Re: Labels and Obfuscations

From: John Edser (edser_at_tpg.com.au)
Date: 02/22/05 

Date: Tue, 22 Feb 2005 01:25:17 -0500 (EST)

lamoran@bioinfo.med.utoronto.ca (Larry Moran) wrote:-

> > Don't get me wrong. I am not claiming that it is intellectually
> > shoddy behavior to use ANY of these words. I am only suggesting
> > that readers should subject these uses to some extra scrutiny.
> > Perhaps if more readers did so, the wielders of these labels
> > would use them only when they welcome this extra scrutiny.

> LM:-
> I've used the word "kook" to describe Edser, McGinn, and Hendricks.
> They aren't the only kooks on sci.bio.evolution - recently we've
attracted
> another famous kook whose particular bete noir is Haldane's Dilemma.
> I welcome any extra scutiny you'd care to apply.

JE:-
Dr Moran has seen fit to open a witch hunt in the
name of science so now he has to take full responsibility
for it. The only defence against a witch hunt is
for the hapless accused to ask the inquisitor for a refutation
of what a witch is supposed to be. Just like the word "witch"
the word "kook" requires such a refutation if it is to
mean anything more than just very childish rhetorical abuse.
Is Dr Moran going to provide one? Does Dr Moran agree
that if he does not provide this entirely missing refutation
(which must NOT be just a non verification of what he thinks
a non "kook" is) he is proven to be so outrageously wrong
that he should apologise forthwith? The burden of proof
now shifts entirely to Dr Moran, i.e. he has to prove he
is innocent of this charge because he used a term of
abuse in a non refutable way. The arm of Popper,
(like the arm of the law) is very extensive ;-)

My prediction is Dr Moran will never reply. This is
sufficient proof for anybody who is reasonable that
Dr Moran is so hopelessly wrong in his employment of
this term of abuse that he can now validly
be defined to be an intellectual thug by anybody, i.e.
not a fit and proper person to debate evolutionary
theory. I hope his students read this and take note
because their future is the hands of people like
Moran.

My most sincere regards,

John Edser
Independent Researcher

PO Box 266
Church Pt
NSW 2105
Australia

edser@tpg.com.au