that science is the best tool we have for assessing truth." That is all. Frequently, that is the ONLY thing that "New Atheists" agree on.

[Hyena Dandy]

They are religious extremists, its as much about tribalism as the religious extremist movement its. Its about being 'Us' and shunning 'Them'.

[Panacea]

I'm with you there.

I really see little difference between the "New Atheists" and religious extremists.

To these guys, science becomes their religion, and heresy is something to be put down as ruthlessly as Galileo was.

[Andara Bledin]

Blog post at Scientopia.org

Knop explains why he believes that the Gnu Athiest movement is bad for the acceptance of science. For the most part, I agree with his points regarding science, religion, and how fanaticism is directly counter-productive to any cause it's attached to.

I think he's a bit oversensitive on the GPL connection, though I can see why it might be a sore spot with him.

For background on who Knop is, I offer the following links:
LinkedIn Profile
Faculty Page at Quest University

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