Tag Archives: Dawkins

Book recomendations

I have previously posted books that I read and liked. Its been a while, but again here comes a list of those I would suggest.

Stendahls The Red and the Black

Stendahl gets quoted everywhere. Love, love and passion summs up what he stands for. At times somewhat tedious, but the way he describes how people have mood swings is just great. Missunderstandings are comonplace and Stendahl shows acurately how people react to them.

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Mutants

In a world filled with professional parents who’s goal is to have the best kids ever, this book is just an eye opener. I knew that mutations happen, but was not aware how often and how different they could be. The book is written nicely and does not dwell on curiosities. It describes a lot of interesting Mutations that happen to the human body. If you plan to have kids or are unsure why your hair is falling out, this book should be on your list.

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The portable atheist

Christopher Hitchens has selected a wide array of essays and excerpts from many great thinkers and writers. If you thought that Richard Dawkins came up with most of his argument, this book will prove you wrong. Even the difference in writing style from one section to the other is worth the read. It is not a book that intends to convert any one to atheism. It is more of a book for atheist or for those who believe in a deity but would like to know how diverse the reasons for atheism can be. Can also be used as a nice introduction to the thoughts of Hume and Penn Jillette, Hobbes, Salman Rushdie and many more.

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Richard Dawkins acceptance speech of the Deschner Preis

Introduction by Mr. Michael Schmidt-Salomon:

Speech made by Dr. Karlheinz Deschner:

Ceremony including the 10.000,- Euro price:

The acceptance speech of Prof. Richard Dawkins:


Last Friday the 12th of October 2007 my wife and I where honored to be able to attend the award ceremony in which Prof. Richard Dawkins received the Denschner Preis for his lifelong work in promoting science, humanism and also atheism. I recorded most of the ceremony with my HandyCam and posted the following videos.

The God Delusion: Book review

The God Delusion

The author Richard Dawkins,
wrote this excellent book after his British TV series The root of all
evil
. I have still to find a book that is so well written, funny and
enlightening. The goal of this book is to give you an understanding of
why there is(are) no God(s), why Religion in any form is bad for society, why
indoctrinating children with religion is tantamount to abuse and why it
is perfectly acceptable, even necessary, to call oneself an atheist in
public if one is one. The book debunks a lot of urban myths that I have been confronted
with, like "Hitler was an Atheist" or "Darwin believed in God".
Dawkins’ style has not changed much since his book The Selfish Gene, he
is quiet aggressive and unapologetic when presenting his points.

I most
enjoyed the relief that this book gives a non believer in the fact that
there are millions that share no belief. I am sure this book
will not convert any hard line believers of any religion/sect, but for
anyone who has had the slightest doubt, or has not spend much time
thinking about it, I would whole heartedly recommend it.

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New Preface

The paperback edition, which I don’t call mine, has a new preface that
goes into some of the comments that critics have uttered after the
release of the hard cover edition. Richard Dawkins reads the full new
preface, curtesy of Google Videos:

And the Question and Answer session afterward:

Interviews

I will try to keep track of all Interviews on this book avaialable:

Weblinks

YouTube

In my research after reading The God Delusion I tumbled upon this video. If it where not religion that the mother opposes, but him being for example gay or wanting to go to the navy, it would make not only my blood boil but hopefully everyones. I cry: child abuse!

A few days ago I finished reading The God Delusion. I have spent most of my free time since thinking and reading about the arguments made by the author.

Favorite books on philosphy, darwinism and science in general

The Selfish Gene

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The Ancestor's Tale

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Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies

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Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed

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Freedom Evolves

Have you ever asked your self what the meaning of live is? Is freedom in a deterministic world possible? If we are just, as Dawkins explains, a means of reproducing genes, what are we here for? Dennett takes a challenging stroll through philosophy, math and biology to make a plausible argument for freedom in a non religious world. Well worth the time and truly thoughfull.

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Darwin's Dangerous Idea: Evolution and the Meanings of Life

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BookAs part of my library at home I would like to present/review those books that have made an impact on my view of this world from a scientific perspective. The following books are not in any order.