Lundahl (2022s) Inappropriately Comments on Harris (2010) and Dennett (2006) Without Reading Them
Kevin R. Henke
October 14, 2022
In Henke (2022av), I further commented on human consciousness:
“Now, there’s absolutely no evidence that the supernatural is involved in the functioning of the human brain or our ability to reason, including philosophize (e.g., Harris 2010; Dennett 2006; Henke 2020ap).”
Lundahl (2022s) then responds:
“Already read Henke2022ap, see above. Pinker gives no account for our ability to philosophise validly. The titles of Harris and of Dennett seem to deal with a totally different problem, how some kind of morality (not moral universals) and some kind of religion (which is distinct from logic universals used in philosophising) arose. A title like The Moral Landscape: How Science Can Determine Hunan Values: doesn't even seem to investigate how morality arose, only how science can change morality - of which we have very painful pretty recent examples why it shouldn't do so. Say eugenics 100 years ago.” [my emphasis]
In Henke (2022hc) and Henke (2022hd), I further discuss Mr. Lundahl’s inadequate responses to Pinker (2007) in Lundahl (2022s) and other issues dealing with human consciousness.
Notice that Lundahl (2022s) improperly judges the contents of Harris (2010) and Dennett (2006) solely based on the titles of the books. It’s obvious that Mr. Lundahl is just speculating on the contents of these two books because he has not read them! How does Lundahl (2022s) even know what Harris means about a “Moral Landscape”, when he hasn’t read Harris (2010)? Now, Lundahl (2022j) falsely accused me of commenting on Lewis (1960) without reading it:
“While Miracles, by C. S. Lewis, was a reference I did bother to give, did not give in the Chicago format, and he finally found it out, between 15th of March, when I finished a few prequels to the final essay, and 15th of May, when Henke responded, he did not in fact take the time to read that reference. His freedom ... but if he didn't read it, he might have been wiser to not comment on it so much.”
Well, Mr. Lundahl, I read Lewis (1960) and found it badly written and argued (Henke 2022as). Why don’t you take your own advice and read Dennett (2006) and Harris (2010) before you dare to comment on their contents? There’s an old saying that literally applies here: “You can’t judge a book by its title.” Mr. Lundahl can translate that into Latin for his benefit.
Both Harris (2010) and Dennett (2006) cover a wide range of topics that go beyond their titles. Harris (2010) discusses all aspects of morality, including its origins (e.g., pp. 50-53). Dennett (2006) discusses morality as well. Mr. Lundahl, do you know Sam Harris’ positions on moral relativism and universal morals (e.g., pp. 190-191)? Actually read Harris (2010) and get rid of your misconceptions.
References
Dennett, D.C. 2006. Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon: Viking Penguin: London, UK, 448pp.
Harris, S. 2010. The Moral Landscape: How Science Can Determine Hunan Values: Free Press: New York, N.Y., USA, 291pp.
Lewis, C.S. 1960. Miracles, 2nd ed., printed 1974: Harper One: HarperCollinsPublishers, 294pp.
Pinker, S. (29 January 2007). "The Brain: The Mystery of Consciousness". Time Magazine. (accessed October 7, 2022).