Dangerous Questions? Not Very...

I got turned on to a wonderful blog (Mindful Hack; see link under del.ico.us). This blogger has co-authored a new book called The Spiritual Brain (I look forward to reading it). In a recent post, she is responding to Steven Pinker, who recently wrote up something in the Chicago Sun-Times that he called “dangerous questions.” Pinker is a cognitive scientist who takes an extreme materialistic view about the nature of mind. Anyway, Denyse lists Pinker's “dangerous” questions, and responds to them; here are some excerpts from her post:

What strikes me as remarkable is how UNdangerous his questions are. Anyway, I decided to list and answer his questions, as follows:

Do women, on average, have a different profile of aptitudes and emotions than men?

[From Denyse: Yes, of course. Get pregnant, have and raise a baby, and you will understand. But so? (If you cannot carry out this program, not to worry, you have just made my case. Thanks much. Read on.)]

Were the events in the Bible fictitious -- not just the miracles, but those involving kings and empires?

[From Denyse: Well, Steve, do you have any INFORMATION about that? Thousands of archeologists and other scholars would love to hear your news. Otherwise, take a number and wait. Anyone can have a mere opinion about events described in the Bible.]

Did Native Americans engage in genocide and despoil the landscape?

[From Denyse: Yes. The Iroquois wiped out the Canadian Hurons (and the Canadian martyr priests along with them). Plains Indians ran thousands of buffalo off cliffs. But so? Europeans perpetrated the Holocaust. Who dare point a finger?]

Do men have an innate tendency to rape?

[From Denyse: If they do, they better keep it in check. Almost all societies have agreed not to tolerate it. Interesting, in view of the fact that feminists claim that men run everything ... In [our book] The Spiritual Brain, neuroscientist Mario Beauregard and I recap evidence from his study showing that men can and do suppress sexual arousal when asked by an investigator to do so. There is no basis for the belief that they cannot do that.]

Would the incidence of rape go down if prostitution were legalized?

[From Denyse: No. Rapists get off on forcing themselves on the UNwilling. If all they wanted was a hooker, they could easily find one, unfortunately, irrespective of laws.]

Is homosexuality the symptom of an infectious disease?

[From Denyse: Huh?]

Pinker goes on, "Perhaps you can feel your blood pressure rise as you read these questions."

No, in my case. All this stuff is way, way past its stale date.