Academic email exchange between Lawrence Krauss and Noam Chomsky on ridicule and American exceptionalism

From: Lawrence Krauss Sent: 9/10/2015 8:09:42 PM To: jeffrey E. [jeeyacation@gmail.com] Subject: Fwd: an article you may both hate. or like. Attachments: DA866543-7401-4A5A-8E50-FD32E33A5OEC.png; DA866543-7401-4A5A-8E50-FD32E33A5OEC.png Importance: High Lawrence M. Krauss Director, The Origins Project at ASU Foundation Professor School of Earth & Space Exploration and Physics Department Arizona State University, P.O. Box 871404, Tempe, AZ 85287-1404 Research Office: Assistant Origins Office origins.asu.edu I twitter.comilkraussl I krauss.faculty.asu.edu Sent from my iPhone Begin forwarded message: From: "Noam Chomsky" Date: September 10, 2015 at 12:01:39 PM MST To: Lawrence Krauss < Subject: RE: an article you may both hate. or like. Then we're in complete agreement. Noam From: Lawrence Krauss [mailto: Sent: Thursday, September 10, 2015 2:46 PM To: Noam Chomsky ____________________ Subject: Re: an article you may both hate. or like. I couldn't agree more. Re ridicule. I never suggest ridiculing people. However by pointing out the inconsistency, or contravening evidence associated with various ideas, including for example American exceptionalism, then we are essentially subjecting ideas to ridicule. That is what I meant. Lawrence M. Krauss Director, The Origins Project at ASU Foundation Professor School of Earth & Space Exploration and Physics Department Arizona State Universit, P.O. Box 871404, Tempe, AZ 85287-1404 Research Office: Assistant HOUSE OVERSIGHT 028936Origins Office origins.asu.edu I twitter.comilkrausst I krauss.faculty.asu.edu Sent from my iPhone On Sep 10, 2015, at 10:52 AM, Noam Chomsky < > wrote: Thanks for sending. A wide area of agreement, but not total. On confronting dogma, I of course agree — though in my opinion the secular religions — nationalist fanaticism, etc. — are much more dangerous. And if some find rational discussion offensive — as, for example, mainstream academics find dismantling myths of "American exceptionalism" or "Israeli self-defense" or Obama's mass murder campaign, etc., offensive — so be it. But I don't see why that should extend to ridicule. That includes astrologists. Astronomers can refute astrology, while recognizing that perfectly honest and deluded people may believe it and should be treated with respect, while their beliefs are confronted with evidence. I also don't see why we should ridicule religious dogma, just as I don't think we should ridicule the much more pernicious secular dogmas. Rather, we should respond to irrational belief with argument and evidence, while recognizing that their advocates (like most of the intellectual world in the case of secular dogma) are people who we should be responding to but without ridiculing them. It may be hard sometimes. For example, when the icon and founding father of sober non-sentimental Realism in International Affairs informs us that the US, unlike other countries, has a "transcendental purpose," and the fact that it constantly acts in contradiction to its purpose doesn't matter because the facts are just "abuse of history" while real history is "the evidence of history as our minds reflect it," then it's hard to avoid ridicule. But we should. There's no point ridiculing virtually the entire IR profession and the major journals, even though such extraordinary irrationality leads to major human disasters. On Davis, I frankly think that's a non-issue. If she decides she cannot do her job as the conditions of employment require (including following the law), then she can quit and look for another job. As in any other such case. Noam From: Lawrence Krauss [mailtol Sent: Thursday, September 10, 2015 1:51 AM To: Noam Chomsky ; jeffrey E. <jeevacation@email.com> Subject: an article you may both hate. or like. hope all is well. Lawrence http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/all-scientists-should-be-militant-atheists Lawrence M. Krauss Director, The Origins Project at ASU Co-Director, Cosmology Initiative Foundation Professor School of Earth & Space Exploration and Physics Department HOUSE OVERSIGHT 028937Arizona State University, P.O. Box 871404, Tempe, AZ 85287-1404 Research Office Assistant Origins Office origins.asu.edu I twitter.comilkraussl I krauss.faculty.asu.edu <image001.png> HOUSE OVERSIGHT 028938