PREVIEW-Episode 44: New Atheist Critiques of Religion
Summary: Discussing selections from Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, and Daniel C. Dennett.<br> This is a 32-minute preview of our vintage 1 hr, 50-minute episode which you can buy at <a href="http://partiallyexaminedlife.com/product/ep-44-new-atheists/" target="_blank">partiallyexaminedlife.com/store</a> or <a href="http://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2011/10/11/ep44-new-atheists-citizen/" target="_blank">get it for free</a> with PEL Citizenship (see <a href="http://partiallyexaminedlife.com/membership" target="_blank">partiallyexaminedlife.com/membership</a>). You can also purchase the full episode in the <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/episode-44-new-atheist-critiques/id1043341740" target="_blank">iTunes Store</a>: Search for "Partially Examined Atheists" and look under "Albums."<br> Should we be religious, or is religion just a bunch of superstitious nonsense that it's past time for us to outgrow? Does faith lead to ceding to authority and potential violence? Can a reasonable person be religious? We say lots of rude things about these authors, and at times about their targets in this listener-requested episode featuring Mark, Wes, Seth, and Dylan. <a href="http://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2011/09/07/topic-for-44-new-atheism/" target="_blank">Read more about the topic</a>.<br> Buy/read what we did:<br><br> -Ch. 1-2 of Harris's <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0393327655/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0393327655&linkCode=as2&tag=theparexalif-20&linkId=CSMGSJRUMT7KYZIU" target="_blank">The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason</a> (2004)<br><br> -The last three chapters of Hitchens's <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0446697966/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0446697966&linkCode=as2&tag=theparexalif-20&linkId=DUJJP2HMGOFMFEHA">God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything</a> (2007)<br><br> -Ch. 4, and some of ch. 2, from Richard Dawkins's <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0618918248/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0618918248&linkCode=as2&tag=theparexalif-20&linkId=XPEHGWOCN3VLWCXJ" target="_blank">The God Delusion</a> (2006)<br><br> -Ch. 8 (and skimming 3 and 7 to get context) of Dan Dennett’s <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0143038338/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0143038338&linkCode=as2&tag=theparexalif-20&linkId=XYQOQJHRXUJNGRY7" target="_blank">Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon</a> (2006)<br><br> -Chapter 14 of Anthony Kenny's 2008 book <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0199550824/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0199550824&linkCode=as2&tag=theparexalif-20&linkId=TB3PNMONZOVO7XQJ" target="_blank">From Empedocles to Wittgenstein: Historical Essays in Philosophy</a> (which we read as a response to Dawkins).<br> End song: “Goddammit” by by <a href="http://marklint.com/samples.html" target="_blank">Mark Lint and the Simulacra</a>, recorded partly in 2000 and partly just now.<br>
