>Yes, I know like produces like. However, sometimes emotional arguments can
>make points that rational ones can't, such as people tend to follow what
Dawkins
>says without really stopping to think about the meaning of what he's saying.
I would like to strongly discourage this type of argument. Even if your
misguided attempt to get people to question Dawkins assertions via
argumentum ad hominem
(http://www.infidels.org/news/atheism/logic.html#hominem)
was partially successful, that doesn't change the fact that it was literally
a bad argument.
>Much of the effect of using a Dawkins quote comes from the power of his
>personality, not from the rationality of his words.
Much of the effect of using a Dawkins quote comes from his status as
an expert in the field of evolutionary biology (and there is nothing
wrong with that).
>I think that point has been made on this thread and it's much more useful to
>realize this point than to argue about this or that aspect of some theory.
>I think this point was made _because_ I attacked Dawkins the way I did.
>(So I guess I don't really "regret" it after all.)
I regret getting sucked into that waste of time and effort (and believe
me it did take a lot of time and effort). If your goal was to lose a great
deal of credibility on this list you have succeeded admirably.
Yes I'm bitter, does it show? ... :-)
-- David McFadzean david@lucifer.com Memetic Engineer http://www.lucifer.com/~david/ Church of Virus http://www.lucifer.com/virus/