Good Reading

limerick_woody

Hi All,
As a relatively new convert to Atheism, i have become interested in some of the history and i wonder if you good people can point me to some good reading on the subject. Ideally, the book(s) will cover the enlightenment period and it's main characters and their inspiration, and continue to present day. I am fascinated in just how this group pulled Europe from a middle-ages mindset, and set in path the separation of church and state that freed us from mass-ignorance and its terrors.

Any reading ideas at all will be considered - even if its just a a thread that details what we as a group like to read on the subject of Atheism, religion and the related politics.

Thanks,

S

robindch

Well, while neither wrote about the Enlightenment as history, the contemporary authors David Hume and Edward Gibbon are worth getting stuck into. Hume took the philosophy of religion and systematically reduced it to rubble, while Gibbon's Decline and Fall describes religion's similar reduction of the Roman Empire. Gibbon can be difficult to get into, but once you grok his cadences, his prose flows remarkably easily -- if you don't have time to read the lot, then just try Chapter 1 (intro), Chapter 15 (christianity) and the three chapters on Julian the Apostate (Chapters 19, 22 and 24).

pH

It's not a book, but Jonathan Miller's 3 part TV program (Brief history of Disbelief) is available on DVD and probably viewable on the usual video sharing sites.

Apart from that, if you haven't already read them, you have the current batch of atheistic books - Dawkin's "The God Delusion", Hitchen's "God is not great" and Harris' "Letter to a Christian Nation" all of which will bring you up to speed with atheistic thought and a little history.

PDN

I found this article very interesting: http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/ahr/108.4/sheehan.html

The Enlightenment included the activities of theists, deists, pantheists, atheists and agnostics. The relationship between these is often fascinating. For example, Voltaire's wonderful Candide is obviously related, in literary terms, to Gulliver's Travels (written by the Dean of St Patrick's in Dubln).

As usually happens with history we learn more from those sources that try to take an objective view rather than those which simply spout propaganda. A very good list of online resources regarding the Enlightenment is here: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/modsbook10.html
Enough there to keep the most avid reader occupied for a long time, I think.

limerick_woody

some good ideas here - i have read Dawkins, Hitchens and Sam Harris -i have also listened to lots of their debates - but they are only repeating themselves at this stage. I keep hearing these guys quote the likes of Pascal, Leibniz, Galileo, Spinoza,Immanuel Kant, John Locke, Thomas Paine etc. I know there is plenty of information available on the web about these guys, but i keep getting off-track due to the sheer volume of information out there. Is there something out there that emcompasses all of the main characters? I am getting hold of 'A brief history of Disbelief', it sounds nice and concise!

Pompey Magnus

If you come across "Miracles and Idolatry" by Voltaire I would highly recommened getting it. Its a collection of 28 of his essays and most touch on his attitude towards organised religion.

Christopher Hitchens recently wrote "Thomas Paine: The Rights of Man" which covers some aspects of the Enlightenment and is worth a read.

I am currently reading "Lost Christianities" by Bart Ehrman, a former born again Christian turned agnostic, which gives an account of just how broad early Christian belief and examines some of the non canonical Gospels and Epistles. It would be a good read if your Christian faith was waivering as it would probably be enough to give it a killer punch. Interestingly Ehrman concludes that the infamous Lost Gospel of Mark is more than likely a 20th Century fake.

Hivemind187

Its a little difficult to point to a single volume as the distilled history of atheism and enlightenment. The trouble is that many thinkers who were trying to figure out why they had nagging doubts were as inclined to disagree (sometimes violently) with one another as they were with organised religion.

A friend asked me recently how they could come to understand my point of view (she is - or at least was - a wishy-washy anglican). I gave her the following list of books.

1) The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams (which to this day I carry a copy where ever I go and I am convinced has brought more people over to the side of constructive reasoning than any other work).

2) The Selfish Gene, Climbing Mount Improbable, God Delusion, Ancestors Tale - Dawkins.

3) God is not Great - Hitchens (while Hitchens might be vulgar in his approach - something I actually find I like - his collection of other peoples essays is a good mix of points of view, if a little biased in the decision to include them).

4) A letter to a Christian Nation - Harris.

5) The Hippopotamus - Stephen Fry.

6) The Bible, The Koran - by god or man depending on your point of view.

I figure that a dose of humour combined with reasoned argument and reference to the source of of the problem is the best combination to get started when attempting to understand the argument itself. The more "hard core" stuff like Paine, Kant and Hume et al is best found in biographies of the men and historical treatises of the periods they lived in.

The French and American revolutions are worth reading up on because a lot of this stuff was thrashed out between the boffins of the time.

But for people who did the most to single handedly drag the world kicking a screaming from the darkness of medieval thought look no further than Thomas Paine - people once hid is book "The Rights of Man" in the forests and hills so they could hold secret hedge-readings without fear of being persecuted for possessing a banned text, probably the best review an author could hope for.

Dades

Slightly left-field maybe, but I read Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose a few months back. The book is basically a fascinating insight into the Church in 14th century Europe with a damned good murder mystery thrown in for good measure.

Back with the non fiction, I assume you've looked at Carl Sagan's stuff?

limerick_woody

Carl Sagan always comes up - what is the exact context with him? I have read Cosmos and Contact but no others - Cosmos remains my favourite book - would you recommend his other books based on what i am looking for here?

Dades

Cosmos & Contact would be two of my favourites also. Billions & Billions is probably worth a read as it was his last book (was finished by his wife after his death). But you seem to have read the good stuff.

TBH having read a lot of the prescribed atheist syllabus (like you seem to have) I now look for a damned good read rather than material that furthers the 'cause'. Ahh, sci-fi and fantasy. The atheists method of avoiding reality.

markyedison

try A Very Short Introduction to Atheism by the fantastically readable pop philosopher Julian Baggini.

Baggini is also a great read if you want to clarify any cloudy ideas or doubts about your lack of faith.

BTW he wrote a book with another guy called 'Do You Think What You Think You Think?' Its a series of essays and quizzes that test the (in)consistencies of your beliefs.

Cheers, marky

limerick_woody

thanks everyone, lots of stuff to be reading about here - i am not having any crisis of faith - i never really had any. Dawkins, Hitchens, Harris and the like has just made me feel foolish for not seeing what is bloody obvious at about the same time as i gave up Santa!

S

Galvasean

Picked this up in Hughes & Hughes on Saturday:
http://www.akademika.no/bookcovers/978/1/8/4/3/5/4/9781843546566.jpg

Bring On The Apocalypse by George Monbiot. Although not strictly an Athiest text, it covers topics a lot of our patrons seem to be interested in.

Anyone read Almost Like A Whale by Steve Jones? Its sort of an updated version of the Origin of Species with new examples and updated mechanics. Interestng read for those who read up on evolution.
http://www.sof-in-australia.org/JonesAlmost.jpg

Also a great intro for enthusiasts in all things nature is Why Elephants Have Big Ears by Chris Lavers. Also, not strictly an Atheist text but a good read which may pave the way for further reading.
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0312303335.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

robindch

limerick_woody wrote: »

Dawkins, Hitchens, Harris and the like has just made me feel foolish for not seeing what is bloody obvious at about the same time as i gave up Santa!

Religion's had a hell of a long time to evolve a very effective defence to casual thought.

Galvasean

limerick_woody wrote: »

the like has just made me feel foolish for not seeing what is bloody obvious at about the same time as i gave up Santa!

S

I stopped believing in God before Santa.
Wishful thinking indeed...