Skip to main content

GOD DELUSION PODCASTS


Oxford University Dept. of Continuing Education

PODCASTS ON DAWKINS' THE GOD DELUSION, by myself and Marianne Talbot. From the God Delusion weekend we ran a short while ago. Available here: http://podcasts.ox.ac.uk/#conted-unit
PLEASE NOTE: type "stephen Law" or "God delusion" into the search window within the webpage to locate the relevant podcasts, as there are so many.

These are also available as VIDEOS from itunes - under PODCASTS - Oxford University - Continuing Education - God delusion Weekend - videos.

If you listen to just one of these podcasts, I'd make it "Attacking the God Hypothesis in Other Ways".

DIRECT LINK TO ITUNES HERE.


DIRECT LINKS TO Video:


1 "A Scientific Hypothesis?" by Marianne Talbot. (89:47) mp4

2 "The Strengths and Weaknesses of The God Delusion" by Stephen Law. (86:12) mp4

3 "Has Dawkins shown that God is Redundant?" by Marianne Talbot. (68:22) mp4

4 "Attacking the God hypothesis in other ways" by Stephen Law. (62:15) mp4

5 "The God Delusion: Questions and Answers" with Marianne Talbot, Stephen Law and Tom Fisher (74:42) mp4

Comments

Anonymous said…
Enjoyable stuff. I nearly choked, though, when Marianne Talbot essentially claimed that the deaths of 100,000 children from a volcanic eruption should be viewed as God's way of 'stimulating' the production of early warning systems.
Mental.
June 4, 2010 at 11:53 AM
The Atheist Missionary said…
Thanks for the link - downloading them right now.

Big news here on the home front. I have convinced the editor of our local newspaper to let me start writing a regular column that I plan to entitle "Irreligiosity". I had to come out of the closet sooner or later. I guess I can kiss that retainer from the local Presbytery goodbye. Best, TAM.
June 4, 2010 at 1:26 PM
TaiChi said…
Thanks Stephen, looking forward to listening to this, as I hope to write a blog post on Dawkins' argument.

By the way, I thoroughly enjoyed your earlier (2009) debate with Marianne Talbot on this topic.
June 5, 2010 at 9:13 AM
The Atheist Missionary said…
Just listened to "Attacking the God Hypothesis in Other Ways". That evil god hypothesis is hilarious. It would make a great stand-up routine. I'm going to suggest that Bill Maher contact your agent.
June 5, 2010 at 2:01 PM
Anonymous said…
Your work on the contrapositive evil deity hypothesis is great to hear in your own voice. It seems this epistemic wrecking ball is lost a bit on a lot of theists.
June 6, 2010 at 1:48 AM
DM said…
HIJACKING IN PROGRESS!!!

http://hawaiiwebgroup.com/maui-design/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/website-hijacking.jpg


HIJACKING IN PROGRESS!!!

how can these HEADLESS IDIOTS BET AGAINST GOD!!!
________________________________________


what happens when you LOSE Pascal's Wager...


http://www.peterkreeft.com/topics/pascals-wager.htm

_____________


you FIGHT PAPER MONSTERS...

the blood and bodies of the atheist movement...


you mofos killed MICKEY MOUSE!!!!


this has more TRUTH then what Dawkins, Randi, Harris, Myers, and Shermer combined have said in their entire lives...


http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=5R2wE8Sduhs&playnext_from=TL&videos=hht1U_19anc&feature=rec-LGOUT-exp_fresh%2Bdiv-1r-3-HM



they tried to BULLDOZE the entire METAPHYSICAL DIMENSION...

they LOST THE WAR......

you have FORFEIT YOUR SOUL, shermer... you have become an object in the material world, as you WISHED...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUB4j0n2UDU

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/7/11792994_ffaaee87fa.jpg

we're gonna smash that TV...

They had become ENEMIES OF THE PEOPLE AND OF GOD...
you pushed too much and *CROSSED THE LINE*

degenerates (PZ) or children (HEMANT) - ATHEISTS!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRRg2tWGDSY

do you have anything to say, you STUPID LITTLE F*CKER?

how about I tell you, Mr. Shermer, EVERYTHING YOU THINK ABOUT THE WORLD is

*WRONG*

THE BOOBQUAKE - 911!

http://dissidentphilosophy.lifediscussion.net/philosophy-f1/the-boobquake-911-t1310.htm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sx7XNb3Q9Ek

RUN, ATHEISTS, RUN!!!

-------------------
June 6, 2010 at 11:04 AM
TaiChi said…
I've just listened to the second mp3, and I have a comment regarding your adaptation of Mellor against Dawkins:

Mellor distinguishes physical and epistemic probability, but it seems to me that there is another kind of probability: logical probability. So just as you have logical, physical and epistemic possibility and necessity, you have probabilistic varietals of these.
Now, the thrust of Dawkins argument is, as you note, having to do with the complexity, the multiplicity of parts, which a designer would have to consist in. But, given a certain number of parts, there are great many number of ways to permute the structural arrangement of these parts, and the number of such arrangements will increase exponentially relative to the number of parts. By the principle of indifference, we can accord these arrangements an equal probability, and this means that any single arrangement will be unlikely. Assuming that only a few of these are minds capable of the designing required, then we can say that the logical probability of a designer is very low.
June 6, 2010 at 11:24 AM
Billy said…
I think another answer to why an evil god allows "positive experiences" could be because it alienates other believers who have not been "delivered" from their problems and leaves them feeling rejected even by god. This is something I have observed in others in my former life as a christian. Of course, these "miracles" were always of the friend of a friend of a friend once overheard on the bus type of thing, but it left others wondering why they had not been cured or comforted (it also raises question about how healthy beliefs in miracles can be).

Are there any studies done on this?
June 6, 2010 at 7:43 PM
Stephen Law said…
Not to my knowledge. Interesting thought though.
June 6, 2010 at 8:33 PM
DM said…
see, I am going to give you a taste of PZ Myers' GARBAGE...

http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2010/06/sunday_sacrilege_imagine_no_he.php


HIJACKING IN PROGRESS!!!

http://hawaiiwebgroup.com/maui-design/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/website-hijacking.jpg


HIJACKING IN PROGRESS!!!

how can these HEADLESS IDIOTS BET AGAINST GOD!!!
________________________________________


what happens when you LOSE Pascal's Wager...


http://www.peterkreeft.com/topics/pascals-wager.htm

_____________


you FIGHT PAPER MONSTERS...

the blood and bodies of the atheist movement...


you mofos killed MICKEY MOUSE!!!!


this has more TRUTH then what Dawkins, Randi, Harris, Myers, and Shermer
combined have said in their entire lives...


http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=5R2wE8Sduhs&playnext_from=TL&videos=hht1U_19anc&feature=rec-LGOUT-exp_fresh%2Bdiv-1r-3-HM



they tried to BULLDOZE the entire METAPHYSICAL DIMENSION...

they LOST THE WAR......

you have FORFEIT YOUR SOUL, shermer... you have become an object in the
material world, as you WISHED...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUB4j0n2UDU

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/7/11792994_ffaaee87fa.jpg

we're gonna smash that TV...

They had become ENEMIES OF THE PEOPLE AND OF GOD...
you pushed too much and *CROSSED THE LINE*

degenerates (PZ) or children (HEMANT) - ATHEISTS!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRRg2tWGDSY

do you have anything to say, you STUPID LITTLE F*CKER?

how about I tell you, Mr. Shermer, EVERYTHING YOU THINK ABOUT THE WORLD is

*WRONG*

THE BOOBQUAKE - 911!

http://dissidentphilosophy.lifediscussion.net/philosophy-f1/the-boobquake-911-t1310.htm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sx7XNb3Q9Ek

RUN, ATHEISTS, RUN!!!

-------------------
June 6, 2010 at 9:07 PM
Mike said…
Thanks for providing the direct links. Those really help.
June 7, 2010 at 12:29 AM
Hal said…
As I listen to these, I find myself annoyed at the extensive interruptions by members of the audience who seem to think they are on the speakers' list. One of them (especially in Stephen's first lecture) won't even let him respond to the question (usually off-topic) he raises. Most annoying.
June 7, 2010 at 3:40 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Evil God Challenge and the "classical" theist's response

On another blog, FideCogitActio, some theists of a "classical" stripe (that's to say, like Brian Davies, Edward Feser) are criticisng the Evil God Challenge (or I suppose, trying to show how it can be met, or sidestepped). The main post includes this: In book I, chapter 39 , Aquinas argues that “there cannot be evil in God” (in Deo non potest esse malum). Atheists like Law must face the fact that, if the words are to retain any sense, “God” simply cannot be “evil”. As my comments in the thread at Feser’s blog aimed to show, despite how much he mocks “the privation theory of evil,” Law himself cannot escape its logic: his entire argument requires that the world ought to appear less evil if it is to be taken as evidence of a good God. Even though he spurns the idea that evil is a privation of good, his account of an evil world is parasitic on a good ideal; this is no surprise, though, since all evil is parasitic on good ( SCG I, 11 ). Based on the conclusions of se...
446 comments
Read more

EVIDENCE, MIRACLES AND THE EXISTENCE OF JESUS

(Published in Faith and Philosophy 2011. Volume 28, Issue 2, April 2011. Stephen Law. Pages 129-151) EVIDENCE, MIRACLES AND THE EXISTENCE OF JESUS Stephen Law Abstract The vast majority of Biblical historians believe there is evidence sufficient to place Jesus’ existence beyond reasonable doubt. Many believe the New Testament documents alone suffice firmly to establish Jesus as an actual, historical figure. I question these views. In particular, I argue (i) that the three most popular criteria by which various non-miraculous New Testament claims made about Jesus are supposedly corroborated are not sufficient, either singly or jointly, to place his existence beyond reasonable doubt, and (ii) that a prima facie plausible principle concerning how evidence should be assessed – a principle I call the contamination principle – entails that, given the large proportion of uncorroborated miracle claims made about Jesus in the New Testament documents, we should, in the absence of indepen...
159 comments
Read more

Sye show continues

I was sent a link to this , for those interested in the never ending saga of Sye TenBruggencate and his "proof" of the existence of God. Hit "sinner ministries' proof of the existence of god" link below or on side bar for 30+ earlier posts on this topic that I wrote during an extended interchange with him last summer (check the literally many hundreds of comments attached to these posts if you really want to get into how Sye thinks and argues). Sye's amazing intial "proof" is available here . PS. For those interested, my own "presuppositional" proof, parodying Sye's proof by his principle "the impossibility of the contrary" (which turns out to be the key to Sye's proof) is: My claim: Sye's mind is addled and his thinking unreliable because he was hit on the head by a rock. Prove this is false, Sye. Try to, and I will say - "But your "proof" presupposes your mind is not addled and you can recognise a pr...
250 comments
Read more