tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14247942.post114970238513132992..comments2023-08-10T05:32:21.163-04:00Comments on An Examined Life: Anti-IntellectualismVitae Scrutatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12808120163472036743noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14247942.post-1149857697863318132006-06-09T08:54:00.000-04:002006-06-09T08:54:00.000-04:00And what a compelling defense it is, too.Well, it'...<I>And what a compelling defense it is, too.</I><BR/><BR/>Well, it's certainly a <I>focused</I> defense....Tomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14850575419673561383noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14247942.post-1149781158762325482006-06-08T11:39:00.000-04:002006-06-08T11:39:00.000-04:00I couldn't help but think that this was a pretty g...I couldn't help but think that <A HREF="http://www.theamericanscene.com/2006/06/derb-i-believe-that-there-are-few-men.php" REL="nofollow">this</A> was a pretty good assessment of "The Derb." Apparently "The Derb" thinks so, too.<BR/><BR/>And I have to say that, as a description of conservatism, it is not very compelling. That is, I myself do not see conservatism, as a movement, quite the same way that "The Derb" apparently does.Vitae Scrutatorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12808120163472036743noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14247942.post-1149780503850519102006-06-08T11:28:00.000-04:002006-06-08T11:28:00.000-04:00Well, ethics is non-cognitive anyway, right? Reall...Well, ethics is non-cognitive anyway, right? Really, it would seem that at least <I>some</I> case could be made for permitting early-term abortions in some circumstances -- I mean to say that people should be able to make an argument to that effect, not necessarily that it will be a successful one. What baffles me is that people so often just do not make one at all, and even more so that people try to pretend that being completely irrational about these things is somehow a superior way to approach the matter. <BR/><BR/>As someone who was pro-choice for most of his life and only fairly recently came to a different judgment, I can appreciate the sympathies that move pro-choice people. I still have them. I remain very uneasy about the idea of banning all abortions, and I am dissatisfied with arguments to the effect that people who get pregnant by accident should simply accept the consequences of their mistakes and deal with it -- though of course I am even less satisfied with the argument that they should just have abortions! I find myself frankly overwhelmed by the number of obstacles that stand in the way of a good solution to the problems that drive people towards abortion in the first place, and usually give up in face of the complexity. But what I do not do, what I can not do with any honesty, is pretend that the practice of abortion is consistent with belief in real human rights. Of course, I am often skeptical about <I>those</I>, too, but I am not willing to actually deny them. <BR/><BR/>Most people who are pro-choice aren't willing to deny human rights, either. There do exist pro-choice people who base their position on reflective arguments, but they are the minority (then again, so too are pro-life people who base <I>their</I> position on reflective arguments rather than, say, religious dogma). In most cases, I think, the recognition of how complex a question it must inevitably be leads to the conclusion that morality is just not black and white, just too complex to capture in rational discussion. There may be something philosophically to be said for that sort of particularism, but most people are not motivated by such concerns. The kind of bewilderment that people face is of a different sort, and something that we ought to appreciate -- the difficulty of making decisions is one of the reasons why we do moral philosophy in the first place, right? What is not nearly so understandable is that the people who are the loudest about the right to an abortion make no attempt to move beyond that bewilderment, and even go so far as to suggest that attempting to go beyond it is somehow cold-hearted. <BR/><BR/>My wife, who is working on a project having to do with the history of libraries in the state of Texas, was recently reading a master's thesis from 1923 in which the author, after pages of milky, laudatory prose about her favorite governor of Texas, went on to praise his genius in devising the system of segregated railway cars in order to solve problems that had arisen because of race tensions. That he did this before anyone had yet to think up of Jim Crow laws made him even more brilliant. She explained this in a way that made clear that she did not find it particularly problematic; she expected her audience to recognize her claims as obvious. The fact that people can think of themselves as so reasonable in the process of defending such blatantly racist policies ought to make clear why we all need to be even more critical and reflective about our beliefs instead of trying to legitimate our prejudices by appeal to emotions.<BR/><BR/>Thus concludes my sermon to the converted.djrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07752946730851928276noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14247942.post-1149780358235700602006-06-08T11:25:00.000-04:002006-06-08T11:25:00.000-04:00In Derbyshire's defenseAnd what a compelling defen...<I>In Derbyshire's defense</I><BR/><BR/>And what a compelling defense it is, too.Vitae Scrutatorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12808120163472036743noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14247942.post-1149772814241901692006-06-08T09:20:00.000-04:002006-06-08T09:20:00.000-04:00This kind of anti-intellectualism is not at all un...<I>This kind of anti-intellectualism is not at all uncommon these days, but it is a little more perplexing when it comes from those who like to pose as intellectuals.</I><BR/><BR/>In Derbyshire's defense, he <A HREF="http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=ZWY3ZWFlODEwNzY1MmFmN2FiZjI1ZDkzNzZjMjZkYTY=" REL="nofollow">does admit</A> that his is "an un-intellectual — all right, <I>anti</I>-intellectual — voice."Tomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14850575419673561383noreply@blogger.com