Dr Paul Allen

Author: Denny Burk. I' ve been reading through Helen Pluckrose’s and James Lindsay’s new book  and  I thought I would highlight one particular item that the authors address in the early chapters— research justice . In  Cynical Theories , the authors demonstrate that modern Critical Theory is essentially applied post-modernism. Applied post-modernism involves a number of ideological commitments including: Scepticism about whether objective knowledge or truth is obtainable. A belief in cultural constructivism. A belief that society is formed of systems of power and hierarchies, which decide what can be known and how. These commitments lead to the conclusion that reason-based and evidence-based arguments are culturally constructed ways of knowing that should  not  have priority over other ways of knowing (e.g., emotivism, spiritism, superstition, experience, etc.). In fact, reason-based and evidence-based arguments are just one more way that a white majority impose...

Recently, there have been highly publicized calls in the U.S. by the Marxist left for the destruction of Christian images on the basis that they push a white-European stereotype of Christ as a symbol of oppression. The charge that Christians think Christ is white European is false, as a survey of Christian art shows. The claim shows ignorance of art history. And that ignorance is influenced, ironically, by a Western, Eurocentric bias in the interpretation of history. I have read a number of articles over the years that criticize the traditional representation of Christ. This, we are told, is not only historically inaccurate but also betrays a northern European cultural bias. Twice recently I have heard this discussion sparked off by the discovery of human remains in the Holy Land which dates from the time of Christ, which have allowed scientists to create an image of the person from whom the bones came. The figure that is recreated is — surprise, surprise — olive-skinned, a...