'The Evolution of Confusion' by Dan Dennett, AAI 2009

Dan Dennett talks about purposely-confusing theology and how it's used. He also describes his new project interviewing clergyman who secretly don't believe anymore, and introduces a new term: "Deepity."

Dan Dennett is the author of many excellent books, including "Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon" and "Darwin's Dangerous Idea". He is also featured in the video "The Four Horsemen" along with Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris and Christopher Hitchens.

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Watch "The Four Horsemen" in HD on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DKhc1...

Produced by The Richard Dawkins Foundation and R. Elisabeth Cornwell

Filmed by
Josh Timonen

Edited by
Joel Pashby

• Category

  Science & Technology

[Andrew Wilson]

A radio is not a self replicating object that varies from parents to children in an environment in which the most successful ones go on to replicate again.

We, and all other organisms, are.

[Eric Lin]

No, we hope everybody lives without being deluded. Believing so many things will affect your actions, which in turn affects us non-believers. None of us are forcing you to do anything, neither are we forcing science into your church. Keep creationism out of our classrooms.

[maxnmad]

"The truth is simple":

Eve trusted a talking snake (who would not?).

In her perfect innocence, all creatures made by god were perfect and trustful... but she was deceived by a (former) messenger of god, and all mankind was punished.

Then all creation minus an Arc (without any plants), was flooded to death because of corruption.

Then Jesus came to save us from himself, and sacrificed himself to himself to forgive us all..., but not yet...

Do you REALLY assume an intelligence behind this nonsense?

[Caldwerld]

It's funny how I've seen that same example given by creationists everywhere. They give the same exact verbatim arguments over and over again no matter how much they've been proven wrong. They think that if they bash people over the heads with something enough then it'll stick, like religious teaching. Doesn't work that way with science.

[RuleofFive]

I think you missed his point. His criticisms of organized religion are based on the harm he feels it does in our society worldwide. It affects the lives of billions of people in many negative ways that most people don't stop to consider. His criticism is directed at all religion not just christianity. He never said we have purposeless lives.

[David Laflamme]

let's pompously achieve global iconoclasm....yay...clapclap for you.....is it a necissary step in allowing the development of our global space program (the only future for the human race within the atheistic worldview) ...... is this dude scared that the christians wont let the human race move into the nearest habitable planet???? maybe he hopes the "truth" will pat him on the back too.

[David Laflamme]

ie....what gives....why does this jackass care what i think if (within his worldview) there is no governing force over mankind that i need to align my understanding with. who cares...you get no brownie points for proving religious people wrong....CUZ NOBODY'S BAKING. you die, i die, we die, the sun destroys the earth's atmosphere in 600million years....and the human race ends....this guy's full of it....keep riding your high horse pal.

[David Laflamme]

So let me get this strait...i can believe whatever i want right?, cuz there's no god, no purpose for life, and no life after death...believing whatever i want won't effect my eternal destiny cuz there is no eternal destiny....but there are conventions like this, displaying great effort by very smart people, trying there damnedest to help out the christians so they can live the rest of their purposeless lives living without their "angle" on reality????

[Tyan Allen]

You can hear Hitchen's giggle throughout this video. 45:53 Especially.

[Tyan Allen]

Shut the fuck up, please.