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Thank Goodness! (Edge)

Daniel Dennett · 2 Nov 2006

The piece opens with

Open-ended rational criticism, imperfect as it is, is the secret of the success of science and medicine

Their wordsMoreover, this open-ended rational criticism, imperfect as it is, is the secret of the astounding success of these human enterprises.

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Daniel Dennett did not write this page.

Every claim below was made in this piece, quoted word for word and numbered in the order the piece makes them, so you can read it there rather than take our word for it. The sentence above each quote is our reading of the claim, not their wording. Each quote was checked against a stored copy of the page at build time; where the two differ, the quote is the fact.

  1. Our reading

    Open-ended rational criticism, imperfect as it is, is the secret of the success of science and medicine

    Their wordsMoreover, this open-ended rational criticism, imperfect as it is, is the secret of the astounding success of these human enterprises.

  2. Our reading

    No religion holds its members to the high standards of moral responsibility that secular science and medicine do

    Their wordsIn other words, whereas religions may serve a benign purpose by letting many people feel comfortable with the level of morality they themselves can attain, no religion holds its members to the high standards of moral responsibility that the secular world of science and medicine does!

  3. Our reading

    There are solid grounds for believing that intercessory prayer simply does not work

    Their wordsFor another, we now have quite solid grounds (e.g., the recently released Benson study at Harvard) for believing that intercessory prayer simply doesn't work.

  4. Our reading

    Religious people can be asked to live up to the same moral standards as secular people in science and medicine

    Their wordsIn the long run, I think religious people can be asked to live up to the same moral standards as secular people in science and medicine.

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