Ghost of a flea: Higher purpose

October 09, 2004

Higher purpose

Robert Wright writes about his interview with Daniel Dennett, declaring it to be "bad news for Dennett's many atheist devotees."

He recently declared that life on earth shows signs of having a higher purpose. Worse still, he did it on videotape, during an interview for my website meaningoflife.tv.

As one of those folks who has a materialist conception of evolution and yet knows there is a higher purpose to life (ahem...) I am pleased to report Daniel Dennett regards this as a "not obviously incoherent" position. It is important to note, however, that he does not "buy it". Fair enough. Having missed that important caveat Wright should do as Dennett suggests and watch the interview again.

A higher purpose is not necessarily a divine purpose. Wright is at best confused about the terms in which he and Dennett compose their philosophies and inadvertantly engaged in equivocation. A "probabilistic direction toward complexity and intelligence" no more suggests a Creator than trend-trading in the stock market. It is difficult to explain the jump from Denett's cautious skepticism to Andrew Sullivan's breathless claim that an "atheist recants".

No, he doesn't. So, a hat tip to Dr. Sullivan for the link and me left scratching my head at his post. There is the possibility Wright and Sullivan intentionally confuse Dennett's use of the term "higher purpose" with one that would support belief in a big-D Designer of life. To do so as a debating point to win over people who have not read Dennett's work strikes me to be a pointless waste of time. Worse yet is the possibility Wright and Sullivan want their faith to be underpinned by scientific authority. This would not only mistake Dennett's position but, in my opinion, misunderestimate the difference between experimental and revealed truth to the diminishment of both.

Posted by Ghost of a flea at October 9, 2004 11:53 AM

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Comments

I wrote this one quite early this morning and had forgotten "misunderestimate" is now part of my vocabulary.

Posted by: Flea at October 9, 2004 02:17 PM

My 2 cents?

Wright and Sullivan are both dorks. ;-) Dennet's "Darwin's Dangerous Idea" is a fascinating book, even if I don't buy 100% of it. Wright's book "Nonzero" was so silly it was hard to finish, but it had enough of a train wreck going on that I managed it.

Posted by: Curt at October 10, 2004 03:20 PM