A Win for God?

Posted on January 7, 2009 by Bradlaugh

Sorry, I missed the whole “Godwin” thing. Could someone please explain? The only Godwin I know anything about is Mrs. Shelley’s Dad, of whom The Oxford Companion to English Literature records:  “He believed that men acted according to reason, that it was impossible to be rationally persuaded and not act accordingly, that reason taught benevolence, and that therefore rational creatures could live in harmony without laws and institutions.”  Plainly he didn’t get out much.  Is this him, or some other Godwin?

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8 Responses to A Win for God?

  1. Madrocketscientist says:
    January 7, 2009 at 2:18 pm

    see here

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin's_Law

    Godwin’s Law (also known as Godwin’s Rule of Nazi Analogies)[1] is an adage formulated by Mike Godwin in 1990. The law states:[2][3]

    “As a Usenet discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches one.”

    Godwin’s Law is often cited in online discussions as a deterrent against the use of arguments in the reductio ad Hitlerum form.

  2. Finn says:
    January 7, 2009 at 2:19 pm

    Godwin refers to Godwin’s law. Godwin said that the longer an argument goes on, a reference to the Nazis or Hitler becomes more and more likely. So when Ben Stein said, essentially, “You know who else had scientists? Hitler!” that’s an example of Godwin’s Law – an irrelevant, emotionally driven comparison to the Nazis.

  3. Bill says:
    January 7, 2009 at 2:22 pm

    Mike Godwin made this observation in 1990:

    “As a Usenet discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches one.”

    It’s now known as “Godwin’s law”. In some circles, the first person to introduce such a comparison is deemed to have lost the argument.

  4. Dale says:
    January 7, 2009 at 2:24 pm

    I believe this is a reference to Godwin’s Law, first stated by Mike Godwin in 1990: “As a Usenet discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches one”. This referred to the tendency over time, as a Usenet discussion grew hotter, for one side or the other to drag out a almost-always incorrect analogy to Hitler or Nazi Germany in order to attack the opposing position. Since that time, “Usenet” has been generalized to include any email thread, blog discussion, etc.

    The Ben Stein quote from “That’s where science leads you” is a classic case in point.

    See Wikipedia for a more thorough discussion of Godwin’s Law.

  5. Bradlaugh says:
    January 7, 2009 at 2:37 pm

    Thank you! I’d heard that, but forgotten it. We should strive to keep SR a Hitler-free website. Otherwise we’d be no better than the Nazis!

  6. Don McArthur says:
    January 7, 2009 at 3:28 pm

    “…Thank you! I’d heard that, but forgotten it. We should strive to keep SR a Hitler-free website. Otherwise we’d be no better than the Nazis!…”

    Typical white Aryan bullying posing as enlightenment.

  7. PM says:
    January 7, 2009 at 7:19 pm

    Seems more like a Stalinist attempt to throttle discussion….

  8. Don McArthur says:
    January 8, 2009 at 5:47 am

    PM :

    PM

    Seems more like a Stalinist attempt to throttle discussion….

    An Anarchist effort to drown out the legitimate concerns of Nihilists everywhere!

Comments are closed.