Daniel Clement Dennett (born March 28, 1942 in Boston, Massachusetts) is a prominent
American philosopher whose research centers on
philosophy of mind,
philosophy of science and
philosophy of biology, particularly as those fields relate to
evolutionary biology and
cognitive science. He is currently the Co-Director of the
Center for Cognitive Studies and the Austin B. Fletcher Professor of Philosophy at
Tufts University. Dennett is also a noted
atheist and advocate of the
Brights movement.
Wikipedia“ . . . I've come to realize it's time to sound the alarm.
Whether we Brights are a minority or, as I am inclined to believe, a silent majority, our deepest convictions are increasingly dismissed, belittled and condemned by those in power -- by politicians who go out of their way to invoke God and to stand, self-righteously preening, on what they call 'the side of the angels.'
. . . Politicians don't think they even have to pay us lip service, and leaders who wouldn't be caught dead making religious or ethnic slurs don't hesitate to disparage the 'godless' among us.
From the White House down, Bright-bashing is seen as a low-risk vote-getter. And, of course, the assault isn't only rhetorical: the Bush administration has advocated changes in government rules and policies to increase the role of religious organizations in daily life, a serious subversion of the Constitution. It is time to halt this erosion and to take a stand: the United States is not a religious state, it is a secular state that tolerates all religions and--yes--all manner of nonreligious ethical beliefs as well.”
~ Daniel C. Dennett, "The Bright Stuff," The New York Times, July 12, 2003
Wikipedia
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