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Comments by Rob A


1. Periodic Table of Videos

Comment #210706 by Rob A on July 15, 2008 at 2:07 am

Doreen (Do) and Tedium (Te) are my new favourites

2. George Scales, War Hero and Generous Friend of RDFRS

Comment #112718 by Rob A on January 18, 2008 at 1:32 am

George,
As a fellow supporter of Richard Dawkins' foundation and of reason, I thank you for your magnificent contribution to the foundation.

If you see the Hospital Chaplain while you're in for your op, I hope you get a chance to have a word with him (or her) - oh, and don't forget to make good use of the multifaith prayer room (if we taxpayers have provided the hospital with one)!

All the best!

Rob A

3. Richard Dawkins on The Late Edition with Marcus Brigstocke

Comment #109875 by Rob A on January 10, 2008 at 1:42 am

YouTube version: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=FBSrO6EV9x8

4. Saudis to build their own version of Eden Project

Comment #63372 by Rob A on August 14, 2007 at 3:22 am

I had the same thoughts about Islamic Creationism and this project. (Especially as the previous article I was reading was about a Bangladeshi worker who had a fatal heart attack when the Saudi religious police found him washing a car when he should have been at prayer).

5. Richard Dawkins Replies to David Sloan Wilson

Comment #55684 by Rob A on July 12, 2007 at 1:34 am

Hmmm... It seems I am alone in thinking that what Sloan Wilson said was worth reading and that Dawkins retort is overly aggressive.
I don't usually find what Dawkins says and writes to be rottweileresque, but this time I was surprised at his tone. There are obviously 'issues' between these two academics that I'm unaware of...

6. Got to have faith?

Comment #52764 by Rob A on June 28, 2007 at 3:03 am

The good news is that Harriet Harman won.

7. Zeus devotees worship in Athens

Comment #18608 by Rob A on January 22, 2007 at 2:41 am

Do you think they really believe in those gods, or just like the idea of believing in them?

Is this a classic(al) example of Dan Dennett's 'belief in belief' ?

8. Kim Hill interviews Richard Dawkins

Comment #13489 by Rob A on December 18, 2006 at 2:19 am

Great quote from Kim "If it doesn't work for broccoli, why would it work for God?"

What a great interview, sympathetic, uninterrupted, insightful & intelligent.

9. Simon Mayo interviews Keith Ward about his book 'Is Religion Dangerous?'

Comment #12877 by Rob A on December 14, 2006 at 6:24 am

Overall opinion: tedious (and what a whiney voice). Not worth listening to.

10. Moral Minds: The Evolution of Human Morality

Comment #10087 by Rob A on November 27, 2006 at 4:00 am

If listening directly from ABC Radio National's site, use Windows Media. Using Real Player give only the last 4 mins of the programme.

11. Welcome relief in a world full of superstition

Comment #9226 by Rob A on November 24, 2006 at 7:06 am

6) Was Intelligently Designed - ha ha ha!

12. Beyond Belief 2006 Videos

Comment #8719 by Rob A on November 22, 2006 at 4:46 am

Thanks Melisande... unfortunately I don't have administrator rights over my machine at work ! so I was hoping for an alternative source for these clips.

13. Beyond Belief 2006 Videos

Comment #8692 by Rob A on November 22, 2006 at 2:26 am

I don't have rights to download QuickTime... what can I do?
(is this what excommunication feels like?!?)

14. How Full Is Your Quiver?

Comment #8370 by Rob A on November 21, 2006 at 3:49 am

On a related theme, I have just read the following article about polygomy in the US... http://www.guardian.co.uk/religion/Story/0,,1953193,00.html
When I read "her elder sister had become the 23rd wife of a polygamist with 106 children" I felt enraged!

15. Humphrys In Search of God

Comment #5225 by Rob A on November 8, 2006 at 6:40 am

Serge the Grandad

I agree, religious belief may be a consequence (or epiphenomenon) of instinct, and that the more sophisticated areas of the brain have to decide how to act upon it.

16. Humphrys In Search of God

Comment #5195 by Rob A on November 8, 2006 at 1:19 am

A bit more on evolved instincts...

Kirkpatrick in his book, Attachment, Evolution, and the Psychology of Religion, also considers religion's evolutionary origins. The amazon.com blurb states that he , "Reject[s] the notion that humans possess religion-specific instincts or adaptations, [but] that RELIGION INSTEAD EMERGES FROM NUMEROUS PSYCHOLOGICAL MECHANISMS AND SYSTEMS THAT EVOLVED FOR OTHER FUNCTIONS."

(my capitals)

17. Humphrys In Search of God

Comment #5194 by Rob A on November 8, 2006 at 1:17 am

In reply to Martin & Rich B, the Archbishop's suggestion that religious belief is an instinctual response also interests me.

This implies that:
1) he believes in a god because of his human instincts
2) such instincts are evolved mechanisms hard-wired into his brain
3) he is not bound to follow his instincts. (One could compare it to his understanding that an optical illusion has 'tricked' his mind into seeing something that's not there: he can use his reasoning skills to override his instinctual religious response.)

What follows from this understanding should be, of course, the realisation that there is no god, just this evolved instinct that makes him think that there is. (I am not confident that he will take this step though.)