Verne and Dennett
My morning walk - face buried in Breaking the Spell - led me to a used books shop, stuffy air and wooden floors mandatory. The place ain’t just a book shop, but that’s the majority of their stock. Some of the other items on offer break the enchantment I strive to create, and I’ll skip those details.
I walked into the store with one book, but came out with two - $12 less in currency. I’m now the proud new owner of a hard cover, illustrated, nicely detailed with art copy of A Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne.
Thus far, my experience with Verne’s books is limited to Treasure Island, a novel read with great pleasure when I was a child. For some reason, I recall that the edition of the book I read was part one of two, and that I’m still not familiar with the second half of the story (it had not been available at the library, and I hadn’t pursued the matter further.)
I find it amazing that these books were written in the 19th century. In my mind they are always as current and relevant as Harry Potter books, but this could be a simple case of limited familiarity with the actual novels - that’ll change to a degree soon.
Adventures aside, I like some of the points made by Dennett in my current reading. He asks the atheist to imagine a new and reputable study which suggests that music in any shape or form is likely to make all, including the casual listener, more violent, intolerant, and immoral. Knowing the bad effects of music, would we still not crave and need it? Most likely - even if claims of the negative effects of music had been proven beyond doubt - few would abstain from it. The urge for music is now built in, and no logic or fact can do much to counter it.
I concede the point, and admit that it’d likely take a long time - perhaps in excess of my lifetime - to curb my own enthusiasm and exposure to music. Maybe Dennett is heading where I’m about to go with saying that I and many atheists have no desire to rid the individual of his or her religion. Simply, we ask the theist to understand the power religion holds over the mind, and that he not force others to adhere to the theist’s beliefs, especially young children. This courtesy should not only extend to fellow citizens, and need include the children of theists. Allow the young mind to make choices on merit, observation, and experience. Nurture their interests, and help them explore all possibilities. Any way you look at it, it seems to be the most admirable thing to do.