That Breivik’s mixed bag of writings reflects, explicitly and conspicuously, the thought of a distinguished Princeton University professor, Lee Silver, has so far gone almost totally unacknowledged.
Not totally because my Discovery Institute colleague John West picked it up and has written about it searchingly. Who is Lee Silver? He’s the evolutionary biologist and fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science who invented the term and concept of “reprogenetics,” a new spin on the old idea of eugenics as a means to perfect the human race. In his manifesto, Breivik goes on about this idea, citing Silver by name along with his book Remaking Eden: How Genetic Engineering and Cloning Will Transform the American Family, copying passages from Wikipedia that elaborate on Silver’s proposed scheme.
Breivik likes that in contrast to the old pseudoscience of eugenics ...
...what of the sinister scientism to which Breivik, in fact, subscribed and that he wrote about in detail? He expounds on the importance of government funding for science, that feeding the poor must not take precedence over science, that feeding the Third World poor is in fact a bad idea, that the size of the human population needs to be halved (through voluntary means!), that “social Darwinism” got a bum rap, that “[t]he never-ending collective pursuit for scientific evolution and perfection should become the benchmark and essence of our existence.”
From the self-interview section of Breivik’s manifesto:
“Q: What should be our civilizational objectives, how do you envision a perfect Europe?
“A: ‘Logic’ and rationalist thought (a certain degree of national Darwinism) should be the fundament of our societies.” This dark vision is not his invention. It’s a spin-off of what he aptly calls “National Darwinism,” which got its start in the writing of Charles Darwin. While a gentle soul in person and wishing no harm to anyone, Darwin envisioned a picture of the world that equates “extermination” (a favorite word of Darwin’s) with biological advancement. I’ve written elsewhere about the historical, moral consequences of Darwinism, quite apart from any explanatory value of natural selection in biology.
All of us, every single man, woman, and child on the face of the Earth were born with the same unalienable rights; to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. And, if the governments of the world can't get that through their thick skulls, then, regime change will be necessary.
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Saturday, July 30, 2011
Breivik Was a Fan of Neo-Eugenics
From Jihad Watch:
He was about as Christian as Hitler was. If people were to be inspired by his ideas, video, and example millions could die. He is calling for revolution.
ReplyDeleteI agree with ronmorgen, although revolution is a soft word: he is supporting directly extermination as a "biological" solution.
ReplyDeleteThe more I read about this guy, the less accurate I think the MSM have been in their information on him.
THIS IS ALL ACADEMIC BULLSHIT....
ReplyDeleteWHAT WE USED TO CALL "POLEMIC BEEF"!
Pastorius,
ReplyDeleteThe Discovery Institute is not a reliable source.
"Discovery" Institute Caught Illegally Censoring Videos
Just to clear things up, the person narrating that video was not me. However, his story illustrates how unreliable the Discovery institute actually is. They have no problem lying to support their agenda.
ReplyDeletehis story illustrates how unreliable the Discovery institute actually is. They have no problem lying to support their agenda.
ReplyDeleteOh, I understand... Well, that changes things a little bit.
Claudia,
ReplyDeleteI don't think Robert Spencer or any at Jihad Watch is lying, but if they were lead to believe this by the Discovery Institute, we good reason to think they may have been misled or at the very least John West didn't do his homework, because he was eager to bash Darwin and Evolution.
Not anyone at Jihad Watch most likely, but the people at the Discovery Institute would just love to be able to blame Breivik's rampage on Evolution.
ReplyDelete