So I guess what you’re trying to say is that he didn’t intend for the word “denialist” to conjure up images of the Holocaust in the minds of readers. Of course this is possible, but I think it’s pretty unlikely. The modern revival of the word (in the context of climate change) was specifically intended to have that connotation, and this was discussed openly by those who popularized its use in that arena.
Now I suppose it’s possible that he just picked the word up from context and started using it, without realizing that it was designed to provoke an emotional response and shut down rational debate… but based on his tone and overall approach, that’s not what it seems like to me.
So I guess what you’re trying to say is that he didn’t intend for the word “denialist” to conjure up images of the Holocaust in the minds of readers.
That’s it.
Generalizing from the inside of my head, I think “denialist” has a stench from “Holocaust denialist”—it implies refusal to accept a true, important, and morally obligatory mainstream belief.
Perhaps such a word should be tabooed in a rationalist forum.
However, precisely because “denialist” became commonly used for such purposes as “global warming denialist”, the connection to the Holocaust got weakened.
So I guess what you’re trying to say is that he didn’t intend for the word “denialist” to conjure up images of the Holocaust in the minds of readers. Of course this is possible, but I think it’s pretty unlikely. The modern revival of the word (in the context of climate change) was specifically intended to have that connotation, and this was discussed openly by those who popularized its use in that arena.
Now I suppose it’s possible that he just picked the word up from context and started using it, without realizing that it was designed to provoke an emotional response and shut down rational debate… but based on his tone and overall approach, that’s not what it seems like to me.
That’s it.
Generalizing from the inside of my head, I think “denialist” has a stench from “Holocaust denialist”—it implies refusal to accept a true, important, and morally obligatory mainstream belief.
Perhaps such a word should be tabooed in a rationalist forum.
However, precisely because “denialist” became commonly used for such purposes as “global warming denialist”, the connection to the Holocaust got weakened.