Robert A. Heinlein Quotes
Logic is a feeble reed, friend.
Heinlein, Robert A. Stranger in a Strange Land. G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1961.
Commenting on many scholarly interpretations of results in social science as obvious.
This is a modern summary of the philosophy of Benedict Spinoza who developed the modern philosophical foundation of science and scientific thinking. When the authorities are clerics and religious leaders, their authority gets undermined which is why the Jews, Christians, and Muslims all excommunicated Spinoza. For the scientists, they themselves are to be rejected as determiners of knowledge and truth so they tend to do poorly in political disputes because the good scientists would never assert a belief that the politicians should listen to them just because they are great scientists and they “know.” It is the ideologues and junk scientists who are sure of their testimony and can advise with certainty. See linked quote(s).
1968 was one of the more polarized presidential elections, and most politicians in the heat of debate, tended to make ad hominem attacks on their opponents instead of rational arguments. Conservatives tended to attack opponents as communists, communist sympathizers, or giving aid and comfort to the communists. Often they never got around to attacking the real political position of their opponents. Buckley realized that he would not persuade many of his fellow conservatives to eschew the personal red-baiting on their opponents. Their political; base demanded this. But he urged them to restrain themselves and first make a rational attack on liberalism and liberal policies. Very few took his advice that year or ever in the remainder of the century until the fall of the Soviet Union.
Robert Anson Heinlein was an American science fiction author, aeronautical engineer, and naval officer. Sometimes called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was among the first to emphasize scientific accuracy in his fiction, and was thus a pioneer of the subgenre of hard science fiction. His published works, both fiction and non-fiction, express admiration for competence and emphasize the value of critical thinking. His work continues to have an influence on the science-fiction genre, and on modern culture more generally.
