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Reading this summer
Surgoshan:
From the review of Dawkins's book:
--- Quote from: Terry Eagleton ---What, one wonders, are Dawkins’s views on the epistemological differences between Aquinas and Duns Scotus? Has he read Eriugena on subjectivity, Rahner on grace or Moltmann on hope? Has he even heard of them? Or does he imagine like a bumptious young barrister that you can defeat the opposition while being complacently ignorant of its toughest case?
--- End quote ---
To which there is a response:
--- Quote from: P.Z. Myers ---I have considered the impudent accusations of Mr. Dawkins with exasperation at his lack of serious scholarship. He has apparently not read the detailed discourses of Count Roderigo of Seville on the exquisite and exotic leathers of the Emperor's boots, nor does he give a moment's consideration to Bellini's masterwork, On the Luminescence of the Emperor's Feathered Hat. We have entire schools dedicated to writing learned treatises on the beauty of the Emperor's raiment, and every major newspaper runs a section dedicated to imperial fashion... Dawkins arrogantly ignores all these deep philosophical ponderings to crudely accuse the Emperor of nudity... Until Dawkins has trained in the shops of Paris and Milan, until he has learned to tell the difference between a ruffled flounce and a puffy pantaloon, we should all pretend he has not spoken out against the Emperor's taste. his training in biology may give him the ability to recognize dangling genitalia when he sees it, but it has not taught him the proper appreciation of Imaginary Fabrics.
--- End quote ---
KharBevNor:
Brilliant.
a pack of wolves:
Not really. If all Dawkins actually did was to say 'there is no god' then applauding him for it would be laughable. I came to that conclusion when I was in primary school, and it doesn't take me an entire book to state my position. Either I'm a genius or there's a bit more to The God Delusion and it's mostly about religion, not just a statement that god is absent from the universe. If you're going to look at religion don't you think it would be sensible to try and understand what that actually is before doing so?
Regardless of his utter failure to grasp the subject, the part I find most disturbing about him is his insistence that anyone who deviates from his line of thinking is stupid and inferior. This is the same practice as some of the more unpleasant teachings of certain religions, that condemn heretical thought that deviates from dogma. The world has enough forces attempting to hem people's thoughts in without Dawkins creating a new religion to kick the boot in as well.
--- Quote from: Anyways on 08 Jun 2008, 06:11 ---Also, guys, could you maybe take the god/no god debate somewhere else? It has got little to do with the topic at hand.
--- End quote ---
I disagree, it's a debate about one of the authors mentioned and isn't at all to do with whether or not god exists. Unless we're just supposed to list books without discussing them I'd say it's pretty on topic.
Surgoshan:
Dawkins addresses the many popular arguments for the god hypothesis, and many of the negative aspects of religion. It's been many months since I read it, so I don't have a good synopsis on the tip of my brain. He also discusses the many excuses for religion. For example, the "I'm an atheist, but..." statements you'll often hear. People who believe in belief, without believing themselves. And the question of whether you can be moral without religion.
BlahBlah:
Uncle Tungsten, also by Oliver Sacks, is a great read. It's not like the case studies in The Man Who Mistook his Wife for A Hat, it's about his childhood and how he fell in love with chemistry.
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