Abstract:Nineteenth-century atheists, agnostics, and secularists were committed to the pursuit of truth via reason and viewed debate to be an ideal form through which to further their cause. As Agnosco, a regular contributor to the Secular Review, wrote in 1890: "He must study both sides of every debateable question. It is only by examining both sides that the truth can be discovered." 1 Freethinkers such as George Jacob Holyoake considered open debate to be at the heart of their movement. His four "rights of Seculari… Show more
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.