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Girvan Dave
https://www.goodreads.com/unforgirvan
Biologists often talk about the “ecology” of an organism: the tallest oak in the forest is the tallest not just because it grew from the hardiest acorn; it is the tallest also because no other trees blocked its sunlight, the soil around it
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“Several years ago, Tal Nitzan, then a doctoral student at Hebrew University, authored an award-winning paper that examined the incidence of rape as perpetrated by Israeli Defense Forces on Palestinian women. Undoubtedly, the goal was to uncover an epidemic of rape to demonstrate how diabolical those evil Jews truly were. When no such empirical reality was found, it was concluded (you might need to sit down for this) that this was proof of the extent to which the Israelis dehumanized the Palestinians.59 They were so hateful that they did not even consider the Palestinian women worthy of rape! If rapes are uncovered or if none are discovered, the same conclusion is reached: the Israelis are diabolical. All roads lead to self-flagellation and self-loathing. It’s the hallmark of a true “progressive.”
― The Parasitic Mind: How Infectious Ideas Are Killing Common Sense
― The Parasitic Mind: How Infectious Ideas Are Killing Common Sense
“The problem arises when domains that should be reserved for the intellect are hijacked by feelings. This is precisely what plagues our universities: what were once centers of intellectual development have become retreats for the emotionally fragile. The driving motto of the university is no longer the pursuit of truth but the coddling of hurt feelings.”
― The Parasitic Mind: How Infectious Ideas Are Killing Common Sense
― The Parasitic Mind: How Infectious Ideas Are Killing Common Sense
“[I]s it not the case that we live in an age of emotional incontinence, when they who emote the most are believed to feel the most?”
― The Parasitic Mind: How Infectious Ideas Are Killing Common Sense
― The Parasitic Mind: How Infectious Ideas Are Killing Common Sense
“The idea that any kind of free society can be constructed in which people will never be offended or insulted, or in which they have the right to call on the law to defend them against being offended or insulted, is absurd.” Moreover: “The moment you say that an idea system is sacred, whether it’s a religious belief system or a secular ideology, the moment you declare a set of ideas to be immune from criticism, satire, derision, or contempt, freedom of thought becomes impossible.”6”
― The Parasitic Mind: How Infectious Ideas Are Killing Common Sense
― The Parasitic Mind: How Infectious Ideas Are Killing Common Sense
Girvan’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Girvan’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
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