Richard Dawkins' "The Root of All Evil" (1 Viewer)

[Engimo]

I've uploaded Richard Dawkins' Channel 4 special "The Root of All Evil" to my website, and I think you all should give it a view. I've only got parts I and II up (as they are the only ones that have aired), but they are worthy of discussion. Don't worry about the legality of this, Channel 4 is a BBC/advertising-supported public channel that does not mind the distribution of its programming (and they are also offering streaming video of all of their shows in the near future).

They're rather large, but my site has a decent download speed so it shouldn't take too long. Also, it's encoded in XviD, so you may need to download and install a codec pack such as DefilerPak to get it to play.

Part 1 (269.26MB)
Part 2 (348.08MB)
(Right click and save)

As to the actual content of the program:

I think that Dawkins has an excellent point. Inherent to religious faith is the suppression of rationality and free-thought, and the indoctrination of our children with unprovable relgious beliefs is irresponsible and simply contributes to an acceptance of irrationality in their world-view - something that is unacceptable.

I liked the Bertrand Russell quote that Dawkins mentioned, about the teapot.

Many orthodox people speak as though it were the business of sceptics to disprove received dogmas rather than of dogmatists to prove them. This is, of course, a mistake. If I were to suggest that between the Earth and Mars there is a china teapot revolving about the sun in an elliptical orbit, nobody would be able to disprove my assertion provided I were careful to add that the teapot is too small to be revealed even by our most powerful telescopes. But if I were to go on to say that, since my assertion cannot be disproved, it is intolerable presumption on the part of human reason to doubt it, I should rightly be thought to be talking nonsense. If, however, the existence of such a teapot were affirmed in ancient books, taught as the sacred truth every Sunday, and instilled into the minds of children at school, hesitation to believe in its existence would become a mark of eccentricity and entitle the doubter to the attentions of the psychiatrist in an enlightened age or of the Inquisitor in an earlier time.

So, have at it! What do you folks have to say about this?

(Oh, and please watch the special before commenting on it.)

 

[Kyle]

This is a great documentary, one of the better ones I've seen lately.

 

[HU-210]

Very nice! Appreciate your hosting, and would welcome a place to download the other two when they become avaible. Thanks .

Mr U

 

[Engimo]

Very nice! Appreciate your hosting, and would welcome a place to download the other two when they become avaible. Thanks .

Mr U

Yeah, actually, I misread the site - there are only two parts. That's it.

 

[HU-210]

Hmm.. Pity. I would have welcomed the opportunity to see more of Dawkins..

Ah well. Thanks for the hosting

Mr U

 

[oracle25]

This documentary is as silly as they come. I found an interesting article on this:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,1681002,00.html

 

[Engimo]

This documentary is as silly as they come. I found an interesting article on this:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,1681002,00.html

1. Did you watch it?

2. Could you please actually discuss what you thought was so silly instead of posting a link to someone else's criticism of it?

 

[robin]

I saw the 1st programme How fascinating. Was cheesed off I missed the 2nd. Well now thanks I'll download the 2nd. What an evil man that evangelist Ted Haggard is. Those TV preachers are just 1st class salesmen/conmen.
The programmes should be shown in all schools as part of the syllabus. I've long subscribed to his notion that religion is a mind virus. The process of faith as 'non thinking'.

 

[Engimo]

I saw the 1st programme How fascinating. Was cheesed off I missed the 2nd. Well now thanks I'll download the 2nd. What an evil man that evangelist Ted Haggard is. Those guys are just 1st class salesmen.
The programmes should be shown in all schools as part of the syllabus. I've long subscribed to his notion that religion is a mind virus. The process of faith as 'non thinking'.

The things that the Muslim man were saying sort of scared me. Do these people really believe that the only thing stopping us from going out and raping little girls and killing people is a fear of God? And our women are whores? What?

 

[robin]

The things that the Muslim man were saying sort of scared me. Do these people really believe that the only thing stopping us from going out and raping little girls and killing people is a fear of God? And our women are whores? What?

Absolutly. Maybe he needs a prop like that to tell him not to rape but I don't. The guy's demented. He'd switched from being a Rabbi fanatic to a Muslim fanatic. Religious sickos like him are like paedophiles & rapists. They are incurable.
I close the door on Jehovahs witness's now. I'm tired of telling them the world is more than 6000 years old. Oh well at least the Jehovah wooden heads aren't actually violent.
Thanks again for the download. Got 30% of it already in just 5 mins. Good old 2Mb/s broadband

 

[oracle25]

What should stop us from doing those things? I mean if it's just survival of the fittest than why shouldn't I just kill someone who is weaker than me?

Any harm that religion has done is based on perversions of God. Harm that has been done in the name of atheism is based on completely correct atheistic principals.

 

[robin]

What should stop us from doing those things? I mean if it's just survival of the fittest than why shouldn't I just kill someone who is weaker than me?

Any harm that religion has done is based on perversions of God. Harm that has been done in the name of atheism is based on completely correct atheistic principals.

Oracle, have you ever thought about joining a canibal tribe ? I think there's a couple left in the Amazon :lol:

 

[oracle25]

Absolutly. Maybe he needs a prop like that to tell him not to rape but I don't. The guy's demented. He'd switched from being a Rabbi fanatic to a Muslim fanatic. Religious sickos like him are like paedophiles & rapists. They are incurable.
I close the door on Jehovahs witness's now. I'm tired of telling them the world is more than 6000 years old. Oh well at least the Jehovah wooden heads aren't actually violent.
Thanks again for the download. Got 30% of it already in just 5 mins. Good old 2Mb/s broadband

Ah yes, religious bigotry... and you call us dangerous.

 

[oracle25]

Oracle, have you ever thought about joining a canibal tribe ? I think there's a couple left in the Amazon :lol:

Yet another intellectually vacant response from a lost soul.

 

[Engimo]

What should stop us from doing those things? I mean if it's just survival of the fittest than why shouldn't I just kill someone who is weaker than me?

Genetics and the fact that we live in a society. We have an inherent aversion to killing other people and harming them because it is advantageous for the species as a whole if we're not going around killing eachother constantly. Also, fear of reprecussions is a deterrent to crime.

The bottom line is that a lack of religion does not mean a lack of morality. If this were true, there would be a statistically greater number of atheistic criminals than religious criminals - which is not the case. I am an atheist and I abhor violence, I don't drink, I don't do drugs, I don't lie, and I don't cheat. These morals are based on things that do not need to be derived from religion.

Any harm that religion has done is based on perversions of God. Harm that has been done in the name of atheism is based on completely correct atheistic principals.

There are no atheistic principles, oracle. As an atheist, there are no world-views or philosophies that you have to subscribe to. The only thing that being an atheist means is that you don't believe in God - that's it. You can be an atheist that believes in ghosts, new-age crystal powers, in the extermination of mankind, in any number of things.

 

[robin]

Ah yes, religious bigotry... and you call us dangerous.

Yes I'm a radical fundamentalist truth seeker & I want to kill people that don't believe what I do. I believe the universe is more than 6000 years old, the earth goes round the sun, the world isn't flat & there's no father Christmas.
Seriously though, as far as I am aware, no one with my world view has gone out killing anyone for no other reason than they simply don't subscribe to it.

 

[robin]

Yet another intellectually vacant response from a lost soul.

Yet another a55soul. Only kidding... I'm sure your not that bad really.

 

[oracle25]

Genetics and the fact that we live in a society. We have an inherent aversion to killing other people and harming them because it is advantageous for the species as a whole if we're not going around killing eachother constantly. Also, fear of reprecussions is a deterrent to crime.

The bottom line is that a lack of religion does not mean a lack of morality. If this were true, there would be a statistically greater number of atheistic criminals than religious criminals - which is not the case. I am an atheist and I abhor violence, I don't drink, I don't do drugs, I don't lie, and I don't cheat. These morals are based on things that do not need to be derived from religion.

This is the most ridiculous statement. "We have morals because it helps people" no. According to evolution we should only be thinking of ourselves. We should not be worried about our species only ourselves.



[qoute]There are no atheistic principles, oracle. As an atheist, there are no world-views or philosophies that you have to subscribe to. The only thing that being an atheist means is that you don't believe in God - that's it. You can be an atheist that believes in ghosts, new-age crystal powers, in the extermination of mankind, in any number of things.[/QUOTE]

No. To be an atheist you can believe in noting supernatural.

 

[Engimo]

This is the most ridiculous statement. "We have morals because it helps people" no. According to evolution we should only be thinking of ourselves. We should not be worried about our species only ourselves.

Actually, that's entirely wrong. According to Evolution, we should be concerned only about the species and not the individual. The survival of the individual is sublimated to the survival of the species as the whole.

No. To be an atheist you can believe in noting supernatural.

No, that's not true. The word "atheist" means "without God". That does not preclude other supernatural beings like ghosts - just a deity.

 

[oracle25]

Yes I'm a radical fundamentalist

This in and of itself goes against the idea of atheism.

truth seeker

:rofl

& I want to kill people that don't believe what I do.

Not helping your cause any.

I believe the universe is more than 6000 years old.

Does this have something to do with were talking about?

the earth goes round the sun, the world isn't flat & there's no father Christmas.

Very good! You have passed basic logic!

Seriously though, as far as I am aware, no one with my world view has gone out killing anyone for no other reason than they simply don't subscribe to it.

Umm... try Hitler and Stalin, is that good enough examples?

 

[Engimo]

Umm... try Hitler and Stalin, is that good enough examples?

Hitler wasn't an atheist, but even if he was that is irrelevant. The atheism of people like Stalin and Mao was not the basis for which they decided to be terrible people and kill millions.

Hitler, Stalin, and Saddam Hussein all had moustaches, didn't they? Well, it must be because they had moustaches that they were mass murderers.

The fact that they had something in common (in this case, atheism) is irrelevant unless their atheism compelled them to be mass murderers.

 

[oracle25]

Actually, that's entirely wrong. According to Evolution, we should be concerned only about the species and not the individual. The survival of the individual is sublimated to the survival of the species as the whole.

Okay, than explain to me why other species don't seemed to be too concerned about the survival of the whole? If what you just said is true than it rules out the idea that they are just less evolved.

 

[robin]

This in and of itself goes against the idea of atheism.
:rofl

Not helping your cause any.

Does this have something to do with were talking about?

Very good! You have passed basic logic!

Umm... try Hitler and Stalin, is that good enough examples?

Radical fundamentalist... Isn't it obvious I was kidding for heaven's sake :roll:

Hitler & Stalin didn't kill people because they didn't believe in a round earth or old universe or were dismissive of Santa Claus did they ? They killed people because they opposed Nazism or communism.

 

[oracle25]

Hitler wasn't an atheist, but even if he was that is irrelevant. The atheism of people like Stalin and Mao was not the basis for which they decided to be terrible people and kill millions.

Hitler, Stalin, and Saddam Hussein all had moustaches, didn't they? Well, it must be because they had moustaches that they were mass murderers.

The fact that they had something in common (in this case, atheism) is irrelevant unless their atheism compelled them to be mass murderers.

Which it did, because they had no moral standard.

 

[Engimo]

Which it did, because they had no moral standard.

Like I said, the statement that "atheists have no moral standards" is obviously untrue and is proven to be untrue by the fact that atheistst are not statistically more likely to be criminals (atheists have a lower divorce rate, too). The fact that several bad people happened to be atheists is irrelevant, and is overshadowed by the fact that the vast majority of historically bad people have been religious.