One of the leading thinkers of the ‘New Accomodationist’ movement, Guy Framey, today attacked the views of many leading science writers who recently claimed “religiousness is compatible with science - so long as the believing scientist has a sufficient level of cognitive dissonance”.
“It’s this sort of “facty” thinking that makes the rest of us normal folk despise those white coated lab freaks” said Framey, speaking at the launch of his new book “Unscientific and Hysterical”.
Framey at work
“I just don’t think they’ve thought it through. Just because every single religious scientist demonstrates fantastic levels of compartmentalisation, completely separating their scientific work from their religious views, they seem to think that it’s a general phenomenon.”
“They completely reject the one piece of evidence from the only source the public holds with the utmost confidence – focus group poll results. These polls tell us that the public doesn’t like the idea of cognitive dissonance, finding it “icky”, “not warm and fuzzy, the way we like it” and “a bit too close for comfort”.
“It’s time to take science back from 'scientists' and give it to the one group of professionals with the knowledge, respect for facts and necessary ethical framework to bring the field of human knowledge to the next level - journalists.
Framey’s attack drew a rapid response this afternoon from three of the leading atheist scientists PZ Coyne, PZ Dawkins and PZ Moran.
“Quite frankly I’m shocked”, exclaimed Coyne.
“We never had such problems with the old school moderate accomodationists like Carl Sagan or Stephen Jay Gould. It’s the ‘New Accomodationists’ who have adopted this rather bigoted and narrow approach to accomodationism.”
“I just don’t see their problem”, added Moran, “why can’t they just admit that science, religiousness and cognitive dissonance are compatible”.
“I think fundamentalist religions have a lot to answer for in today’s world”, said Professor PZ Dawkins, “yet it’s clear that fundamentalistic accomodationism is just as bad”
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