As for your blog article in general, I wonder why anyone is even interested in Al Gore’s assessment of the history of rational thought? (I’ve always thought of rationalism as something that emerged with the rise of Western secular humanism and modernity.) How is Al Gore qualified to speak on these topics? I noticed from your assessment that Karl Marx was not the only important name missing from his discussion.

If I were to make a quick off-the-cuff comment on Gore in this respect, I would say something like “I am entirely leary of a popular politician using his celebrity to attempt the work of academic intellectuals.” This is not to say that it can not or should not be done, but I fear that the risk we run is very ironically contrary to Gore’s goals. We may, indeed, be sacrificing strict rationalism to the whims of policitcal fancy.