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Archive for September 29, 2007
Materialism v. Academic Freedom
September 29, 2007 by Dr. Mc.
This came to me by e-mail, and I want to pass it on without my comment:
I once wrote an entertaining account of my autistic son and our experience with a bunch of psychologists during a time when autism was believed to be caused by maternal rejection. Parents rebelled against the theory, and parents of autistic children are no longer subjected to psychiatric treatment. However I finally had my story published for the enjoyment of my grandchildren and descendants. iUniverse will supposedly publish anything for a modest fee.
I recently became interested in the debate over materialism. I’m not committed to any specific non materialist scientific theory, but I am passionate about academic freedom. I hate the tactics materialists use to stifle criticism of their materialistic formulas — such as the notion that “natural selection” (the grim reaper) is capable of organizing genetic accidents (random mutations) into complex biological systems. Materialists denounce all critics of RM&N as “ignorant creationists”. So I rewrote my story, adding a few questions about materialism to each chapter. “What is intelligence?” “Does free will exist?” “Does belief in an immaterial soul require belief in a personal God?” etc., and asked iUniverse to republish it.
They refused, claiming they feared they might be sued. I offered to remove anything that might cause potential law suits, but they still refused.
Who is going to sue them? Freud? I gave all the doctors in my book an opportunity to read what a I wrote about them, and they had no comment. Besides, I never used real names. The only difference between the book iUniverse published and the book they refused to publish were those questions about materialism. Attempts at suppression of ideas seems to be an automatic response for materialists.
You can read the story, with the questions, at:
and judge the potential for libel for yourselves.
Berthajane Vandegrift
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