tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310450667755637519.post5863855322692748048..comments2023-10-14T09:40:06.690-05:00Comments on Jean Kazez: The Templeton TemptationJean Kazezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00592593002719828153noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310450667755637519.post-16432693948584188582010-03-02T17:31:14.864-06:002010-03-02T17:31:14.864-06:00George Orwell writes somewhere that he refuses to ...George Orwell writes somewhere that he refuses to go to cocktail parties with politicians, because being a friendly fellow, he would probably end up liking many of them and that that would be the end of his critical eye. I think that it's true that generally if one socializes with people, one ends up liking a fair number of them and loses one's critical sense of their ideological, s. wallersteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17448905469871566228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310450667755637519.post-35760667126034600622010-03-02T15:00:46.852-06:002010-03-02T15:00:46.852-06:00I read the history very differently, as you know. ...I read the history very differently, as you know. <br /><br />As to accepting a Templeton (or not)--I hereby announce my willingness to be offered a fellowship. It would be a lot of fun to have to make the decision, as opposed to thinking very theoretically about what it would be like to make the decision. Note to Templeton Foundation: make that an apartment for 4 please, and we'd like a Jean Kazeznoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310450667755637519.post-26672193324449040912010-03-02T13:40:38.140-06:002010-03-02T13:40:38.140-06:00Jean -
Well I didn't affirmatively flat-out ...Jean - <br /><br />Well I didn't affirmatively flat-out <i>say</i> he was a self-hating atheist - I said I would call him that. Nuance! I don't claim to know that, I'm saying that's how he strikes me.<br /><br />And yes of course one has a right of self-defense, but then Mooney was 'under so much fire' because other people have a right of self-defense too - and also Ophelia Bensonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310450667755637519.post-62246778552094186882010-03-02T12:37:50.790-06:002010-03-02T12:37:50.790-06:00Ophelia, I think you're entirely right that th...Ophelia, I think you're entirely right that the Templeton Foundation includes non-believers to make themselves look more credible and objective. So yes, that's part of what you'd need to think about if you didn't share their agenda, and you were offered the cushy deal in Cambridge. I look forward to reading your article in TPM. <br /><br />As to Mooney being self-hating...<br />Jean Kazezhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00592593002719828153noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310450667755637519.post-48177949258463156572010-03-02T12:06:46.408-06:002010-03-02T12:06:46.408-06:00I really don't know how it works, but I find h...I really don't know how it works, but I find his animus against atheists mystifying, and I think if he really is still an atheist, he must be at least somewhat hostile to that part of himself.<br /><br />I know the claim is that he is just giving advice on strategy, but given all the repetition, in the mainstream media at that, I don't find that credible. (Not least because if he were Ophelia Bensonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310450667755637519.post-57373484422197630222010-03-02T11:22:16.377-06:002010-03-02T11:22:16.377-06:00"It's not just a matter of whether they w..."It's not just a matter of whether they will corrupt the particular people who take their dime - it also has to do with the way things like this lend them an air of legitimacy."<br /><br />This is a very good point. "Legitimacy" is coin of the realm in the world where mass media and intellectual discourse collide. <br /><br /><br />"would call him more of a Faustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310450667755637519.post-80684760916769481892010-03-02T11:10:13.731-06:002010-03-02T11:10:13.731-06:00I think about this kind of thing too - and about t...I think about this kind of thing too - and about this one in particular! It does sound hugely appealing...I love Cambridge (and that's why Templeton set the thing up there, of course - Cambridge is highly attractive). There's even a book allowance. Sheesh.<br /><br />But I know people who have had the strength of mind to turn them down.<br /><br />It's not just a matter of whether Ophelia Bensonhttp://www.butterfliesandwheels.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310450667755637519.post-74028243432200612262010-03-02T09:58:35.790-06:002010-03-02T09:58:35.790-06:00What RTK said. And lets face it:
In a society lik...What RTK said. And lets face it:<br /><br />In a society like ours, where everything is tightly linked together by an enormous amoral exchange system, moral compromise is the name of the game. Invest in the stock market "ethically?" I suppose that can be done. Maybe. But you are going hamstring your portfolio if you take your ethics too seriously. How about that corporate job in the Faustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310450667755637519.post-66562684344665060222010-03-02T09:03:59.256-06:002010-03-02T09:03:59.256-06:00Wayne, I suspect I'd do the same thing.
rtk, ...Wayne, I suspect I'd do the same thing.<br /><br />rtk, I used to work with researchers who took money from very dubious sources, and you could have had suspicions of undue influence, if you didn't know them. But I did know them. Lesson learned: don't draw hasty conclusions about funding sources and influence.Jean Kazezhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00592593002719828153noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310450667755637519.post-87110859175333748982010-03-02T07:21:35.811-06:002010-03-02T07:21:35.811-06:00Sleeping with the enemy is often the only source o...Sleeping with the enemy is often the only source of income. So many graduates of cinema of some form go on to do commercials instead of making the Sundance award list. My friend, a strong believer in everything ecologically wise, gets his generous support for his university labs from Monsanto. Chemists must cringe at their major dependence on pharmaceutical devils.rtkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11565006451158819782noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310450667755637519.post-63733077492182381702010-03-01T19:54:20.525-06:002010-03-01T19:54:20.525-06:00Socrates says in the Crito that we shouldn't c...Socrates says in the Crito that we shouldn't care much about the opinions of those who don't know. I'd take the money and continue supporting what I support, and if people suddenly see different motives for my support, then so be it.Waynehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08627147979307495870noreply@blogger.com