<![CDATA[The Devil's Delusion: Atheism and Its Scientific Pretensions]]>

false <![CDATA[The Devil's Delusion: Atheism and Its Scientific Pretensions]]>

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Militant atheism is on the rise. Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Daniel Dennett, and Christopher Hitchens have dominated bestseller lists with books denigrating religious belief as dangerous foolishness. And these authors are merely the leading edge of a far larger movement–one that now includes much of the scientific community. “The attack on traditional religious thought,” writes David Berlinski in The Devil’s Delusion, “marks the consolidation in our time of science as the single system of belief in which rational men and women might place their faith, and if not their faith, then certainly their devotion.” A secular Jew, Berlinski nonetheless delivers a biting defense of religious thought. An acclaimed author who has spent his career writing about mathematics and the sciences, he turns the scientific community’s cherished skepticism back on itself, daring to ask and answer some rather embarrassing questions: Has anyone provided a proof of God’s inexistence? Not even close. Has quantum cosmology explained the emergence of the universe or why it is here? Not even close. Have the sciences explained why our universe seems to be fine-tuned to allow for the existence of life? Not even close. Are physicists and biologists willing to believe in anything so long as it is not religious thought? Close enough. Has rationalism in moral thought provided us with an understanding of what is good, what is right, and what is moral? Not close enough. Has secularism in the terrible twentieth century been a force for good? Not even close to being close. Is there a narrow and oppressive orthodoxy of thought and opinion within the sciences? Close enough. Does anything in the sciences or in their philosophy justify the claim that religious belief is irrational? Not even ballpark. Is scientific atheism a frivolous exercise in intellectual contempt? Dead on. Berlinski does not dismiss the achievements of western science. The great physical theories, he observes, are among the treasures of the human race. But they do nothing to answer the questions that religion asks, and they fail to offer a coherent description of the cosmos or the methods by which it might be investigated. This brilliant, incisive, and funny book explores the limits of science and the pretensions of those who insist it can be–indeed must be–the ultimate touchstone for understanding our world and ourselves.

1639458

book

2008

The Devil's Delusion: Atheism and Its Scientific Pretensions

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138

2 1 false false Tue Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Apr 09 14:21:30 -0700 2008 Wed Apr 09 14:55:33 -0700 2008 The Devils Delusion: Atheism and its Scientific Pretensions. Berlinski has a Ph.D from Princeton and has taught philosophy and mathematics courses at universities around the world. He claims on page 1 to be “a secular Je...more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Feb 02 17:15:18 -0800 2009 Tue Feb 03 00:28:16 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Jan 15 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Fri Dec 12 06:05:19 -0800 2008 Tue Mar 03 05:11:09 -0800 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Mon Oct 13 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Oct 13 22:46:32 -0700 2008 Wed Oct 15 13:17:49 -0700 2008 1 Richard Dawkins' the God Delusion. It is, however, more often a rebuttal of Sam Harris' Letter to a Christian Nation specifically and broadly to all atheist works. Having read neither, I will take as a given that both Dawkins and Harris say what...more...]]> 5 1 false false Fri Apr 18 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Apr 02 10:28:19 -0700 2008 Sat Apr 19 06:50:18 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Sep 18 13:29:07 -0700 2009 Fri Sep 18 13:32:07 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun May 31 12:40:06 -0700 2009 Sun May 31 12:56:32 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Fri May 23 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed May 28 05:20:24 -0700 2008 Wed Jun 04 14:40:29 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed May 20 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri May 15 23:34:51 -0700 2009 Wed May 20 11:32:40 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue May 13 16:29:31 -0700 2008 Tue May 13 16:33:12 -0700 2008 I almost gave it up at times but everytime I almost quit reading I'd hit another great nugget that would make me continue. The buried nuggets made me rate the book a 3.
I'm sure Dr. Berlinski is a great mathematician but he's not ...more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Dec 18 20:32:54 -0800 2008 Thu Dec 18 20:33:44 -0800 2008 4 0 false false Wed Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Jan 10 17:03:09 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 10 17:03:26 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Fri May 23 15:02:10 -0700 2008 Fri May 23 15:04:38 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Jun 15 13:49:20 -0700 2008 Sun Jun 15 13:55:45 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu May 22 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue May 20 20:25:35 -0700 2008 Thu Jun 04 17:54:11 -0700 2009 more...]]> 0 0 false false Fri Sep 19 08:03:59 -0700 2008 Fri Sep 19 08:05:00 -0700 2008 2 0 false false Thu Nov 20 10:54:23 -0800 2008 Thu Nov 20 10:54:23 -0800 2008 5 0 false false Wed May 28 12:58:19 -0700 2008 Wed May 28 12:59:44 -0700 2008 1 0 false false Mon Sep 22 20:47:47 -0700 2008 Sun Sep 28 21:12:16 -0700 2008 1 0 false false Mon Mar 24 10:23:59 -0700 2008 Mon Mar 24 10:24:51 -0700 2008