Richard Dawkins & Russell Barnes - The Genius of Charles Darwin (2008)

Review from independent.co.uk (click for full review):

Quote:
It is a very strange thing, the way in which the evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins has come to resemble that which he most despises. There is something almost biblical in the desire of this high-profile hard-rationalist to smite the unbelievers, and remove them from the face of the earth, using the implacable power of science and reason. God knows, as he wouldn't say himself, how we'd manage without the chap.

Dawkins's latest assault on the feeble-minded came last night in the first episode of The Genius of Charles Darwin, a series about the naturalist and his influence. In expressing the overwhelming nature of his admiration for Darwin and his genius in constructing his theory of evolution, Dawkins left the viewer with the impression that he had no reason to believe in God because Darwin was his prophet instead. Dawkins did well in his role as writer and presenter to remain as placid as he did, given his well-known impatience with humans who still believe in such superstitious nonsense as God. Certainly, though, he set his stall out unequivocally.

Early on in the programme, he visited a group of schoolchildren, whose stubborn belief in the religious values with which they'd been brought up, was just the sort of thing that Dawkins finds intensely irritating. The aim was to educate them out of their wilful ignorance, an ignorance he subtly laid at the door of their families, their schools, and a general culture that is just too damned tolerant of loony investment in fairy stories. In his efforts to burst their superstitious bubble, he even took his class to the Jurassic Coast in south-west England, so that the children could find fossils for themselves, and become personally involved in the adventure of scientific discovery. Dawkins's own belief in the transformative power of science is touching.





Download: Episode 1

http://rapidshare.com/files/290820407/The.Genius.of.Charles.Darwin.Episode.One.part01.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/292328674/The.Genius.of.Charles.Darwin.Episode.One.part02.rar
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Download: Episode 2

http://rapidshare.com/files/290914076/The.Genius.of.Charles.Darwin.Episode.Two.part1.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/290923894/The.Genius.of.Charles.Darwin.Episode.Two.part2.rar
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Download: Episode 3

http://rapidshare.com/files/290678940/The.Genius.of.Charles.Darwin.Episode.Three.part1.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/290686616/The.Genius.of.Charles.Darwin.Episode.Three.part2.rar
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http://rapidshare.com/files/290745654/The.Genius.of.Charles.Darwin.Episode.Three.part7.rar

no pass

Richard Dawkins - The Root of All Evil? (2006)

Channel 4 description:

Episode 1: The God Delusion

Richard Dawkins is astounded that religious faith is gaining ground in the face of rational, scientific truth based on hard evidence. Julia Bard reports

In this two-part Channel 4 series, Professor Richard Dawkins challenges what he describes as 'a process of non-thinking called faith'. Dawkins is well known for bringing to a wide audience the complex scientific concepts that underpin evolution. His first book, The Selfish Gene was an international bestseller.

Truth lies and faith

He describes his astonishment that, at the start of the 21st century, religious faith is gaining ground in the face of rational, scientific truth. Science, based on scepticism, investigation and evidence, must continuously test its own concepts and claims. Faith, by definition, defies evidence: it is untested and unshakeable, and is therefore in direct contradiction with science.

In addition, though religions preach morality, peace and hope, in fact, says Dawkins, they bring intolerance, violence and destruction. The growth of extreme fundamentalism in so many religions across the world not only endangers humanity but, he argues, is in conflict with the trend over thousands of years of history for humanity to progress – to become more enlightened and more tolerant.

At the extremes

He explores the state of the three Abrahamic religions in the world today, from the political influence of rich and powerful Christian fundamentalist institutions in America to the deadly clash of Judaism, Christianity and Islam in the Middle East. He describes the Holy Land as the least enlightened place in the world, a microcosm of the threat to rational values and civilisation posed by religion, whose irrational roots, he says, are nourishing intolerance and murder.

There are plenty of characters to illustrate his thesis. There are fanatics, like the former West Bank settler who has taken the small step of converting from Jewish fundamentalist to Muslim fundamentalist, transferring his hatred from one side of the looking glass to the other. And the frighteningly charismatic leader of America's National Association of Evangelicals, who believes he has been chosen by God to convert Americans through religious gatherings that resemble rock concerts – though to Dawkins they feel more reminiscent of Nuremberg rallies.

Then there are the desperate, like those carrying burdens of disability or disease, who are among the 80,000 people a year who make the pilgrimage to Lourdes. Dawkins does the maths: out of the millions who, over a century, have placed their faith in a miracle restoring them to good health, there have been only 66 authenticated cures. This is hardly a strong record, he says, arguing that it is better for us to embrace truth than false hope.

A sense of belonging

Drawing on such examples, it is not difficult to demolish the claims of religion as fairytales, and dangerous ones at that. But there is more to religion than ancient stories and articles of faith. Dawkins touches on the sense of belonging promised by religious groups but dismisses this as 'seductive group solidarity', which he describes as a 'shared delusion'. In doing so, he glances off the more subtle dilemmas of how religions and religious traditions are woven through people's notions of 'community', 'history' and 'identity'.

Having a sense of one's place in the world is important to everyone but has particular significance for minorities and peoples under political, economic or military pressure. Individuals may even accept Dawkins' atheistic and scientific deconstruction of the myths they have grown up with but still defend and nurture the matrix of institutions, practices and relationships which make them who they are.


Episode 2: The Virus of Faith

How is it, asks Richard Dawkins, that despite science having exposed old religious myths, militant faith is back on the march? The mechanism for perpetuating beliefs that Dawkins describes as leading to murderous intolerance, is by imposing religion on children who are too inexperienced to judge it for themselves

We wouldn't categorise children according to their parents' political stance, says Dawkins, since they are too young to make up their minds about such matters. But we segregate them in sectarian religious schools, where they are taught superstitions drawn from ancient scriptures of dubious origin, which promote a 'contradictory and poisonous system of morals'.

(etc...)

link







http://rapidshare.com/files/116552751/The_God_Delusion.part1.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/116545844/The_God_Delusion.part2.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/116539227/The_God_Delusion.part3.rar

http://rapidshare.com/files/116569921/The_Virus_of_Faith.part1.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/116562478/The_Virus_of_Faith.part2.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/116555388/The_Virus_of_Faith.part3.rar

no pass

Richard Dawkins - Nice Guys Finish First (1987)

quote:

Produced in the mid 1980s by Jeremy Taylor and Richard Dawkins for BBC's Horizon series. It was based mainly on the chapter of the same name in the Second Edition of The Selfish Gene.

Richard Dawkins explains how co-ooperation in nature – so long as it is of benefit to the selfish gene. His search for stable co-operative strategies, which remain unaffected by cheating and exploitation, involves an extraordinary game known as the Prisoners’ Dilemma, normally used by psychologists to study human behaviour. In their attempts to earn real money, players must wrestle with a dilemma – whether to follow their natural instincts of co-operation or the dictates of reason and behave selfishly.



http://rapidshare.com/files/224692141/BBC.Horizon-Nice.Guys.Finish.First.part1.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/224692503/BBC.Horizon-Nice.Guys.Finish.First.part2.rar
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http://rapidshare.com/files/224645224/BBC.Horizon-Nice.Guys.Finish.First.part4.rar

no pw

http://rapidshare.com/files/64804764/Horizon_-_Nice_Guys_Finish_First.part1.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/64810773/Horizon_-_Nice_Guys_Finish_First.part2.rar
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http://rapidshare.com/files/64798409/Horizon_-_Nice_Guys_Finish_First.part7.rar

no pw