George
Dan Dennett joins Bill Moyers on the Charlie Rose show to talk about his new book ‘Breaking the spell: Religion as a natural phenomenon’. Dennett is the co-director of the Center for Cognitive Studies, and the Austin B. Fletcher Professor of Philosophy at Tufts University. His other books include ‘Darwin’s Dangerous Idea’, ‘Freedom Evolves’, and ‘Consciousness Explained’.
Source
Charlie Rose: Dan Dennett – Breaking the Spell (Part 6 of 6)
Thanks for upload.
I wish this wonderfully erudite and illuminating conversation went on longer…
Dude, it's Dan saying "Thank you, Bill" to the host, Bill Moyers.
Brilliant conversation. I wish we could all handle this subject matter in such a mature and respectful manner. Cheers…
atheism has turned into some sort of mob of teenage geeks who think they are above religion without even justifying it by citing at least mainstream atheist pov's.. it's become the new rock n roll or prank calling or fireworks where kids just get into it to piss people off..
Thanks for the upload, its always a pleasure to see intelligence at work. 😉
Thanks for the program!
Kids will be kids, but at least they're listening to intelligent people having a well-informed conversation.
You sat through this entire conversation to say that? Amazing…
amazing isn't it how these youngsters adopt atheism as a method to rebel.. it says a lot about the preconceive notions of religiosity.. perhaps that's why some people find it harder to leave religion while others don't.. faith has evolved within them.. but it has made them and their respective religion survive.. and so did atheism.. so at the end of the day isn't it just the case of pick and choose?
Simply put, No.
Are you a youngster?
Are you an old fart?
@niginit You haven't answered my question so why should i answer yours! YOU PIECE OF SHIT!
Wow, I guess a civil discussion is impossible amongst dullards. Go take your ensure, change your depends, and clean your monocle.
You're obviously too silly, stupid to understand the complex concepts required to have an actual discussion about anything as complex as what you failed to make sense of in your original comment.
I'll rebut you when you explain what you're talking about. I have no idea how that is relevant. Please explain yourself.
@thruthem
I lold. And I believe in Santa Claus again. Thx.
@thruthem lol, once a year he tours around the world hollering rational insights at kids who have behaved well.
I consider this a good commercial for his book, because i'm now ordering it. ^_^
Dennett just tore that moron a new a-hole
How refreshing to hear such clear thinking. Also, I think some are a bit harsh on Moyers. If it wasn't for his credulity we would not have heard Dennett's position so expressly divulged.
@NonServium2 thanks for posting.
only in the 2nd part there is a dislike… probably a fundamentalist who did not give Dan an oportunity by seeng the wole thing. Its time for them to clear their ears
Humans of all creeds question the meaning of life. Without God there's no purpose in life other than eat procreate and die. No reason to leave a legacy, to be kind, or love . With every good we make, we fill a void in our lives; this means we are predisposed for God. Without God there would be no moral grounds for condemning corruption, lies, betrayal, sexual promiscuity, drugs; and all will be relative to the agenda of the powers that be. Open your eyes…
How can you know this? When I was a kid, I believed, after I studied science, I didn't. Many yrs passed and after looking for the truth, I found it and now I'm a reborn Christian. You do not know what you are missing until you experience it as an adult…
""It is human nature to be moral, and to love and be kind"" No, it is human nature to be selfish, following our selfish animal instincts is the default. Acting contrary to those require a conscious effort. That is what we call good. The majority of people are overweight, that is guile, which is selfish behavior. Also most people care too much for their personal appearance (vanity), to have money (materialism or greed), or look for others only to satisfy a selfish need, not to help them…
""scientists call basic instinct"" No, for us basic instincts are the ones that doesn't require any thoughts or conscious decisions to act. ""do you still have your morals?"" I did as a non-believer, but those morals where the ones I was taught as part of our judo-christian tradition. Without them, morality would drift from generation to generation, because we are selfish by nature. What you might be referring to is altruism, which is a social instinct.
Look at the definition of guile, it is excessive eating. You don't get fat for eating one cupcake a day. You get fat because in addition to the cupcake you eat a whole lot of other food that is more than enough to supply with energy. Guile is evil, no matter if you get a craving or not, that is why we need to fast frequently, that reduces the quantity of food you need to feel full. What is good are behaviors contrary to selfish instincts like guile.
""It is one of the most basic animal instincts"" of course, that is precisely my point. Vanity is a selfish animal instinct, all those instincts are indeed evil. It is wrong because the time you dedicate to that shallow pastime, you miss in elevating your consciousness. The only way to move to the fourth level is by rejecting all selfish animal instincts and become selfless. Only then you can be in tune with the divine.
You're confusing the terms. There are survival instincts, altruistic instincts, maternal instincts and selfish instincts, among others. What I refer to as evil are selfish instincts. Altruism isn't evil neither in us nor in animals and none of the instincts are evil in animals, selfish instincts are only evil in humans because they trend to maintain our species sequestered at a lower consciousness level. To be 100% human we need to be 100% consciousness and that's only obtained by rejecting them
I answered all your claims below.
droz.me/11OJVRd
Aliens can't be violent. If aliens are capable of harnessing the energy of gravity to travel hundreds of light years, their level of consciousness must be at the highest achievable level for a material consciousness (sainthood or angelic level). The only reason they might harm to us is, if a group of people on earth are somehow obstructing the advancement of mankind as a whole to a higher consciousness level. In any case, if aliens come, beware atheists!!!