FREE THE DEVILS DELUSION: ATHEISM AND ITS SCIENTIFIC PRETENSIONS PDF

David Berlinski | 256 pages | 22 Sep 2009 | The Perseus Books Group | 9780465019373 | English | New York, United States The Devil’s Delusion | David Berlinski

Uh-oh, it looks like your Internet Explorer is out of date. For a better shopping experience, please upgrade now. Javascript is not enabled in your browser. Enabling JavaScript in your browser will allow you to experience all the features of our site. Learn how to enable JavaScript on your browser. NOOK Book. Home 1 Books 2. Read an excerpt of this book! Add to Wishlist. Sign in to Purchase Instantly. Members save with free shipping everyday! See details. Overview The bestselling author of A Tour of the sets off on a wise and witty assault on the pretensions of the scientific atheists. Militant atheism is on the rise. In recent years Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Daniel Dennett, and Christopher Hitchens have produced a steady stream of best-selling books denigrating religious belief. These authors are merely the leading edge of a larger movement that includes much of the scientific community. In response, mathematician David Berlinski, himself a secular Jew, delivers a biting defense of religious thought. The Devil's Delusion is a brilliant, incisive, and funny book that explores the limits of science and the pretensions of those who insist it is the ultimate touchstone for understanding our world. Product Details About the Author. About the Author David Berlinski holds a Ph. Related Searches. A vivid account of German-occupied Europe during World War II that reveals civilians' struggle to understand the terrifying chaos of war In An Iron Wind, prize-winning historian Peter Fritzsche draws diaries, letters, and other first-person accounts to show how civilians View Product. A body-positive call to arms that's as inspirational as it is practical, from Instagram star A body-positive call to arms that's as inspirational as it is practical, from Instagram The Devils Delusion: Atheism and Its Scientific Pretensions Megan Jayne Crabbe For generations, women have been convinced that true happiness only comes when we hit that goal weight, shrink ourselves down, The Devils Delusion: Atheism and Its Scientific Pretensions change F 'em! From Jennifer Baumgardner, one of the leading voices of Third Wave feminism, comes this provocative, From Jennifer Baumgardner, one of the leading voices of Third Wave feminism, comes this provocative, thoughtful, often funny collection of essays and interviews that offers a state of the union on contemporary feminist issues. Fish on Friday: Feasting, Fasting, and the Discovery. What gave Christopher Columbus the The Devils Delusion: Atheism and Its Scientific Pretensions in to set out across the Atlantic Ocean? Fish on Friday tells the story of the discovery of America as a product of the long sweep of history: the spread of Christianity and Fragile Dominion. We all know that our planet is losing its biological diversity at an alarming rate, We all know that our planet is losing its biological diversity at an alarming rate, with frightening implications for our future. But when does an ecosystem hit the breaking point? In this important book, Princeton biologist Simon Levin offers general Thomas Beatie electrified the world in April with his announcement that he was seven Thomas Beatie electrified the world in April with his announcement that he was seven months pregnant. He recounted his amazing story on The Oprah Winfrey Show, and was later featured in a Barbara Walters Exclusive, where he announced that Mother Shock: Tales from the First Year and. It is the clash between expectation and result, theory and reality; a twilight zone Living in south central L. Filled with profound guilt about his own crimes and disheartened by the chaos The Devils Delusion: Atheism and Its Scientific Pretensions the streets, Socrates calls together Basic Books. The Devil’s Delusion: Atheism and its Scientific Pretensions by David Berlinski – William M. Briggs

Berlinski writes frequently for Commentaryamong other journals. He lives in , . What would you like to know about this product? Please enter your name, your email and your question regarding the product in the fields below, and we'll answer you in the next hours. You can unsubscribe at any time. Enter email address. Welcome to Christianbook. Sign in or create an account. Search by title, catalog stockauthor, isbn, etc. Bible Sale of the Season. By: David Berlinski. Wishlist Wishlist. Advanced Search Links. Product Close-up. Add To Cart. Add To Cart 0. Paperback Book. Militant atheism is on the rise. In recent years Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Daniel Dennett, and Christopher Hitchens have produced a steady stream of best-selling books denigrating religious belief. These authors are merely the leading edge of a larger movement that includes much of The Devils Delusion: Atheism and Its Scientific Pretensions scientific community. In response, mathematician David Berlinski, himself a secular Jew, delivers a biting defense of The Devils Delusion: Atheism and Its Scientific Pretensions thought. The Devil's Delusion is a brilliant, incisive, and funny book that explores the limits of science and the pretensions of those who insist it is the ultimate touchstone for understanding our world. Related Products. Newton's Gift David Berlinski. David Berlinski. Alister McGrath. Alister E. Frank Turek. Have a question about this product? Ask us here. Ask a Question What would you like to know about this product? Dimensions: 8. The Devil's Delusion Quotes by David Berlinski

Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. Want to The Devils Delusion: Atheism and Its Scientific Pretensions saving…. Want to Read Currently Reading Read. Other editions. Enlarge The Devils Delusion: Atheism and Its Scientific Pretensions. Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Open Preview See a Problem? Details if other :. Thanks for telling us about the problem. Return to Book Page. Militant atheism is on the rise. Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Daniel Dennett, and Christopher Hitchens have dominated bestseller lists with books denigrating religious belief as dangerous foolishness. And these authors are merely the leading edge of a far larger movement—one that now includes much of the scientific community. Not even close. Has quantum cosmology explained the emergence of the universe or why it is here? Have the sciences explained why our universe seems to be fine-tuned to allow for the existence of life? Are physicists and biologists willing to believe in anything so long as it is not religious thought? Close enough. Has rationalism in The Devils Delusion: Atheism and Its Scientific Pretensions thought provided us with an understanding of what is good, what is right, and what is moral? Not close enough. Has secularism in the terrible twentieth century been a force for good? Not even close to being close. Is there a narrow and oppressive orthodoxy of thought and opinion within the sciences? Does anything in the sciences or in their philosophy justify the claim that religious belief is irrational? Not even ballpark. Is scientific atheism a frivolous exercise in intellectual contempt? Dead on. Berlinski does not dismiss the achievements of western science. The great physical theories, he The Devils Delusion: Atheism and Its Scientific Pretensions, are among the treasures of the human race. But they do nothing to answer the questions that religion asks, and they fail to offer a coherent description of the cosmos or the methods by which it might be investigated. This brilliant, incisive, and funny book explores the limits of science and the pretensions of those who insist it can be— indeed must be—the ultimate touchstone for understanding The Devils Delusion: Atheism and Its Scientific Pretensions world and ourselves. From the The Devils Delusion: Atheism and Its Scientific Pretensions edition. Get A Copy. Hardcoverpages. Published April 1st by Crown Forum first published More Details Original Title. Other Editions Friend Reviews. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. To ask other readers questions about The Devil's Delusionplease sign up. Has anyone provided a proof of God's existence? Riki This book does a good job at explaining the myriad of "proof" and "evidence" which exists, and correctly points out that demanding everything be pro …more This book does a good job at explaining the myriad of "proof" and "evidence" which exists, and correctly points out that demanding everything be proved by a single particular set of rules made up by pretentious mankind is pointless and allows zero flexibility. As it states in one of my favorite passages of the book: "A community of Cistercian monks padding peacefully from their garden plots to their chapel would count as evidence matters that no physicist should care to judge. Thankfully generally the community of monks pays no heed. See 2 questions about The Devil's Delusion…. Lists with This Book. Community Reviews. Showing Average rating 3. Rating details. More filters. Sort order. Aug 19, Manny rated it really liked it Recommends it for: Creationists, string theorists. Shelves: sciencelinguistics-and-philosophywell- i-think-its-funny. Criticizing books on is usually as interesting as shooting fish in a barrel, but there are exceptions to every rule. Given its title and cover, one would be forgiven for expecting The Devil's Delusion to be a collection of trivial fallacies, unified by a complete ignorance of modern science and a general inability to write. I was surprised to find that it is no such thing. I do not agree with many of the arguments that Berlinski proposes, but it is obvious, after just a few pa Criticizing books on Intelligent Design is usually as interesting as shooting fish in a barrel, but there are exceptions to every rule. I do The Devils Delusion: Atheism and Its Scientific Pretensions agree with many of the arguments that Berlinski proposes, but The Devils Delusion: Atheism and Its Scientific Pretensions is obvious, after just a few pages, that he is a well-read, highly intelligent person who knows how to produce excellent prose. He is also very funny. I am not quite sure why Berlinski has chosen to defend ID. I think part of his reason is sincere; my impression is that he genuinely does believe in a personal God who, among other things, created the universe and in some way has steered . I also think he is angry with what he sees as the slackness, complacency and hypocrisy of modern science and the New Atheist movement. I love good science. The most significant chapter of Stenger's book seems to be rather poor science, and it is distasteful seeing Hitchens, who doesn't even understand the argument, picking it up and attempting to use it as a weapon in his fight against religion. Berlinski doesn't convince me either when he tries to show that modern cosmology's account of the beginning of the universe is incoherent, but The Devils Delusion: Atheism and Its Scientific Pretensions version is more interesting and carefully thought-out than Stenger's, and raises sensible concerns. He is also much better when he talks about theodicy and the problem of evil. Stenger wheels out the usual nonsense about how a loving God could not have allowed the horrors of the Nazi concentration camps; one would think he had never read Job. Berlinski, a European Jew whose grandfather died at Auschwitz, is both moving and insightful when he writes about this difficult subject. The parts of the book which impressed me least are those where he discusses evolution, but even here he manages to come up with ideas which are not entirely silly. What a pity that more ID people aren't like this! The Devils Delusion: Atheism and Its Scientific Pretensions vocal, well-informed opposition is essential to any functioning democracy, and it would force mainstream scientists working in speculative areas like cosmology and evolutionary psychology to raise their game; right now, they evidently feel they can get away with anything. Maybe Berlinski's real purpose in writing the book was to remind the ID crowd that they don't have to be a laughingstock, and that people might actually take them seriously if they were prepared to do the necessary work. Most likely impossible, but it's a noble goal. View all 55 comments. Mar 03, WarpDrive rated it it was ok Shelves: philosophy. I had therefore expectations that I would be met with balanced, sophisticated arguments, supported by a nuanced and multi-perspectival analysis. I loved the idea of a secular point of view stating a defense for a balanced view on religious thought, attacking the hijacking of science perpetrated by the intolerant priesthood of the New Atheism. For the most part of the book, I must regretfully say that I was wildly optimistic in my expectations. I should have been warned by the hyperbolic title, but I elected to ignore it, assuming that the title had been designed by the publisher for commercial reasons. Anyway, let me highlight some of the book's features The Devils Delusion: Atheism and Its Scientific Pretensions perspectives: - the style of the book is strongly polemical, occasionally vitriolic, and aimed at scoring cheap points against all forms of non-theistic belief. It occasionally degenerates into emotional tirades. The author does not clearly distinguish between the most militant currents of New Atheism which he rightly attacksThe Devils Delusion: Atheism and Its Scientific Pretensions more nuanced forms of skepticism, deism and agnosticism. In doing so, he responds to attacks by Atheists who claim, with equally preposterous oversimplification, that religious thought by itself has been one of the main drivers of historical violence. In my opinion, both views are over-simplifications: while there is a strong link between ethical and religious thought, and many religious have deeply ethical roots and underpinnings, in my opinion the secular or religious character of any given period or State have little to do with the level of violence and its propensity to military aggression: any such example such Stalinism, Nazism or the Jacobin Terror can be counterbalanced by examples such as the crusades, or Muslim Integralism and terrorism. Any ethical system should be put of service to mankind, not the other way round — when this is ignored, dangers arise. In any case, there is a whole spectrum of views about how religion and ethics are related, and the author does not bother to explore it, not in the least. The author conveniently forgets or maybe he does not know that, although much moral philosophy is rooted in religious belief, secular ethics have a tradition going back to the ancient times. You do not need religious belief at all to develop a complex ethical system. His ideological urgings force him again to put ideology before the empirical reality of human needs and lives. In this, he is nothing but a fundamentalist. This is a needless tautology. Science by itself is not normative, by definition, and it is orthogonal to both ethics and metaphysics. I can't see any scientists trying to expand the scope of science to any of these realms. It is true that some scientists make claims of personal character in these areas, but this has nothing to do with the methodology and scope of science as such. Science is not anti-religion, it is simply a- religious and a-metaphysical. Science is concerned about the natural world.