The British news has been filled with the trump of doom - some of the world's leading academics have gotten together and called themselves an institute, as Paul Simon might have said - a private university in London set to charge twice the amount allowed for public universities: £18,000. What no one seems to have remarked upon is that several of the key figures in this extraordinary move are also the leading British atheist-intellectuals, A.C. Grayling, Richard Dawkins; also to teach is Ronald Dworkin, not known for his support of religious beliefs, to put it mildly. Also to be teaching is famous atheist and psychologist Stephen Pinker. The distinguished astrophysicist Lawrence Krauss, a top American atheist, will teach science. Historian Niall Ferguson, the famous atheist from Harvard, will also teach. Steve Jones, the controversial atheist scientist, is also on board. Indeed, it is striking how little has been made of this intellectually homogeneous group of thinkers - what sort of Liberal Arts education can such a group offer, with such little sympathy for one of the key cultural forces in human culture? Atheists like Dawkins always promise a better world free from religion, but his first major move to create a new form of education in the UK is the least charitable ever announced, and its dog-eat-dog elitism smacks of the worst sort of conservative social Darwinism, despite the claim of the "pink tinge" among the professors. (note: due to helpful comments, I have edited out the reference to Ferguson being Irish; I should also note, these professors also all appear to be white, older, and male, a rather unwelcoming patriarchy for the heart of multicultural London).
THAT HANDSOME MAN A PERSONAL BRIEF REVIEW BY TODD SWIFT I could lie and claim Larkin, Yeats , or Dylan Thomas most excited me as a young poet, or even Pound or FT Prince - but the truth be told, it was Thom Gunn I first and most loved when I was young. Precisely, I fell in love with his first two collections, written under a formalist, Elizabethan ( Fulke Greville mainly), Yvor Winters triad of influences - uniquely fused with an interest in homerotica, pop culture ( Brando, Elvis , motorcycles). His best poem 'On The Move' is oddly presented here without the quote that began it usually - Man, you gotta go - which I loved. Gunn was - and remains - so thrilling, to me at least, because so odd. His elegance, poise, and intelligence is all about display, about surface - but the surface of a panther, who ripples with strength beneath the skin. With Gunn, you dressed to have sex. Or so I thought. Because I was queer (I maintain the right to lay claim to that
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Niall Ferguson is actually Scottish but you make some good points here. My nephew is going up to university fairly soon and when I asked my sister whether or not she approved of this new academy she just laughed.
Best wishes from Simon
Simon @ Gists and Piths
Well, a lack of sympathy for or belief in sny religion shows an improvement on the traditional cultural attitude of complete faith in the True Religion and little sympathy - often absolute hatred and contempt- for all its false rivals.
Being one of the key cultural forces in human culture doesn't necessarily make somethimg an admirable quality. Racism and sexism are also key cultural forces in human culture.
As an Atheist myself, I don't know that there is cause to fear that a nontheistic faculty would fail to kindle students' appreciation for what religion is and what it has done.