(April 29th, 2008, UBC Chan Centre)
A preeminent scientist – and the world’s most prominent atheist – asserts the irrationality of belief in God and the grievous harm religion has inflicted on society, from the Crusades to 9/11.
With rigor and wit, Richard Dawkins examines God in all his forms, from the sex-obsessed tyrant of the Old Testament to the more benign (but still illogical) Celestial Watchmaker favored by some Enlightenment thinkers. He eviscerates the major arguments for religion and demonstrates the supreme improbability of a supreme being. He shows how religion fuels war, forments bigotry, and abuses children, buttressing his points with historical and contemporary evidence. The God Delusion makes a compelling case that belief in God is not just wrong, but potentially deadly. It also offers exhilarating insight into the advantages of atheism to the individual and society, not the least of which is a clearer, truer appreciation of the universe’s wonders than any faith could ever muster.
Richard Dawkins is the Charles Simonyi Professor of the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford, a position he has held since 1995. The Wall Street Journal said his “passion is supported by an awe-inspiring literary craftsmanship.” The New York Times Book Review has hailed him as a writer who “understands the issues so clearly that he forces the reader to understand them too.” Among his previous books are The Ancestor’s Tale, The Selfish Gene, The Blind Watchmaker, Climbing Mount Improbable, Unweaving the Rainbow, and A Devil’s Chaplain.
Presented by the University of British Columbia, Faculty of Arts, Faculty of Science, the UBC Centre for Microbial Diversity and Evolution, and the UBC Terry Project.
9 Responses to THE GOD DELUSION (VIDEO)
RICHARD DAWKINS
APRIL 29th, 2008
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[...] 10, 2008 par Oldcola David Ng nous offre le talk de Richard Dawkins. Pour ceux qui n’ont pas encore lu “The God Delusion” ça peut être un moyen [...]
Dr. Dawkins’ Lecture (and book) on ‘The God Delusion’ is quite reinvigorating and simply marvelous. He presents the scientific ideas and evidence in a prudent fashion with clever wit. I thoroughly enjoyed his polemic views and cogent arguments. With conviction, I must say that I have read his book quite ‘religiously’. I have never witnessed an individual dismantle the ‘existence of God’ so deconstructively…
The loud music accompanying this lecture makes it impossible to hear.Is this deliberate?
Neville Trevor
I would highly suggest for you, and any one else interested to read the book ““The Devil’s Delusion: Atheism and its Scientific Pretensions.” by self-professed secular Jew and mathematics/philosophies teacher David Berlinski.
This tells the story of a Jew who was forced to dig his own grave prior to being shot by a German soldier. Prior to being shot, the old Jewish man advised the German that “God is watching what you are doing.” The Jewish gentleman pointed what i think is the real problem with atheism. “If you have the time please check the book out
Richard Dawkins is a gem. He’s the Pope of non-believers everywhere. Thank God for likes of Richard.
Richard is indeed a gem. He irresponsibly ignores real evidence from experimental science about the nature of the universe (and God) in favour of ‘blind faith’ in pseudo-scientific theory about evolution, existence, and the universe. Why is he so angry at God? Check out opposing views at http://www.creationontheweb.org
Matt,
The problem you pointed out resides in Christianity, not in atheism. Christianity teaches us that without God, there is no reason to be good. Thus, Christianity is the source of nihilism, not atheism. Christianity attempts to destroy the inherent ontological basis of morality by claiming that only the authority of God makes actions good.
Atheistic existentialism (J.P. Sartre), on the other hand, shows us how our lives have meaning independent of whether there is a God that created us. In this way, the reason to be good is because goodness has inherent value which we all assume by consenting to live with one another. No Gods needed, thank you very much.
Indeed, we have known since the time of Socrates that this attribution of goodness to God is sheer nonsense. See The Euthyphro to understand why.
[...] Series Sheldon Solomon October 9th, 2008 Richard Dawkins April 29th, 2008 Paul Collier March 11th, 2008 Shelia Watt-Cloutier February 29th, 2008 Alisa [...]
If we were able to prove God with our man made science.. that would ironically discredit him. If there is indeed an intelligent designer.. being able to comprehend him and prove his existence would undermine how much more advanced he would have to be in order to create our universe. The whole idea of faith would also be discredited, which might be his/her desire? So.. there is a conflict in this thinking. Also, religion and god are two completely different things, religion is human. Extremism of any sort.. religious (crusades), as well as atheist (nazis), brings catastrophe.