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Dawkins or Hitchens?

Just borrowed some books from a friend, trying to decide which one to start. It's between 'The God Delusion' by Dawkins and 'God is not Great' by Hitchens. Have you read either or both? Which would you recommend?

Also, what are you currently reading?

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BeeHappy 9 Mar 7
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31 comments (26 - 31)

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Look like you'll have to change your handle to "busy bee Happy".

It's still my opinion, certainty, that The Selfish Gene will go down in the history of science as a pivotal work. Read both but emphasize Dawkins. Also try another masterwork by Dawkins on Youtube, "The Root of all Evil".

Thanks!

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Hitchens is very good but Dawkins is great. His "The Selfish Gene" changed the world. As a former biology teacher I taught my students that the cell was the basic unit of life. Not so! The gene is the puppeteer that pulls the strings for the traits of the next generation depending on environmental changes. The book is so convincing that Dawkins thought religion would begin to decline in 1976.
The mindblower: the gene doesn't care about the success of the host any more than a typeworm. The gene for blue eyes only cares about the next generation of blue-eyed babies, and it competes with other genes carrying the same trait. It's the Law of the Jungle even at the microscopic level, the fittest live on to the next generation.

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What do I care what people say about god's existance? There's no point in reading about, or discussing, some imaginary construct, except those in movie plots and literature.

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Never a borrower or lender be, try Alan Watts

Appreciate the suggestion.

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I've read neither, but I prefer Hitchens.

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Not my subjects so, I don't really have an idea. If I were to explore that 'itch' I'd read both and have no idea which I'd read first... odds on, I would enjoy the mental/philosophical exploration both would evoke.

I just finished reading 1636: Vatican Sanction and have picked up The Almost Nearly Perfect People: Behind the Myth of the Scandinavian Utopia

[barnesandnoble.com]

[barnesandnoble.com]

I will "palette cleanse" with a few Jim Butcher graphic novels (on order) and then dive into something after that. I am sticking to 'light fair' for now as I anticipate (hope to) entering the University in the near future to study... too many tracks at the masters level: SPED (endorsement), Science (endorsement to teach), Teaching English as a Second language (TOSA somehow), with some exploration on the side in math and science (to keep the gears spinning mostly). In short I expect to have some heavy, and heavily directed, reading in the near future so, am going to 'play' for now... that said, I have El Ingenioso Hidaldo Don Quixote De La Mancha which I purchased in Salamanca de EspaΓ±a sitting on my shelf... stairing at me... reminding me that I was going to go through it (and a couple of other books in Spanish) in order to both read it as one of the "100 books" AND to shore up/increase my skils in Spanish... but, it's daunting! πŸ™‚

Wow, you have quite a bit going on, plus a weighty reading list. Thanks for sharing!

Heh, I love to read.. πŸ™‚

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