Daniel Dennett: Freedom of information and toxic or non-toxic religions

The Science Network:
http://thesciencenetwork.org

Clip from an interview with Daniel Dennett at Beyond Belief 2007: Enlightenment 2.0

Full Interview (2 hours 9 minutes in):
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6487491195867586354

Links to all videos in the Beyond Belief 2007 conference:
http://thesciencenetwork.org/BeyondBelief2/watch/

thesciencenetwork youtube channel:
http://www.youtube.com/thesciencenetwork

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• dennett
• religion
• science
• education
• beyond
• belief
• beyondbelief2007
• enlightenment
• tsn
• thesciencenetwork

[fluxfreq]

What a practical, lucid response to this controversy. Thank you Dan Dennet!!!

[johnclavis]

Sam Harris has addressed this. He explains that we don't need laws making religion illegal, just like we don't need laws making it illegal to believe that Elvis is still alive. All we need are new cultural rules of conversation where you and I are as allowed to verbally criticize religion just as anyone today can criticize Elvis-believers. Get it? No war. Just a meeting of the minds, brother!

[CymroGoch]

@jaybuddy5 The only reason any religion has changed is due to people fighting against them.

[theocean1973]

Let's just hope, as Sam Harris said, that someone who says they believe in god in public "immediately pays a price in the ill-concealed laughter of other people" as someone would who thinks Elvis is still alive

[RATIONALMIND001]

@johnclavis Very well said. That is it exactly. It has always been considered impolite to criticize religion and it’s time for that to stop. I think all religions that believe in conceptual entities are somewhat toxic.

[theinquisitor]

Judaism, good example. How does Christianity respond to Jewish ideas about Jesus not being the messiah? They dismiss it because their dogma is that Jesus is the messiah.

How does Judaism respond to Christian claims that Jesus is the messiah? They dismiss it because that contradicts their dogma.

[theinquisitor]

"i wish people wouldnt disable comments for strange periods of time!!! weak haha!"

What are you talking about? I never disable comments.

[theinquisitor]

New religions do indeed spawn from old ones, but that's not due to self-criticism within the religious institutions. The parent religion also remains.

When Protestantism emerged, as a modified version of Catholicism, the Catholic church didn't listen to their ideas the way a scientific organisation would. They treated them as heretics and there were centuries of conflict.

This is nothing like science. Sciences tend to converge on conclusions, whereas religions diverge in all directions.

[jaybuddy5]

not to mention Judaism which has changed significantly through eras, continues to attract adherents of all kinds, and has preserved a nation of people and a society.

[jaybuddy5]

i wish people wouldnt disable comments for strange periods of time!!! weak haha!

[jaybuddy5]

Yeah Religion. If religion wasn't self critical it wouldnt have changed in these thousands of years but it has. Every religion that has survived has been critical of itself and capable of growth and change. If even Christianity were not self critical, why would there be so many factions and denominations with almost fundamental differences?

[SkyDaddy7]

LOL! You comment is simple wishful thinking. There are tons of people who think like he does.

Religions are toxic and they train folks to believe in almost anything without proof...Look at FOX News and the crowd that thinks they are getting real news from that channel. These folks will buy in to anything FOX or Talk Radio says as long as it is pakaged with anti abortion & anti gay rhetoric. These weak minded religious folks are led to vote against their own economic well being!