The Delusion of the Middle

A community of peers is necessary to promote understanding and growth within a given field. Peer review is essential to the progress of continued growth whether it is a hard science or soft science.

The softer sciences of politics, philosophy and psychology are now in a state of retarded development due to a delusion of the middle, aperspectival madness and a lack of proper developmental understanding.

As an example of the delusion of the middle is Richard Dawkin's refusal to verify the reality of climate change/global warming when he appeared on Up with Chris Hayes. As a trained scientist, Dawkins should have adequate understanding of the science that is requisite for an informed opinion on the matter of climate change. Greenhouse gases trap energy and humans are creating significant greenhouse gas emissions. The science is simple enough, so why would Dawkins fail to acknowledge such basic scientific consensus? The only reasonable answer is a delusion of the middle which is a misguided intellectual conceit that truth can only be found in the middle of ideological camps. It seems strange that a man with such outspoken atheistic convictions succombs to such folly, but that serves as an example of how pervasive and subtle the delusion of the middle is. Sam Harris argues this same point in his short essay, The Fireplace Delusion.

The delusion is pervasive and harmful to the intellectual growth of culture in similiar manner that religion affects political policy. Congratulations are in order for Stanley Fish for his perception and contribution regarding this subject. A noble but misguided labor to prove impartiality and to rise above the fray is how the high ground is compromised and disconence is created.

Let us form a community of peers to rescue one another from this moral hazard that prevents us from speaking truth and bearing the banner of modern enlightenment. Let us keep rational skepticism and the higher ground.

As a side note: the Bottom Line reminds us to look at corruption, state by state...and let us, or let me review the problem with Atheism...