Jonathan Haidt: More Whataboutism

I have posted many times about whataboutism regarding liberals and conservatives (link). Jonathan Haidt's recent media blitz discussing his recent Atlantic article entitled, "Why the Past 10 Years of American Life Have Been Uniquing Stupid" is a good representative of this point of view. No reasonable person can deny the bad actions of some on the political left regarding the intolerance of free speech. However, it is unreasonable to compare the relatively small fringe on the left doing such with the massive movement by conservatives to end democracy in the USA.

This link will give one more insight into his blind spot.

Republicans: False Equivalency Is Magical Thinking

Those who have problems with cause and effect vs correlation, and are resistant to objective evidence, are magical thinkers. Those who accept claims only with sufficient objective evidence are science-based thinkers. (link) It is clear that Republicans as a US political group are strongly leaning toward magical thinking. Once again, their weak defense of the indefensible (the insurrection involving the attack on the US Capitol on January 6th) by using false equivalency/whataboutism is a glaring sign of their magical thinking and moral immaturity. To say it is about time for the Republicans to wake up to reality and change is an understatement.

MAGICAL THINKING IS A BRAIN POISON

Whataboutism and Christianity

"Some of the terms we use to describe political rhetoric are as old as politics itself (see ad hominem attacks, or such devices as synecdoche, metonymy, or zeugma). Others are more recent additions, driven by the evolution of the news cycle (like fake news and dog whistles).

"But hey, aren’t we ignoring a bigger subject here? How can we talk about rhetorical devices and not mention whataboutism?

" - - - it’s essentially a reversal of accusation, arguing that an opponent is guilty of an offense just as egregious or worse than what the original party was accused of doing, however unconnected the offenses may be.

" - - - Rhetoricians generally consider it to be a form of tu quoque, which means "you too" in Latin and involves charging your accuser with whatever it is you've just been accused of rather than refuting the truth of the accusation made against you. Tu quoque is considered to be a logical fallacy because whether or not the original accuser is likewise guilty of an offense has no bearing on the truth value of the original accusation." (link)

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Why am I discussing this term? Christian apologists throw it at skeptics when discussing the reliability of the Bible as a historical source. Here is a link comparing the evidence of the Jesus in the Bible and other ancient historical individuals. Please remember that there are no primary sources in support of the Bible as history. When you add in the supernatural claims, the bar is high indeed for acceptance of the Bible as history.

The Erroneous Thinking Of Sam Harris

One of the most known personalities in the promotion of atheism and science-based thinking is Sam Harris. I follow him semi-regularly and appreciate his work. However, I can no longer stay silent in the face of his continued bias as represented in this recent podcast. Following are examples of this erroneous thinking:

He supports the Alt Right's “Intellectual Dark Web.” He believes that Islam is the only reason for 9/11, but ignores Israeli terror on the Palestinians. He accepts the discredited racial pseudoscience of Charles Murray. He doesn't accept the reality of systemic racism or unconscious bias. He is not accepting of the full spectrum of evidence regarding police violence. (link) (link) (link) (link) (link) (link) (link) (link) 

(link) (link) (link) (link) (link) (link) (link) 

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11/27/2020 - UPDATE: This link debunks him regarding his claim that "the police used more deadly force against white people—both in absolute numbers and in terms of their contribution to crime and violence in our society."

12/10/2020 - UPDATE: This link shows his continuing "blind spot."

1/15/2021 - UPDATE: This link focuses on his whataboutism/false equivalency regarding the insurrection at the US Capitol on January 6th.

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