Quote:
Originally Posted by Kizzy
Are scientists not entitled to an opinion based on moral and ethical reasoning?
His opinion has been formed during a career working in ethology so he is qualified to comment on the impact on the children and families affected I would say.
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Yes, they are entitled to that, but opinions based on moral and ethical reasoning are not scientific. If Wayne Rooney goes out for a game of tennis, he cannot be described as playing football just because "he's a professional footballer".
A scientist Dawkins may be... But he did not have his scientists hat on when he made this tweet. As you say: it's an opinion based on ethics and morals. It is not a theory based on experimentation or scientific observation. It isn't science.
It's a scientist giving a bog-standard human opinion and dressing it up as anything else is just false.
In many people's eyes (including my own) , the opinion he is offering absolutely stinks and is perfectly fair game for criticism.