Posted by floatingbridge on August 9, 2011, at 5:34:10
In reply to Re: A feral elite » floatingbridge, posted by sigismund on August 8, 2011, at 23:12:56
I have listened to both Hawkins and I think Hitchins, though the last name I am not sure about, another devout atheist, and even I overturned them in my thinking, being myself absolutely under read in any sort of philosophic thought.
I admit to an initial titillation with Dawkins only because I was force fed religion as a child and spiritually invalidated in the process.
I have mentioned Stephen Fry before, and he may be quite soft as far as a thinker goes, I don't know, but he is far more reverent regarding the role of religion, though he absolutely bashes the Catholic Church while upholding the respect of individual practioners. I found him on YouTube looking at bipolar topics (seems he has cyclothymia, my first dx). He's like listening to a really brainy friend hold forth.
A concern, in my akward paraphrase is that the new atheists have only taken up a contrary position and left the very human driven roots of religion unexamined. Fry is into the Enlightenment and science and mystery and imagination.
He also said something I recall is that it is every thinking person's duty to, regardless of belief, to imagine the possibility that there is no afterlife just to see what that would do to their thinking and decision making, though he seems alright with someone having a belief in an afterlife. He speaks about the institutional cruelties perpetuated by both extremes.
3:30 am ramblings.
I dig a pony.
poster:floatingbridge
thread:990795
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/poli/20090821/msgs/993263.html