We live in an increasingly rational society, in which “a rising tide of irrational religiosity infecting mainstream life” has been substantially curbed thanks to the efforts of philosophers and authors like Richard Dawkins.

So says Mark Chadbourn, in a post entitled Richard Dawkins Is Killing SF! [via] And while it’s an interesting theory, I think the basic premise is a little absurd — and perhaps even a little insulting.

Chadbourn acknowledges that “[i]f you’re interested in magic, it doesn’t mean you think Einstein is a charlatan.” But that’s essentially what he’s suggesting when he asserts that the enjoyment of magical stories, and the success of science fiction and fantasy as genres, hinge on widespread irrational beliefs.

You can believe in magic and believe in Einstein. But you can also enjoy stories about magic without believing in it. I can enjoy science fiction and fantasy without believing in unicorns, ogres and orcs, faster-than-light travel, vampires, ghosts, God, telepathy, Frankenstein’s monster, artificial intelligence, or any number of other things.

In short, I can be as Richard Dawkins insists I should be and still find plenty to keep me coming back to science fiction and fantasy.

2 thoughts on “”

  1. I’m not sure you have to believe those things specifically, but you do have to have enough mental space reserved for the possibility such things might exist for you to be able to suspend disbelief long enough to enjoy the film. I have a friend who is impervious to supernatural horror because he simply can’t connect with the material — it’s so far from real for him he can’t make the slightest emotional connection to it.

    I object to his premise, though — first of all, I don’t see Dawkins having that significant an affect on people. And secondly, what passes for “rationalism” strikes me as a different kind of superstition.

  2. *rolls eyes* What a dumb premise. I am as hard-headed a rationalistic, atheistic, materialistic, non-believer-in-anything-remotely-supernatural as it’s possible to get, and I love science fiction and fantasy. Y’know, it’s called “fantasy” and not “reality” for a reason.

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