Enemies Of Reason by Richard Dawkins

[canada-man]

The Enemies of Reason is a two-part television documentary, written and presented by evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins, in which he seeks to expose "those areas of belief that exist without scientific proof, yet manage to hold the nation under their spell", including mediumship, acupuncture and psychokinesis.

The documentary was first broadcast on Channel 4 in the UK, styled as a loose successor to Dawkins' documentary of the previous year, The Root of All Evil?, as seen through the incorporation of brief clips from said documentary during the introduction of the first part by Dawkins. The first part aired 13 August 2007 and the second on 20 August 2007.

It includes interviews with Steve Fuller, Deepak Chopra, Satish Kumar, and Derren Brown.

 

[blackrock13]

An hour and a half, you are out of your pea pickin' mind, but we knew that all ready. Not one of the 25+ members who clicked on this thread has watched it. There hasn't been the time to.

 

[canada-man]

An hour and a half, you are out of your pea pickin' mind, but we knew that all ready. Not one person who clicked on this thread has watched it.

good afternoon blackrock13 what are you doing on this saturday afternoon?

 

[blackrock13]

good afternoon blackrock13 what are you doing on this saturday afternoon?

So just to prove my point and prove you watched it, tells us what it's about.

The fact that no one has watched tells clearly what they think of the majority your threads.

Again tell us what's it about. Give us a short paragraph in your own words.

 

[blackrock13]

Tick, tick, tick, I guess he off watching it, oooops wrong. Gone!

Another phony attack thread from CM. He actually wonders why so many members don't take him and his RRC threads seriously.

 

[danmand]

Tick, tick, tick, I guess he off watching it, oooops wrong. Gone!

Another phony attack thread from CM. He actually wonders why so many members don't take him and his RRC threads seriously.

Why are you calling this an attack thread? It is a well produced documentary. Well worth watching.

 

[Toronto Girlfriends]

I'll certainly be watching this documentary later. I love anything Richard Dawkins because I hate him lol

This also has Deepak Chopra! Wow I have watched many debates between these two so now I am curious.

Thanks for the link Canada Man!

Cheers,

Don Ron

 

[kkelso]

I'll certainly be watching this documentary later. I love anything Richard Dawkins because I hate him lol

This also has Deepak Chopra! Wow I have watched many debates between these two so now I am curious.

Thanks for the link Canada Man!

Cheers,

Don Ron

Deepak Chopra - the ultimate in snake oil.

 

[Aardvark154]

Deepak Chopra - the ultimate in snake oil.

I'm not at all sure that Richard Dawkins doesn't deserve that title.

 

[Petzel]

There may be no scientific reasoning for acupuncture but all i know is that it damn well works! At least it did for me. Now, not everyone is the ideal candidate for acupuncture so that is a factor as to how effective it will be.

 

[djk]

There may be no scientific reasoning for acupuncture but all i know is that it damn well works! At least it did for me. Now, not everyone is the ideal candidate for acupuncture so that is a factor as to how effective it will be.

Same here. Maybe its the placebo effect?

But I think it should be taken along side any doctor prescribed treatment.

 

[Petzel]

Same here. Maybe its the placebo effect?

But I think it should be taken along side any doctor prescribed treatment.

Yes, i agree if needed.

 

[Toronto Girlfriends]

I watched the documentary and I found it quite amusing. It was for the most part the equivalent of seeing some muscular guy picking on invalids. Richard Dawkins interviewed practitioners of alternative medicine that were so outmatched by him it wasn't a fair contest at all. I was looking forward to seeing Deepak Choprah go at it with Dawkins but that interview lasted for less than 2 minutes while he spent 10 minutes talking to a spiritual medium (hilarious scene!) with no credentials except his faith. At least Choprah is a doctor, fact that Dawkins mockingly introduced into conversation. I did learn something new and fun: homeopathy... WOW I am inspired to start a homeopathy clinic here in Toronto lol

Oh yeah and I forgot to mention the woman that was speaking about the DNA of Atlantis (51:32 in the video) which we all once had... WOW

 

[rld]

My problem with Dawkins when he does this kind of project (as opposed to just attacking religion in general) is that he brings no sense of history or understanding of the history of science to his work.

I can give lots of examples where major leaders in the field of science got things dead wrong for decades, and even set back science decades due to inaccurate scientific beliefs or bias. But he seems think science gives the perfect answer all the time.

He really does need some humility and perspective. While I put no stock in mediumship or pyschokinesis, there may well be something to accupuncture, and any good doc will tell you we still have a great deal to learn about the human body.

On the other hand I find Dawkins very entertaining, I have great respect for his mathematical models that were developed to counter the BS of I.D., and he would still rank among my top five evolutionary biologists, especially now he has kind of toned down his "selfish gene" approach and recognized spandrels etc.

 

[Phil C. McNasty]

Dawkins thinks he's oh so smart, when in reality he's oh so close-minded and stupid

 

[blackrock13]

I watched the documentary and I found it quite amusing. It was for the most part the equivalent of seeing some muscular guy picking on invalids. Richard Dawkins interviewed practitioners of alternative medicine that were so outmatched by him it wasn't a fair contest at all. I was looking forward to seeing Deepak Choprah go at it with Dawkins but that interview lasted for less than 2 minutes while he spent 10 minutes talking to a spiritual medium (hilarious scene!) with no credentials except his faith. At least Choprah is a doctor, fact that Dawkins mockingly introduced into conversation. I did learn something new and fun: homeopathy... WOW I am inspired to start a homeopathy clinic here in Toronto lol

Oh yeah and I forgot to mention the woman that was speaking about the DNA of Atlantis (51:32 in the video) which we all once had... WOW

So I take it you disagree with DM.

 

[Tee11]

Deepak Chopra - the ultimate in snake oil.

and you thought (east) Indians were dumb?!!! lol!!! har har!!!

 

[wigglee]

It is rather amusing to see rationalists attack alternative philosophies when they can't even get a handle themselves on what consciousness is.

 

[rld]

It is rather amusing to see rationalists attack alternative philosophies when they can't even get a handle themselves on what consciousness is.

I am not sure where your logic leads. Do you mean I have to understand where consciousness comes from before I can call a snake oil salesman a fraud?

 

[Phil C. McNasty]