The following entries were tagged with “books”. They are displayed with the most recent entries first. (11–12)

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The God Delusion

Posted in and on Wed, 27th Sep 2006 at 21:48

My giddy excitement at the arrival of The God Delusion this morning led to that all too familiar feeling of wanting to share it with all of you but not really having all that much to say. After all, there isn't a huge amount I can really say about a book that I haven't read yet.

You'll understand then, I hope, the envy I feel for Ben at "Back off, man; I'm a scientist." His own pleasure at seeing the book is prompted by that fact that he is quoted in it! This is a remarkable honour, especially as the quote is accompanied by the description of Ben as an "eloquent blogger". Of course I agree, but my judgement of a person's eloquence is presumably worth somewhat less than Richard Dawkins'.

Comments:
Wed, 27th Sep 2006 (22:18)

Just bought it myself.

Why don't you keep an eye on Dawkins' website, http://www.simonyi.ox.ac.uk/dawkins/WorldOfDawkins-archive/News/events_all.shtml, and come over next time he is talking in Oxford? You can sleep on my floor, or I can book you in somewhere with a softer bed.

The flights are dirt cheap, even with aer lingus, if you book more than two weeks in advance.

by Joe
Thu, 28th Sep 2006 (06:45)

He's speaking in Birmingham on the 11th October, I may shuffle along to that and see if he'll sign my copy. I will, of course, impress him greatly by giggling like a schoolgirl the entire time.

by Ben
Thu, 28th Sep 2006 (12:49)

Ben, maybe he'll want you to sign a copy for him, since you're a co-author.

by Rory
Thu, 28th Sep 2006 (17:11)

Told my dad about this, his instant reply was "will you get any money from it?"

Thanks for your kind words, by the way - I would've said so sooner but I've only recently finished flapping madly and started registering the presence of others once more…

by Ben

Dawkins Interview with Jeremy Paxman

Posted in , and on Tue, 26th Sep 2006 at 19:07

My copy of The God Delusion is in transit from Amazon, and I expect that many of my readers are in similar circumstances. While we all wait, there's a video on YouTube of Jeremy Paxman interviewing Richard Dawkins about the book.

Interestingly, I find it very difficult to tell what Paxman's own beliefs might be. He doesn't go easy, but neither does he appear to simply feed Dawkins the questions he most happily address. I suppose that can stand as a testament to his journalistic integrity, something that begins to stand out for me as I see more videos of American interviews. Dawkins makes a typically sturdy defence of his position. Not terribly surprising given the strength of the position he's defending.

Paxman gives some time to the question of whether the sense of worth and happiness that many people derive from their faith should be ignored. Dawkins, quite rightly in my view, maintains not only that that question has no bearing on the truthfulness of religious claims—which is inarguable—but also that to him truth is more valuable and more desirable than comfortable ignorance.

A brief TV interview obviously can not address the entire topic of the veracity of religion. I doubt even that a whole book can make a serious dent in the subject, vast as it is. But Dawkins is most certainly the person I would favour in framing our side of the argument, and I look forward to reading what will be his first book solely dedicated to the subject.

Comments:
Wed, 27th Sep 2006 (01:31)

Hi Rory,

I totally stole that clip from you! (I did reference you though, and you seem to be able to get away with anything as long as ther is a well placed reference!)

Sorry,

Joe

by Joe
Wed, 27th Sep 2006 (21:30)

Just picked up a copy in Borders.

by Joe