Reply #4

It's very nice to see people standing up for rational thought, which can make a claim to pulling us out of the dark ages of mysticism. Mysticism truly is the most fabulous refuge for scoundrels of all kinds.

The true foundation of rationalism, though, is not atheism -- but ignorance. We simply don't know. We have theories, data, and statistical inference, but we can never know anything for sure. This was Socrates courageous stand, and its a hard one to sell.

Rationalism is a great leveller, though. We're all at the mercy of the smartest, rather than at the mercy of the priests -- and intellegence pervades all classes, races, sexes, sexualities, and so on.

This is still the hope of the future. In the technological age, the nerds rule. I suppose we'll just have to have faith in their average benevolence ...