Thoughts in a Haystack

Glen Davidson, in a comment, catches the essence of Ben Stein's rhetoric about "freedom," namely that Stein can't help but allow his despotic authoritarian tendencies to come out. What he really wants is for scientists like Darwin to shut up. From an interview with Stein in Citizen magazine, the house organ of James Dobson's organization, Focus on the Family:

Q: What would you like to say to Darwin?

A: "You are a wealthy man, you married a wealthy woman, why don't you just live quietly out in the countryside and not torture us with your half-baked suppositions, which have caused so much misery?"

I want to emphasize, Darwin was not like the crazed neo-Darwinists of today. Darwin believed in the freedom of inquiry. He encouraged there to be further study and debate. He said that in writing before he died.

Neo-Darwinists ask us to believe in things not seen. We're not supposed to have an established religion in America, but we do, and it's called Darwinism.

Glen astutely point out:

The guy can't help but contradict himself. All he wants to happen is for Darwin, and those who accept his theory, to shut up, the complete opposite of their claims to desire freedom and open inquiry.

And of course we happen to believe in freedom of inquiry, Stein is just too stupid and dishonest to even consider how this could be the case.

Certainly we don't want them to believe in things not seen (the IDists obviously do), we want people to have the freedom to observe and to follow the evidence. The evidence of evolution is quite visible and quite easily seen, except for those who just want scientists to shut up, as Ben obviously does.

Well, they said they wanted the truth to come out. It did, it just happens that the truth is that they're censors who are opposed to allowing scientists the freedom to conduct the methods of science -- like publishing their results.

Ignorance of science and argument from consequences ... together again, courtesy of Ben Stein.
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