In the US, the American Atheists organisation is busy promoting its beliefs in an attempt to fight off the perceived influence of the religious Right. Various atheist and humanist groups will stage a 'Reason Rally' in Washington DC on March 24th.
Instead of worshiping God, they prefer to worship Reason.
This idea that Reason should be venerated as the path to truth is becoming something of a parody. Sherlock Holmes embodies this parody perfectly, with his demonstration that deductive thinking (the hallmark of Reason) would solve any mystery. It was a compelling vision, and a great story, but too many people seem to forget that Holmes was a fantasy figure. Ask any detective.
In Star Trek Spock became the post-war embodiment of Reason in action, with his inelegant and decidedly wooden invocation of deductive thinking. Fans seem blissfully unaware that Spock was a clumsy parody of a parody.
The idea that one can reach a solution entirely in one's head promotes the idea of magical thinking - that simply by a process of deduction and will, and a po-faced manner, one can cut through the chaos and confusion and create order and understanding and, ultimately, harmony.
The post-modern embodiment of this idea currently is Yoda. The journey from Sherlock Holmes to Yoda indicates the slippery slope that a worship of Reason entails.
Reason is just thought. To say that an idea is reasonable is to say that it sounds great, but it remains untested.
It is the testing that uncovers the truth, not the idea. Humanists today risk turning Reason into a superstition.
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