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Theme Changer

 Topic: Reading List

 (Read 35616 times)
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  • Re: Reading List
     Reply #180 - February 28, 2010, 08:56 PM
    Just updated the list which can be found at #132.  Afro
  • Re: Reading List
     Reply #181 - March 01, 2010, 08:46 PM
    Quote from: Omaar Khayaam on February 28, 2010, 08:56 PM
    Just updated the list which can be found at #132.  Afro

    Great  Afro.
    Got a question BTW.
    Do you think I should read On the Origin of Species or should I stick to modern stuff about evolution considering the breakthroughs Genetics and DNA had on evolution? I have read the first 2 chapters of The Origin and it did not manage to keep me interested, now reading The Selfish Gene and finding it brilliant.
    "In every time and culture there are pressures to conform to the prevailing prejudices. But there are also, in every place and epoch, those who value the truth; who record the evidence faithfully. Future generations are in their debt." -Carl Sagan

  • Re: Reading List
     Reply #182 - March 01, 2010, 09:38 PM
    What the selfish gene like/Which bits are you finding brilliant?
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  • Re: Reading List
     Reply #183 - March 01, 2010, 10:11 PM
    Quote from: IsLame on March 01, 2010, 09:38 PM
    What the selfish gene like/Which bits are you finding brilliant?

    I think I exaggerated when I said brilliant, but it is really good. I've only read 3 chapters so far, and I can't really pinpoint one thing that I liked about it. Maybe it was the fact that I am learning something new about evolution and biology in general, which I only knew superficially. But something definite is that his writing style is very good.
    "In every time and culture there are pressures to conform to the prevailing prejudices. But there are also, in every place and epoch, those who value the truth; who record the evidence faithfully. Future generations are in their debt." -Carl Sagan

  • Re: Reading List
     Reply #184 - March 01, 2010, 10:26 PM
    I was just wondering whether I should get the audiobook that's all - I suspect I wont enjoy it, as I probably have come across it all before on this forum in some shape of form anyway..
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  • Re: Reading List
     Reply #185 - March 01, 2010, 10:29 PM
    I think you would. I don't think I've read any posts elaborating the concept of the selfish-gene in these forums.
    Quote from: thinkfree on September 28, 2010, 07:58 PM
    Iblis has mad debaterin' skillz. Best not step up unless you're prepared to recieve da pain.

  • Re: Reading List
     Reply #186 - March 02, 2010, 02:33 PM
    Omar, just noticed that you gave the God Delusion 10/10. I can't remember much of it but I remember disagreeing with just about everything he had to say. I felt like I was reading a book written by an atheist scientist picking and choosing any argument he could find in philosophy against the existence of God.

    I can only remember the main problem I had with it, which was that he thought the "prayer experiment" was a really good argument against the existence of God. It was a very superficial experiment in my eyes.

    I read a lot of it when I was starting to think more about whether Islam was the truth, right at the beginning of my "lack of evidence for Islam crisis" but I was still very religious. Perhaps I was biased at the time when I was reading it... Probably a good idea for me to read it again actually, it'll remind me what I was thinking about at the start of my crisis Smiley
    The unlived life is not worth examining.
  • Re: Reading List
     Reply #187 - March 02, 2010, 02:43 PM
    Read it again James and let us know Smiley It's on my reading list

    What books would you recommend, ones similar to God Delusion?
  • Re: Reading List
     Reply #188 - March 02, 2010, 09:10 PM
    Quote from: J4m3z on March 02, 2010, 02:33 PM
    Omar, just noticed that you gave the God Delusion 10/10. I can't remember much of it but I remember disagreeing with just about everything he had to say. I felt like I was reading a book written by an atheist scientist picking and choosing any argument he could find in philosophy against the existence of God.

    I can only remember the main problem I had with it, which was that he thought the "prayer experiment" was a really good argument against the existence of God. It was a very superficial experiment in my eyes.

    I read a lot of it when I was starting to think more about whether Islam was the truth, right at the beginning of my "lack of evidence for Islam crisis" but I was still very religious. Perhaps I was biased at the time when I was reading it... Probably a good idea for me to read it again actually, it'll remind me what I was thinking about at the start of my crisis Smiley


    I had read Dawkins book when I first apostated. Since then I have read many better books than that one. For me, that book was a turning point because most of what was in it was a confirmation of what I was already thinking to begin with. A better book than that for the layman is "Atheist Universe" by David Mills.

    I have read Dawkins book again and heard the audiobook twice. I would say that the book mainly attacks religion and not the concept of God itself. For arguments concerning God etc, you would be better off reading books by philosophers such as Quentin Smith, Michael Martin and Ricki Monnier.
  • Re: Reading List
     Reply #189 - March 02, 2010, 09:23 PM

    I haven't pick up a book for a while, I don't know why. Its like I've got reading fatigue or something.

    "we can smell traitors and country haters"


    Quote from: arX on May 01, 2011, 03:33 AM
    God is Love.
    Love is Blind. Stevie Wonder is blind. Therefore, Stevie Wonder is God.

  • Re: Reading List
     Reply #190 - March 02, 2010, 09:39 PM
    Don't worry about Billy. Happens to all of us. I'd say your brain is tired from books pick something else up. Art books, or comics. Movies or short stories. TV series, documentaries or even video games. Magazines, news papers. Music and poetry. Stand-up comedy. Operas and plays. And then get back into books.

    Sorry I'm in "intellectual" rant mode.
  • Re: Reading List
     Reply #191 - March 02, 2010, 09:42 PM
    Quote from: Omaar Khayaam on March 02, 2010, 09:10 PM
    I had read Dawkins book when I first apostated. Since then I have read many better books than that one. For me, that book was a turning point because most of what was in it was a confirmation of what I was already thinking to begin with. A better book than that for the layman is "Atheist Universe" by David Mills.

    I have read Dawkins book again and heard the audiobook twice. I would say that the book mainly attacks religion and not the concept of God itself. For arguments concerning God etc, you would be better off reading books by philosophers such as Quentin Smith, Michael Martin and Ricki Monnier.


    Which books do you recommend OK?

    And what do you think of William Lane Craig?
  • Re: Reading List
     Reply #192 - March 02, 2010, 09:42 PM
    Yeah I'll just feel like reading something again all of a sudden out of the blue, you're right.

    "we can smell traitors and country haters"


    Quote from: arX on May 01, 2011, 03:33 AM
    God is Love.
    Love is Blind. Stevie Wonder is blind. Therefore, Stevie Wonder is God.

  • Re: Reading List
     Reply #193 - March 02, 2010, 10:07 PM
    Quote from: billy on March 02, 2010, 09:23 PM
    I haven't pick up a book for a while, I don't know why. Its like I've got reading fatigue or something.


    I do this too sometimes. I'll burn though a ton of books, but then I get burned out and want to head out and party, then I burn out on that for a while and head back to the books Smiley
    So once again I'm left with the classic Irish man's dilemma, do I eat the potato or do I let it ferment so I can drink it later?
    My political philosophy below
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwGat4i8pJI&feature=g-vrec
    Just kidding, here are some true heros
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBTgvK6LQqA
  • Re: Reading List
     Reply #194 - March 02, 2010, 10:19 PM
    Quote
    And what do you think of William Lane Craig


    Only read a few articles by him but not any books. He advanced the Kalam cosmological argument for the existence of god.
  • Re: Reading List
     Reply #195 - March 02, 2010, 10:21 PM
    Quote from: Omaar Khayaam on March 02, 2010, 10:19 PM
    Only read a few articles by him but not any books. He advanced the Kalam cosmological argument for the existence of god.


    OK Smiley But the people you mentioned, have you listed their books in your reading list? Is there any specific book you recommend written by them? I've never even heard of them.
  • Re: Reading List
     Reply #196 - March 02, 2010, 11:14 PM
    Quote from: BlackDog on March 02, 2010, 10:21 PM
    OK Smiley But the people you mentioned, have you listed their books in your reading list? Is there any specific book you recommend written by them? I've never even heard of them.


    Those guys are philosophers. I would recommend reading "The Cambridge Companion to Atheism", "The improbablity of God" and "The impossibility of God", which are written by these guys.
  • Re: Reading List
     Reply #197 - March 02, 2010, 11:18 PM
    Thank you Smiley
  • Re: Reading List
     Reply #198 - March 02, 2010, 11:25 PM
    Quote from: billy on March 02, 2010, 09:23 PM
    I haven't pick up a book for a while, I don't know why. Its like I've got reading fatigue or something.

    You wonder why?  This forum!  A days worth of posts must be equivalent to a quarter of a book I reckon..
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  • Re: Reading List
     Reply #199 - March 04, 2010, 07:13 PM
    Books i've read in the last month or so:-

    The courtier and the heretic (Stewart) - a very interesting account of the differing world-views of Leibniz and Spinoza. I fell in love with Spinoza after this book.

    The Acentric Labyrinth (Mendoza)- brilliant book about the life and works of Giordano Bruno. A real revolutionary.

    The Sufis (Idries Shah)- this is an interesting book. It isn't very coherent or academically organised but there are a few gems here and there.

    The Conscious Mind (Chalmers) - the best defense of dualism in contemporary philosophy, though it can be long-winded.

    Your Inner Fish (Shubin) - simple, easy,  thoroughly enjoyable book. And I learnt a whole lot too.

    Wholeness and the Implicate Order (Bohm) - very difficult book to read through unless you have some previous introduction to mathematical physics. Having said that, Bohm had a very interesting view of reality.

    Endless Universe (Turok and Steinhardt) - the definitive counter-big bang book in the current literature and presented by two heavyweight scientists. Lovely.

    Going Home (Tim Lilburn)- beautifully written, a poetic work on the erotic and mystical philosophy of Plato and the medieval philosophers.

    DMT, the spirit molecule (Strassman) - tightly organised and presented, it's impossible to disagree with the results, whether you agree with the interpretation or not.

    Tractacus Logico-Philosophicus (Wittgenstein) - I feel for poor Wittgenstein. He spend the entire work breaking down the false prison of logical analysis but never took the step outside.

    Discourses of Rumi - mystical thought at its finest.

    The Divine Comedy (Dante) - the best epic poem I have read, though I have not read many admittedly.

    I have also managed to read the following fiction:- revolutionary road, the catcher in the rye and a book of short stories by alice munro called runaway.


    Books I am currently reading/ will read -

    Process Metaphysics (Nicholas Rescher)
    Process and Reality (AN Whitehead)
    Gravity and Grace (Simone Weil)

    At evening, casual flocks of pigeons make
    Ambiguous undulations as they sink,
    Downward to darkness, on extended wings. - Stevens
  • Re: Reading List
     Reply #200 - March 04, 2010, 07:19 PM

    I'm going to kick start my reading again this weekend with this book I bought last year, which just ended up on the shelf, but which I shall now dive into:

    Einstein, Picasso: Space, Time and the Beauty That Causes Havoc by Arthur I. Miller 

    "The most important scientist of the twentieth century and the most important artist had their periods of greatest creativity almost simultaneously and in remarkably similar circumstances. This fascinating parallel biography of Albert Einstein and Pablo Picasso as young men examines their greatest creations-Picasso's Les Demoiselles d'Avignon and Einstein's special theory of relativity. Miller shows how these breakthroughs arose not only from within their respective fields but from larger currents in the intellectual culture of the times. Ultimately, Miller shows how Einstein and Picasso, in a deep and important sense, were both working on the same problem"




    "we can smell traitors and country haters"


    Quote from: arX on May 01, 2011, 03:33 AM
    God is Love.
    Love is Blind. Stevie Wonder is blind. Therefore, Stevie Wonder is God.

  • Re: Reading List
     Reply #201 - March 04, 2010, 08:07 PM
    That's an interesting list z10.
  • Re: Reading List
     Reply #202 - March 04, 2010, 08:18 PM
    @BD

    If you are looking for a summary of what one might want to know about some very important philosophers try:



    http://www.amazon.co.uk/Great-Philosophers-Jeremy-Stangroom-Garvey/dp/1848370180/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1267733340&sr=8-4
    The book is a relatively easy but nevertheless interesting read and after you have finished it you can decide which particular philosopher you would like to investigate further.
  • Re: Reading List
     Reply #203 - March 04, 2010, 09:04 PM
    Quote from: z10 on March 04, 2010, 07:13 PM
    Books i've read in the last month or so:-
    ...

    thats almost one book every couple of days!


    Mod-edit: Shortened the quote.
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  • Re: Reading List
     Reply #204 - March 04, 2010, 09:08 PM
    Quote
    The Divine Comedy (Dante) - the best epic poem I have read, though I have not read many admittedly.


    I was so close to buying this today.
  • Re: Reading List
     Reply #205 - March 05, 2010, 12:33 AM
    Quote from: z10 on March 04, 2010, 07:13 PM
    Books i've read in the last month or so:-
    ...

    That's a very interesting list. But what I found more interesting is that you managed to read all that in around one month.
    Care to share how you do it? I mean doesn't procrastination/other stuff to do, get in the way?
    I really struggle in finishing a book no matter how fucking interesting it is  finmad.

    Mod-edit: Shortened the quote.
    "In every time and culture there are pressures to conform to the prevailing prejudices. But there are also, in every place and epoch, those who value the truth; who record the evidence faithfully. Future generations are in their debt." -Carl Sagan

  • Re: Reading List
     Reply #206 - March 05, 2010, 12:36 AM
    if you enjoy reading, then I guess its easy and you find an excuse to do it, rather than not do it..
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  • Re: Reading List
     Reply #207 - March 05, 2010, 12:36 AM
    The secret is, I dont do anything else  grin12
    At evening, casual flocks of pigeons make
    Ambiguous undulations as they sink,
    Downward to darkness, on extended wings. - Stevens
  • Re: Reading List
     Reply #208 - March 05, 2010, 12:38 AM
    doesnt your missus kick up a stink?
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  • Re: Reading List
     Reply #209 - March 05, 2010, 12:41 AM
    Quote from: IsLame on March 05, 2010, 12:36 AM
    if you enjoy reading, then I guess its easy and you find an excuse to do it, rather than not do it..

    I DO enjoy reading, but I think I have a relatively serious problem with procrastination, and this site has got to do something with it.
    "In every time and culture there are pressures to conform to the prevailing prejudices. But there are also, in every place and epoch, those who value the truth; who record the evidence faithfully. Future generations are in their debt." -Carl Sagan

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