The enlightenment is in mortal danger from irrational forces. We know this because its self-styled defenders continually tell us so. Evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins declares, in tones which make the flesh creep, that "primitive darkness is coming back". Politician Dick Taverne warns that "the new Rome that science built is under siege by the barbarians". In this magazine (8 October 2005, p 39) we learn that "After two centuries in the ascendancy, the Enlightenment project is under threat. Religious movements are sweeping the globe preaching unreason, intolerance and dogma, and challenging the idea that rational, secular inquiry is the best way to understand the world."
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