Does leprechaun denial represent intellectual dishonesty?
The modern leprechaun nonbeliever claims that aleprechaunism is a lack of belief in leprechauns, as if their mind is a tabula rasa, a blank slate that has no opinion on the question of the existence of tiny magical irish elves. This suggests complete lack of bias and a willingness to seek out truth.
However, most who call themselves nonbelievers by this definition have no inclination towards seeking out information on the existence of leprechauns, and are in no way unbiased about the existence of leprechauns.
Is such a position inherently self-deceptive and intellectually dishonest?
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no
Since imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, I thank you for your homage.
Someone else posited the same argument in my question but regarding Santa Claus, though the answer is the same.
No one claims to lack a belief in leprechauns. We say forthrightly that they do not exist. I am prepared to make such an affirmative claim, and to hang my butt out there to deal with the consequences. I may indeed miss out on the pot o' gold at the end of the rainbow, but I'm not afraid to say that the evidence leads me to the conclusion that leprechauns do not exist.
However, were I to say that I simply lacked such a belief, and yet refused to affirmatively say that leprechauns don't exist yet also refused to consider the possibility that they do, then I think that position would be intellectually dishonest. It is as if I am trying to pretend that I'm not really rejecting the idea of leprechauns, just in case there is a pot o' gold out there with my name on it.
I'm sorry the question got you worked up so badly (and so many others, too) though it is a legitimate question and I'd love to hear why my assessment is incorrect. That I haven't yet, and that it was met with such emotion leads me to believe that the arrow is at least in the vicinity of the target.