The Atheism Tapes - Daniel Dennett - Belief in Belief

A clip from The Atheism Tapes, brought to you by Alive Mind Media. Buy The Atheism Tapes DVD at http://www.secularphilosophy.com/

• Category

  Science & Technology

[ClassiKSouL]

go Dennet ...

[paradirob]

Dennett is saying that if we 'really' believed in God, we might be doing all sorts of lunatic things. Yet, we don't have to. We're Americans. We read Scientific American magazine. Now, the Japanese during WWII were dying by casting their fates to the Divine Wind. Or the Soldier of Jihad, not realizing that 'Gee, I've been haad,' goes right along with the story line and sacrifices his own life. I guess you got to do what you got to do but are lucky not to have to do a bunch of lunatic things.

[MassacreBlast]

Finally, someone talked about what's going on in my head. I don't actually believe in god, it's just something I believe is good to try and believe in. And my main reason is to uphold a higher standard of morality. I feel twisted inside now :S

[arsjaad poese]

Wow nice way of saying.

[paradirob]

Americans have had to do a bunch of 'hard' things. For example, winning World War II in the Pacific, against Japan, was no 'piece of cake.' Many believe that Truman was wrong to use atom bombs on Japan and that it was just prejudice against the Japanese Race that tipped the scale in favor of using them. The claim is that the weapons wouldn't have been used against the Germans because the Germans were white. These are mistaken ideas. Japan was poised to kill a million Americans, not to surrender.

[Mikey Georgeson]

the problem is belief has become rationalised. Religeons try and present their faith as a scientific process. This is what leads to the perception that our deeper selves are external voices. To acheive such levels of technological progress (westernised) humankind has become almost entirely objective - we picture ourselves as calibrating machines outside of the scene. If we treat spirituality as an add on to our objective life then the chain you describe is more likely to manifest.

[314159192829]

What do you mean, "we're Americans"?  No we aren't. 96% of the world, including me, are not.

[shandcunt]

Great Video, Hey if you think you talk to the creator of the universe and you think he talks back that's pretty rediculous but as long as you are happy and healthy it's not harmful, your just listening to yourself. Say you go through a rough patch, suffer mental illness, become angry at something, thats when God may start telling you to do some fkd up shit, nd you can't blame the person for doing it, after all it was a test, if the all good and all lovign creator tells you to do something?

[alteritY9k]

I think a better term might be the desire to believe in God or the desire for the belief to be true.

[handlas1]

i like weiner!