tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23471801.post3100934109989059985..comments2023-10-21T07:44:20.549-04:00Comments on The Existence Machine: Some Thoughts on ReasonRichardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08014014605639738887noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23471801.post-91983188088578882772008-10-06T03:06:00.000-04:002008-10-06T03:06:00.000-04:00I was recently linked to some ted lecture by pinke...I was recently linked to some ted lecture by pinker about the decline of violence and another one on the blank slate and it was fairly condescending. He seems to have the idea that if an experiment rides the banner of scientific inquiry the controversy it attracts is unwarranted. Therefore the bell curve is just an inability for people who believe in innate equality to put aside their politically correct ideologies, not necessarily taking into account the historical background for that research or who funded it under what guidelines. He has some half-assed defense that because it ends up legitimizing the welfare state it's somehow progressive, as if the welfare state isn't a form of state control to perpetuate a class disparity. And any assumptions on class disparities trace back to marx who unfortunately worked on the idea of a blank slate and is therefore invalidated? I haven't actually read the books but his notion of a decrease in violence because it's not publicly sanctioned by the state as a means of dealing with the population was to an extent true, but looking for the positives in dealth penalties because it's not burning at the stake? Does he take into account the privatization of war and the way that it's perpetuated by market concerns or are smart bombs somehow more advanced than cannons and therefore a sign of propgress?Adam Katzmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13445652093684270646noreply@blogger.com