Secularism versus atheism

I have been thinking recently about secularism versus atheism. Certainly atheism is a more militant concept, and perhaps because of that more enjoyable. It is easy and amusing to mock the religious fundamentalists.

However there is the risk that you come to resemble that which you despise, strident and intolerant. Not necessarily, or inevitably surely, but a risk. However, perhaps that kind of militantism is indeed what is needed to combat the rise of religious fundamentalism.

Maybe in the ecology of ideas perhaps fire must be fought with fire, fundamentalism with strong atheism. Certainly the former has spread dangerously far outside of its original niche, and the latter is similarly evolving and adapting so as to move out of its traditional niche, in large part in response to the former.

However I have my doubts that strong atheism will by itself be able to turn back the rising tide of superstition. The niche for strong atheism, whilst growing, would have difficulty capturing the middle ground.

The costs involved in becoming and being a strong atheist, essentially independent thought, are too high for most people. In contrast in terms of thinking it is relatively easy to become and be a religious fundamentalist, just uncritically accept whatever you are told by a designated source.

Actually by requiring the outsourcing of thinking to others fundamentalism has an evolutionary advantage over a meme that requires time and effort to be invested in thinking, though obviously the quality of the thinking is detrimentally effected.

However strong atheism does play an important part in balancing the ecology, as it changes the environment it which it operates, and the middle has to adapt to it as well, instead of just the fundamentalists.

Secularism however is not militant, and is all about the middle ground, staking it out as a common ground where everyone can safely come together.

"George Holyoake's 1896 publication English Secularism defines secularism as:

Secularism is a code of duty pertaining to this life, founded on considerations purely human, and intended mainly for those who find theology indefinite or inadequate, unreliable or unbelievable. Its essential principles are three: (1) The improvement of this life by material means. (2) That science is the available Providence of man. (3) That it is good to do good. Whether there be other good or not, the good of the present life is good, and it is good to seek that good.

Holyoake held that secularism and secular ethics should take no interest at all in religious questions (as they were irrelevant), and was thus to be distinguished from strong freethought and atheism. In this he disagreed with Charles Bradlaugh, and the disagreement split the secularist movement between those who argued that anti-religious movements and activism was not necessary or desirable and those who argued that it was." (Wikipedia Secularism article)

So secularism significantly reduces the costs to an individual in comparison to atheism and religion, by simply declaring that it isn't worth the effort to argue about that which can't be known. Instead it advocates just acting on what what we can know and presumably agree on, that this life is real and must be lived.

It also seeks to reduce the costs involved in conflict between different religious groups, by seeking to have public life based on common secular values, based on what it is required for people to survive and get along.

Such a system has been essential to the evolution of modern society, and history has shown that the costs of sectarianism can be very high indeed. It has never been easy for one sect to establish a seeming monopoly on a society, and the ability to do so is less so now due to the realities of the modern world.

LiPA 4 EB

It seems possible that the Liberal Party of Australia (LiPA) and the Exclusive Brethren (EB) have been caught in bed together, again.

It is possible that the Liberals have been forced to do their own dirty work in the Mayo by-election, but they are of course big believers in outsourcing.

Therefore I suspect that the Liberals are once again using the EB's as their footsoldiers in campaigns they don't want to be seen fighting.

Wind vetoes `Clean Coal'

The irony of the launching of the world's first scientific demonstration of carbon sequestration by Resources and Energy Minister Martin Ferguson being spoilt by strong winds seems to have been overlooked by the media.

The quest to clean coal by carbon geo-sequestration is an unproven technology, that at this point is more public relations exercise than actual solution.

Even if it should work will not be available for years, ie too late. It is therefore naturally attracting a lot of investment from the government as Climate Change policy in this country is written by the largest polluters, aka the Greenhouse Mafia. Business as usual, reality be damned.

Generating power from the wind however is an established technology and as recent events show there is a lot of wind about, apparently more and more in fact as the effects of Climate Change kick in. Earth to Martin, come in. Hello? Where is that wood? Who left all these trees lying about?

As Andrew Bartlett points out sequestration should not be dismissed out of hand but a rational analysis says we can't pin any significant hopes on it, let alone sit around and assume it will work and save us all. The opportunity cost of the focus on sequestration is huge in terms of investment in renewable energy technologies, you know, the technologies that actually work.

The above report doesn't indicate whether it was a bright sunny day, but it does remind me of the cartoon that I saw on a postcard once of two guys standing in a flat landscape under a blaring sun looking down and saying there must be a source of energy down there somewhere.

Or perhaps of that `parable' about the Christian who drowns believing God will save him after ignoring the radio announcement, row boat and the helicopter God sends (which I heard on the West Wing - Take this Sabbath Day).

Martin Ferguson roasting under a burning sun, barely able to stand in the cyclonic wind conditions is finally washed away in a turbulent flood all the while desperately trying to scrub coal clean is his leisurely search for a clean source of energy. Don't worry, no need to rush, coal company public relations experts are on the job. Yeah, we're saved.

Still stockpiling canned goods not the craziest idea so long as you remember to get a manual can-opener.