Freethought & Rationalism Archive

Coragyps · 06-26-2002, 07:44 AM

<a href="http://www.answersingenesis.org/docs/3568.asp" target="_blank">Here </a>is a lovely piece of literary revisionism (is that the word?) from Answers in Genesis which shows how Alfred, Lord Tennyson was corrupted early by the Atheistic Pinko Commie Fag Evilutionist Conspiracy (TM). For example:

Quote:

In three very significant poems in the middle of 'In Memoriam', Tennyson traces very clearly the thoughts of a man who sees evolution as a clear and evident denial of the existence of God. (Although Darwin's book Origin of the Species was not published until 1859, he had published many journal articles from as early as the late 1830's. Darwin's theories were certainly well known in broad outline some time before 1859.)

Anybody who knows their English Lit want a chunk of this??

Late_Cretaceous · 06-26-2002, 07:47 AM

Didn't tennyson subscribe to the idea that the world and it's creatures were created in a series of catastrophies.

Writer@Large · 06-26-2002, 07:53 AM

Unfortunately, in this post-modern literary criticism climate, "anything goes" so long as the author can justify his/her interpretation. I am not a big fan of p-m, but it has its benefits. The authors of the tract (it is far from quality "literary criticism") would do well to remember Roland Barthes, though; according to the post-modern thought, "the author is dead," i.e., the thoughts/intents behind a work are unknown and can never be known. So when they make statements like the following:

Quote:

He did so because he lived at a time when the intellectual assent to Christianity was probably more difficult than it has ever been, and however much he hoped, in the words of his famous poem, that "it might be so" he could never give Christianity his intellectual assent.

... they are, as I believe Terry Eagleton once put it (or was it Kant?), "talking out of their asses."

--W@L

Coragyps · 06-26-2002, 08:07 AM

Quote:

... they are, as I believe Terry Eagleton once put it (or was it Kant?), "talking out of their asses."

That's what I thought, too. The quote from Kant sound much more literary in the original German, though: "Gesprechende aus Seine Poopenschuten" or something similar.

HRG · 06-26-2002, 09:33 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Coragyps:
<a href="http://www.answersingenesis.org/docs/3568.asp" target="_blank">Here </a>is a lovely piece of literary revisionism (is that the word?) from Answers in Genesis which shows how Alfred, Lord Tennyson was corrupted early by the Atheistic Pinko Commie Fag Evilutionist Conspiracy (TM). For example:
Anybody who knows their English Lit want a chunk of this??

As someone has pointed out on talk.origins, English Lit is less relevant than History of Biology. It is simply false that Darwin's ideas were generally known before the publication of OoS in 1859. Wallace for instance would have been quite miffed at that claim, because it accuses him of plagiarism

regards,
HRG.

Undercurrent · 06-26-2002, 09:45 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Coragyps:

That's what I thought, too. The quote from Kant sound much more literary in the original German, though: "Gesprechende aus Seine Poopenschuten" or something similar.

I always refer to such things as "Argumentum ex Rectum" (with the last word pronounced "rek-toom", just to be pretentious.)

Vorkosigan · 06-26-2002, 02:30 PM

<a href="http://65.107.211.206/tennyson/tennevol.html" target="_blank">But look here</a>

I suspect it is because lit people aren't well-versed in the His of Science. Evolution was known long before Darwin, his role was supplying a mechanism for it.

<a href="http://65.107.211.206/carlyle/carlyle1.html" target="_blank">A page with the Tennyson Quote is here</a>

Tennyson's knowledge is obviously compatible with the views of 19th century science before Darwin. These lit guys are ignorant.

Vorkosigan

Writer@Large · 06-26-2002, 03:07 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Vorkosigan:
These lit guys are ignorant.

Hey!!!!!

--W@L

Valentine Pontifex · 06-26-2002, 03:46 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Vorkosigan:
 These lit guys are ignorant.

With all due respect to the Imperial Auditor Vorksosigan,

Lit guys are not ignorant per se. It is AiG's lit people who are ignorant. Heck anyone in AiG who did not notice was ignorant.

Vorkosigan · 06-26-2002, 05:28 PM

Hey!

1) I was referring only to the writers of the piece.

2) I am a lit guy from way back myself, a myth and poetry major as an undergrad.

Vorkosigan

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06-26-2002, 07:47 AM	#2
Late_Cretaceous Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Alberta Posts: 1,049	Didn't tennyson subscribe to the idea that the world and it's creatures were created in a series of catastrophies.

06-26-2002, 02:30 PM	#7
Vorkosigan Contributor Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Barrayar Posts: 11,866	<a href="http://65.107.211.206/tennyson/tennevol.html" target="_blank">But look here</a> I suspect it is because lit people aren't well-versed in the His of Science. Evolution was known long before Darwin, his role was supplying a mechanism for it. <a href="http://65.107.211.206/carlyle/carlyle1.html" target="_blank">A page with the Tennyson Quote is here</a> Tennyson's knowledge is obviously compatible with the views of 19th century science before Darwin. These lit guys are ignorant. Vorkosigan

06-26-2002, 05:28 PM	#10
Vorkosigan Contributor Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Barrayar Posts: 11,866	Hey! 1) I was referring only to the writers of the piece. 2) I am a lit guy from way back myself, a myth and poetry major as an undergrad. Vorkosigan

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