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Post by eckadimmock on Dec 16, 2011 5:07:15 GMT
I'll miss him. I didn't often agree with him, but he was always entertaining.
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Post by sankari on Dec 16, 2011 5:51:22 GMT
There will be great weeping and gnashing of teeth in certain quarters.
I thought he did a great hatchet job on Mother Theresa, but apart from that his writing always seemed rather undergraduate to me and his massive ego seemed grossly out of proportion to his actual significance as a writer.
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Post by timoneill on Dec 16, 2011 7:22:12 GMT
There will be great weeping and gnashing of teeth in certain quarters. I thought he did a great hatchet job on Mother Theresa, but apart from that his writing always seemed rather undergraduate to me and his massive ego seemed grossly out of proportion to his actual significance as a writer. Disagree. I came to his stuff late, largely because I had been put off by the adulation of him by the dumber end of the New Atheism movement. But I saw him at the Sydney Opera House a couple of years ago and found the man to be funny, highly articulate, urbane and actually rather humble. I disagreed with him on a lot and his grasp of history, while better than most New Atheists' (not saying much), was dotted with errors and biases. But I found myself agreeing with him more and more in recent years. He was a thoroughly decent man who acknowledged his many faults. Give me a Hitchens over many of the anodyne "spiritual" types (eg the Dalai Lama) we often get held up before us any day. Back to the stuff of stars old chap. It was a good innings and you played it well. |
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Mike D
Master of the Arts
Posts: 204
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Post by Mike D on Dec 16, 2011 8:20:48 GMT
All the best, Christopher.
The world is a blander and duller place with your passing.
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Post by sankari on Dec 16, 2011 9:26:54 GMT
He was a thoroughly decent man What does 'decent' mean in this context, and how are you measuring it? |
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Post by timoneill on Dec 16, 2011 9:56:45 GMT
He was a thoroughly decent man What does 'decent' mean in this context, and how are you measuring it? Via expressions of compassion and evidence of empathy. Eloquently expressed in a way that indicates genuine conviction about them. I often go into combative mode over the silly way some here demonise Dawkins, contrasting the "Bogeyman Dawkins" who is often depicted here with the far less horrible or stupid real Dawkins. But you'll never see me defending Dawkins (for whom I have only very, very qualified respect) for his compassion, empathy and humanistic outlook. Yet I'll go into bat for Hitchens on those fronts. Of the "New Atheists" I have bothered to read (and that's largely Dawkins and Hitchens and a bit of Harris to be honest), Hitchens was the closest to a genuine Humanist. After six weeks of a fitness regime that has included no alcohol, I have cracked open a bottle of pinot noir to toast Hitchens' passing this evening. You won't find me doing that for PZ Myers or Jerry Coyne when they relieve us of their presence of the planet. I disagreed with Hitchens about quite a bit, but he was a thoroughly sincere and decent man with a genuine regard for his fellow humans. I'd be happy to think that could be said about me when I die. |
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Post by eckadimmock on Dec 16, 2011 10:59:37 GMT
He had two other strengths: he had a very good grasp of language - well above the average journo - and a sense of humour. Religion was a bit of a blind spot but he always had interesting things to say on politics and current affairs.
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Post by sandwiches on Dec 16, 2011 11:13:59 GMT
It is nice that Mother Teresa's order is praying for him: www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iLoAJR41zZZbpP2duOSpzO0RcTiA?docId=CNG.3d0bcbb75a3feaf9a8f298362375c930.5e1NEW DELHI — India's Missionaries of Charity order said it would pray for British writer Christopher Hitchens' soul, despite his aggressive campaign against its Nobel prize-winning founder, Mother Teresa.
"We will pray for him and for his family," spokeswoman Sister Christie told AFP on Friday, upon hearing of Hitchens' death at the age of 62 after a battle against cancer of the oesophagus.
Asked whether Hitchens, an avowed atheist, would welcome such prayers, she declined to comment. |
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Post by fortigurn on Dec 16, 2011 11:23:10 GMT
It is nice that Mother Teresa's order is praying for him: It would be more appropriate if they did it without telling everyone. Looks a bit 'holier than thou'. |
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Post by merkavah12 on Dec 16, 2011 12:47:57 GMT
Rest well, Mr. Hitchens. I may not have agreed with you, but I admired your panache and your talent as a writer.
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Post by ignorantianescia on Dec 16, 2011 14:07:25 GMT
He will be missed. The New Atheists have lost their wittiest and most capable writer. I hope his death was in as much peace as possible to experience when you've been treated for cancer for over a year. Via expressions of compassion and evidence of empathy. Eloquently expressed in a way that indicates genuine conviction about them. I often go into combative mode over the silly way some here demonise Dawkins, contrasting the "Bogeyman Dawkins" who is often depicted here with the far less horrible or stupid real Dawkins. But you'll never see me defending Dawkins (for whom I have only very, very qualified respect) for his compassion, empathy and humanistic outlook. Yet I'll go into bat for Hitchens on those fronts. Of the "New Atheists" I have bothered to read (and that's largely Dawkins and Hitchens and a bit of Harris to be honest), Hitchens was the closest to a genuine Humanist. After six weeks of a fitness regime that has included no alcohol, I have cracked open a bottle of pinot noir to toast Hitchens' passing this evening. You won't find me doing that for PZ Myers or Jerry Coyne when they relieve us of their presence of the planet. I disagreed with Hitchens about quite a bit, but he was a thoroughly sincere and decent man with a genuine regard for his fellow humans. I'd be happy to think that could be said about me when I die. Well said, while I found Hitchens to be a little sloppy at times, he also had a dignity that was different from Dawkins's politeness and alien to Harris. Still I doubt we are as dualistic about Dawkins as you stated. That seems like just an interpretation to me. It is nice that Mother Teresa's order is praying for him: It would be more appropriate if they did it without telling everyone. Looks a bit 'holier than thou'. I'm not sure, maybe I overlooked it but I didn't find a press release on their site wherein they announced they will pray for Hitchens. Maybe they have been asked by some journalist who didn't mention that in his or her article. But if they did announce it, I'll certainly agree with you that it is a little inappropriate, though it is still kind. |
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Post by fortigurn on Dec 16, 2011 14:09:30 GMT
Despite his issues with religion, Hitchens always struck me as better educated, more generally learned, more intellectually honest, and a far better writer than Dawkins. Unlike Dawkins, I believe he also put his pen to the aid of valid humanitarian concerns. I thought he did a great hatchet job on Mother Theresa, but apart from that his writing always seemed rather undergraduate to me and his massive ego seemed grossly out of proportion to his actual significance as a writer. He always sounded to me like he had a massive ego, but I later started to get the impression that this was the 'stage Hitchens', the show he put on for the sake of the punters. |
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Post by humphreyclarke on Dec 16, 2011 15:07:53 GMT
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Post by sankari on Dec 16, 2011 18:50:35 GMT
Via expressions of compassion and evidence of empathy. Eloquently expressed in a way that indicates genuine conviction about them. I often go into combative mode over the silly way some here demonise Dawkins, contrasting the "Bogeyman Dawkins" who is often depicted here with the far less horrible or stupid real Dawkins. But you'll never see me defending Dawkins (for whom I have only very, very qualified respect) for his compassion, empathy and humanistic outlook. Yet I'll go into bat for Hitchens on those fronts. Of the "New Atheists" I have bothered to read (and that's largely Dawkins and Hitchens and a bit of Harris to be honest), Hitchens was the closest to a genuine Humanist. After six weeks of a fitness regime that has included no alcohol, I have cracked open a bottle of pinot noir to toast Hitchens' passing this evening. You won't find me doing that for PZ Myers or Jerry Coyne when they relieve us of their presence of the planet. I disagreed with Hitchens about quite a bit, but he was a thoroughly sincere and decent man with a genuine regard for his fellow humans. I'd be happy to think that could be said about me when I die. Fair enough, that works for me. |
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Post by merkavah12 on Dec 16, 2011 19:01:13 GMT
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