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Sunday, November 28, 2010

The Outsider Test of College Profs.

One of the revealing features of Hector Avalos is his intellectual evasiveness. He tries to create a Catch-22 situation to immunize his positions from rational scrutiny.

1. For instance, if members of Triablogue criticize his argument for moral relativism, he tries to disqualify us because we’re “rank amateurs.”

(Mind you, one non-expert can comment on the inexpertise of another non-expert. Metaethics is not his field.)

2. If, on the other hand, someone like Paul Manata solicits expert opinion regarding Hector’s argument for moral relativism, then Avalos goes behind the scenes to see if he can get their critical evaluations stricken from the public record.

3. Not surprisingly, he also doesn’t like it when I quote negative student evaluations of his job performance. Yet all I did was administer the Outsider Test of College Profs. to Hector Avalos.

Shouldn’t Avalos welcome outside scrutiny? Doesn’t his sidekick, John Loftus, constantly urge that on Christians?

4. BTW, assuming that Manata and I are rank amateurs in the field of ethics and metaethics, why is Avalos so judgmental? Wouldn’t that put Manata and me in a condition of diminished responsibility? Wouldn’t that mitigate our alleged “flagrant ethical violations?”

I’d just explain to the judge, in my best Bronx accent (e.g. "toity-toid ohn toid"):

“But, your Honor, I’m a socially deprived child of tragic circumstances. I didn’t know any better!”

3 comments:

  1. "They are rid of the Christian God and now believe all the more firmly that they must cling to Christian morality. They must rehabilitate themselves after ever little emancipation from religion by showing in a veritably awe-inspiring way what moral fanatics they are. That is their penance." --Nietzsche

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  2. "Yet all I did was administer the Outsider Test of College Profs. to Hector Avalos."

    Sounds reasonable to me.

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  3. 2. If, on the other hand, someone like Paul Manata solicits expert opinion regarding Hector’s argument for moral relativism, then Avalos goes behind the scenes to see if he can get their critical evaluations stricken from the public record.

    3. Not surprisingly, he also doesn’t like it when I quote negative student evaluations of his job performance. Yet all I did was administer the Outsider Test of College Profs. to Hector Avalos.

    Shouldn’t Avalos welcome outside scrutiny? Doesn’t his sidekick, John Loftus, constantly urge that on Christians?


    Indeed, it seems the antitheist insistence on claiming the "peer-reviewed" high ground is itself subject to situation ethics. That's deep. What is a rank amateur like I to make of all this profundity? *nodding solemnly*

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