Post #1971736

2026-05-04 19:07 UTC

Richard Dawkins falling in love with an imaginary being in the form of his AI chatbot is genuinely funny, pitiable, and ironic. It's also a good moment to look at what genuine critical thinking looks like, and how many self-professed skeptics like Dawkins actually get worse at it, not better. 1/

Replies (3)

@Tattie@eldritch.cafe 2026-05-04 19:07

Critical thinking involves examining what you believe, how you came to believe it, what emotional processes you notice in yourself in relation to those beliefs, and whether they truly fit your observations of the world around you. Now Dawkins was raised Christian, questioned his beliefs, and rejected them. So he showed clear evidence of this ability, once. But that was a long time ago. 2/

Open ##1992875
@Tattie@eldritch.cafe 2026-05-10 22:01

@Tooden@aus.social since Pratchett has already been shown some love in this thread I'll quote his idea that "treating people as things" is the root cause. Patriarchy— as the objectification of women— is perhaps the oldest instance of this, but see also colonialism, capitalism, feudalism... @thatfrisiangirlish@blahaj.zone

Open ##2382040
@tompearce49@mastodon.scot 2026-05-10 07:23

@Tattie@eldritch.cafe Thank you for a thoughtful Sunday morning read. I ought to be washing breakfast dishes and instead find myself in the company of all those in this thread, people who think about (and are critical of) their own thoughts, something Dawkins signally fails to do.

Open ##2382048