Mark Bold

John Gray is writing in the Guardian about fundamentalist atheists (again). “It is a funny sort of humanism that condemns an impulse that is peculiarly human. Yet that is what evangelical atheists do when they demonise religion.” It is an excellent critique of zealots like Dawkins, Dennett and Hitchens, and the progress and eventual new dawn for humanity that their atheist project seems to promise, using the same tilts against secular humanism that were found in Straw Dogs and Black Mass. Very enjoyable and thought-provoking, but I always wonder what sort of solution Gray would offer to the problems he identifies. He’s assured at corroding others’ arguments and pointing out contradictions, creating a terrible pessimism in his writing, but how does he assure himself that it’s worth getting up in the morning?

(For a little balance, and to refresh your belief in progress, try AC Grayling’s criticisms.)