Daniel Dennett deconstructs "Purpose Driven Life" (SEGMENT)

Daniel Dennett deconstructs pastor Rick Warren's "Purpose Driven Life." This is only a segment of the discussion given by Dan Dennett at TED. Please see the entire discussion to see how THIS portion fits into Dennett's larger discussion on the design and evolution of religions themselves: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9w036xAbSEs

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Science & Technology

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• Purpose
• Driven
• Life
• Rick
• Warren
• Dan
• Daniel
• Dennett
• TED
• Breaking
• the
• Spell
• Intelligent
• Design
• Creationism
• Religion
• Evolution

[orionclock]

Dennett is a very, very, very forgiving guy....

[48acar19]

I read the "Purpose-driven life..." and I am more than convinced that it is sheer garbage. But he made a fortune because of it!

Those who are trying to tell the truth don't make money!

Think of the fortune made by Pat Robertson with his Christian Coalition!

Again: people that lie to us are money-makers! Those who want to live honestly are poor!

[Suicideforcelluloid]

maybe a pedantic point, but the word "deconstructs" is really misleading in the title.

[drandersw]

If the religious person believes in hell fire for the disbeliever, he or she is necessarily a horrible person.

There is no way that any decent person could live a second without desperately trying to save fellow humans from infinite torture. There is no way anyone decent could suck up to or worship the responsible monster.

When I debate hell believers, they can't wait for us to be dead so they can see me burn in hell and say "I told you so!". They are really messed up.

[allfitch84]

If a religious text is ever self-promoting and/or self-serving... it is surely false. As a wise quote goes... "Beware the man of One Book."

[Bfdidc]

@instereovideos Yes. Reference also Marcus Antony's lines in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar.

For Brutus is an honorable man;

So are they all, all honorable men, —

Come I to speak in Caesar's funeral.

He was my friend, faithful and just to me:

But Brutus says he was ambitious;

And Brutus is an honorable man.

[dirtydonki]

BUT in reality & in the great scheme of things life has no purpose at all and why should it?

[Makingnewnamesisdumb]

@48acar19 I can't help thinking you are serious.

[MPaulHolmes]

Thank goodness that your perspectives are essentially irrelevant, due to almost no one actually ever wanting to hear what you say, except for a few santa clone students from his school.

[instereovideos]

@orionclock Haha, not really. Dennett's critiques are always done in the old-philosopher style, which means he lavishes superficial compliments on the author he's critiquing, which is actually a way of being condescending.