Marilynne Robinson on Jon Stewart

Written by Tom Beasley in Opinion at July 9, 2010

Marilynne Robinson appeared on July 8th on the Daily Show. The interchange greatly disappointed me. Here are some highlights:

Marilynne Robinson: I don’t think it’s frankly scientific to proceed from the study of ants to the nature of the cosmos.

[Some time later] …

Jon: I’ve always been fascinated that the more you delve into science, the more it appears to rely on faith. You know, they start to speak about the universe. They say: well, most of the universe is anti-matter. Oh really, where’s that? It’s there. Well, can you measure it? We’re working on it… It’s a very similar argument to the argument: well God created everything. I’m always fascinated by the similarity of the arguments at their core.”

I assume that Marilynne is making the mistake that something like evolution has to do with cosmology. That’s an assumption on my part since she’s mostly vague and not really saying anything but it’s a popular misunderstanding from creationists and the like that evolution, the natural selection, ‘Darwinist’ version of the term, has something to do with cosmology. They aren’t the same and no ‘evolutionist’ is saying anything of the sort.

Secondly, really Jon? Just because you don’t understand why scientists come to a conclusion does not make it the same as faith. Talk to a physicist or cosmologist and they can readily explain that anti-matter has been created in a lab, that there are sound mathematical principles behind it, and that it is REQUIRED for our understanding of the formation of the universe. He could have at least picked something stranger like multiverse theories or string theory to use as an example, but even then ‘faith’ in science is not the same as ‘faith’ in religion.

You can see the full episode here.

Related posts:

  1. Sam Harris appears on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
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  3. Creationism: the recent numbers

Comments for this entry

Michelle Wright

I’m glad you commented on this because it really upset me when I saw it! Everything that came out of that woman’s mouth was absolute nonsense and Jon completely went along with it. I’ve definitely lost some respect for Jon.

April

I heartily agree with her that the study of ants shouldn’t be used as a stepping stone to grand theories about the nature of the cosmos, and so would any respectable entomologist. That’s why they don’t do that!

This woman seems to be an expression of a dying religion’s last gambit: claim that “both sides” are equally wrong, but focusing mostly on the alleged flaws of science and reason, and thereby undercutting the source of the massive gains in the human condition that have been achieved since the Age of Enlightenment began. We can be damn sure that if the situation were reversed, and it was science on the ropes, the religious scholars would not be willing to entertain any talk about “both sides” needing to reevaluate their stances.

God, I’ll be happy when this nonsense finally dies out.

Sam Harris appears on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart | An American Atheist

[...] over sympathetic to religious claims in the past. One example of this is when Marilynne Robinson appeared on his show and he made the statement: “I’ve always been fascinated that the more you delve [...]

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