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How the New Atheists Are Reminding the Humanities of Their Place and Purpose in Society

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How the New Atheists Are Reminding the Humanities of Their Place and Purpose in Society University of Louisville ThinkIR: The University of Louisville's Institutional Repository Electronic Theses and Dissertations 12-2018 The emperor's new clothes: how the new atheists are reminding the humanities of their place and purpose in society. David Ira Buckner University of Louisville Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.library.louisville.edu/etd Part of the Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons Recommended Citation Buckner, David Ira, "The emperor's new clothes: how the new atheists are reminding the humanities of their place and purpose in society." (2018). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 3112. https://doi.org/10.18297/etd/3112 This Doctoral Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by ThinkIR: The University of Louisville's Institutional Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ThinkIR: The University of Louisville's Institutional Repository. This title appears here courtesy of the author, who has retained all other copyrights. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE EMPEROR’S NEW CLOTHES: HOW THE NEW ATHEISTS ARE REMINDING THE HUMANITIES OF THEIR PLACE AND PURPOSE IN SOCIETY By David Ira Buckner B.S., East Tennessee State University, 2006 M.A., East Tennessee State University, 2008 A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences of the University of Louisville In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Humanities Department of Comparative Humanities University of Louisville Louisville, Kentucky December 2018 THE EMPEROR’S NEW CLOTHES: HOW THE NEW ATHEISTS ARE REMINDING THE HUMANITIES OF THEIR PLACE AND PURPOSE IN SOCIETY By David Ira Buckner B.S., East Tennessee State University, 2006 M.A., East Tennessee State University, 2008 A Dissertation Approved on November 9, 2018 by the following Dissertation Committee: ________________________________ Professor Thomas Maloney ________________________________ Professor George Shields ________________________________ Professor Patrick Pranke ________________________________ Professor Guy Dove ii DEDICATION This work is dedicated to my mom, Mary Ruth Buckner, to whom I owe all the best parts of myself, and to my niece, Bella Neely, in whom my faith in humanity is reaffirmed each day. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank the members of my committee for their guidance and expertise these past several years. Dr. Shields, your captaining of this project has been exemplary from day one, consistently serving to steer my oft erratic efforts toward more maneuverable harbors and evermore enlightened horizons. Sir, I am forever in your debt. Dr. Maloney, your affable enthusiasm and rapier wit made you both a trusted friend and a formidable opponent on this project. Sparring with you has been one of the singular joys of my professional life and has sharpened the focus of my work considerably. For that, sir, I am eternally grateful. Dr. Pranke, your knowledge and politely probing demeanor have opened my eyes to new worlds and ways of thinking I simply could not have conceived of before. Thank you for helping me to look past the limitations and liabilities of my own worldview to explore the intricacies and ideals of others. A special thank you to Drs. Annette Allen and Osborne Wiggins, whose kindness, friendship, and tutelage I can never repay. My heartfelt thanks and affection to you both. To my mother, Mary Ruth Buckner, and my uncle, Travis Ball, Jr., my deepest gratitude for serving as my editors and sounding boards not only on this project but indeed throughout my entire academic career. Much of my success I owe directly to you. And finally, a special thanks to Lisa Schonburg, whose compassion and selfless dedication to this department make the more burdensome aspects of academic bureaucracy infinitely more bearable for me and my fellow students. For all your many kindnesses, Lisa, thank you. iv ABSTRACT THE EMPORER’S NEW CLOTHES: HOW THE NEW ATHEISTS ARE REMINDING THE HUMANITIES OF THEIR PLACE AND PURPOSE IN SOCIETY David Ira Buckner November 9, 2018 This dissertation will examine the social and intellectual impact of the so-called “New Atheism” as evidenced by the writings and public careers of its four principal protagonists: evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins, philosopher Daniel Dennett, journalist Christopher Hitchens, and neuroscientist Sam Harris. I will argue that the New Atheists together provide an account of reality philosophically superior to that of theism, including those superficially sophisticated variations espoused in the writings of scholars William Lane Craig, John Lennox, Allister McGrath, Alvin Plantinga, etc. Yet, even if this were not so, I would still contend that the accessible, informative, and provocative style of the New Atheists’ prose nevertheless epitomizes precisely what academic writing could and should be. Their commitment to the Enlightenment principles of philosophical objectivity, reason, and the successes of the scientific method stands in stark contrast not only to the more malleable methodology of their religious opponents, but also to the prevailing (and ideologically- conflicting) traditions of deconstructive postmodernism and post-structuralism (as exemplified in the works of Jean Baudrillard, Gilles Deleuze, Jacques Derrida, Jacques Lacan, and others) which have greatly influenced humanities’ scholarship in recent decades. v Therefore, while I very much intend to defend the substance of the New Atheists’ arguments against the various objections of their philosophical, religious, and scientific critics, I simultaneously mean to defend their stylistic choices as well (not only against their critics but also as compared to the obscurant, equivocal, and highly subjective style so often employed by postmodernists). It is my fervent hope that even those who should ultimately disagree with either the New Atheists’ assertions or my defense of them will still be able to see the value of their (and hopefully my) clear, concise brand of communication. For theirs is a style no longer widely employed within the confines of the academy. That said, I believe that the humanities disciplines of history, literary theory, cultural studies, and philosophy would greatly benefit, were they to adopt (or perhaps re-embrace) the communicative model and underlying realist epistemology of the New Atheists. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION ......................................................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..................................................................................................... iv ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................................. v INTRODUCTION: A SWAN SONG AND A SIREN CALL ................................................. 1 CHAPTER ONE: GOD, THE DEVIL, AND DAWKINS: THE GOD DELUSION AND ITS CRITICS ................................................................................................................................. 17 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 17 Part I: The God Delusion ........................................................................................................ 19 Part II: Criticisms and Rebuttals ............................................................................................. 55 CHAPTER TWO: BREAKING THE SPELL: DENNETT AND HIS DISCONTENTS ...... 115 Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 115 Part I: Breaking the Spell ...................................................................................................... 117 Part II: Criticisms and Rebuttals ........................................................................................... 139 CHAPTER THREE: A TRUE DEVIL’S ADVOCATE: THE CONSCIENTIOUS CONTRARIANISM OF CHRISTOPHER HITCHENS ...................................................... 189 Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 189 Part I: god is Not Great ......................................................................................................... 191 Part II: Criticisms and Rebuttals ........................................................................................... 225 CHAPTER FOUR: SUPERSEDING THE SUPERNATURAL: SAM HARRIS AND THE END OF FAITH ................................................................................................................... 283 Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 283 Part I: The End of Faith ........................................................................................................ 285 Part II: Criticisms and Rebuttals ........................................................................................... 309 CHAPTER FIVE: A PRELIMINARY POSTMORTEM ON POSTMODERNISM ........... 352 Introduction/Disclosure......................................................................................................... 352 Part I: An (Un)Timely Dissection ........................................................................................
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