DOUGLAS ADAMS: AMERICAN ATHEIST INTERVIEW
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- Опубликовано: 5 окт 2007
- Interview with American Atheist by Douglas Adams, Douglas Adams Radical Atheist, The voice is, of course, Simon Jones (Arthur Dent from "The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy"). Is a great interview, you can see the transcript in the pages of American Atheist
Hitch-hiker's guide is an awsum book.
He's a great man.
"isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?"
great quote.
Hello, I'm Arthur Dent and I approve of this message...
douglas was such a intelligant man. and a talanted writer. a loss to all of us. and I agree to every word he says here
I completely agree with everything he says.
Douglas Adams is great!
great stuff
john
Douglas Adams is the man.
This is mindblowing
Brilliant :)
glad to hear it tcflo9, keep it to yourself and rejoice on your own
Love the Django Reinhardt and Stephen Grappelli in the background.
Beautiful music choice, Minor Swing.
Thank you I will see if I can watch the film. With regards to your first point for me it is more important for me to find some truth because when I die I die. So it matters that I find something out now. I believe that this is best done through debate. For the second point everyone I know has been taught to care for and help others. Not just Christians but atheists et. al. the fact that we are only mammals enhances the mystery of life for me and causes me to care deeply about humanity as a whole
That's...that Simon Jones.
Wow.
He's got such a theatrical voice. The fact that this man became the ever-so-average Arthur Dent so easily and convincingly is, quite frankly, amazing.
this guy is one of the smartest men alive
Sadly he is not alive anymore since 2001, at least not on earth. It was a shock to many he left so suddenly. Perhaps needed elsewhere in a hurry. Who can tell.. who can tell..
D.N.A is a hero of life. My hero.
Why does it have to get cut short? :( I wish I could listen to the rest.
That's correct - and 'American Atheist', the publication in which this interview appeared is, not too surprisingly, American.
I wouldn't call myself an atheist, though I'm convinced that Douglas Adams was a genious.
And yes, Doug was Brit
Douglas wasn't so sure as he may sound in this interview.
Shame it just cuts off. Anyone have a link to a full version?
+Travis Babb atheists.org/community/douglas-adams-interview
@leopacman11 Yeah, this is taken directly from the Audiobook.
@winehousedrunk I exaggerated: it must've been around when I was 16 or so, but I can't remember exactly, as it was so long ago.
The fairies at the bottom are called earthworms.
I don't fully understand your comment (notice english is not my native language), are you sure this reply is for me? my reply was for the user mjZstargirl who said: "where do you think he got his talent from?"... that sounds pretty close to "divine invisible being coming soon to your screen to explay that"...
A better question is, Did I do well by those whom I left behind?
I think the answer is the same in either case.
They call that "pascals wager" if you didn't know, and I can only ask you, exactly WHICH god should I belive in?
stuff like talent also stems from exposure. If he's exposed to comedy and quality writing for a young age he'll be good or at least attracted to it. (And he was a fan of the Pythons, I believe)
What is the evidence for intelligent design?
In a safe place.
@fredatled Apparently, I think outside your rational box, and I do not plan to regress to a state where I can fit my mind into one. Have one on me; I discarded it when I was 12.
oh snap! didn't even notice the address hahaha clever.
@themeaningoflif Most if not all of this is in the book "the salmon of doubt" by douglas adams. Read it :)
something to support it, and it is also respected more in schools than Christianity. On the other had religion should not be oppressed on anyone no matter which one it is. Religion like Atheism is a choice we choice to believe it or not.
@MazeleyFanClub
Your Point?
although I find the term spirit-that-moves-through-all-things more elegant and accurate. Just because there is no old man in heaven watching over us does not mean there is no spirit or psychic connection between all the elements of life.
@nate4021 But then the garden dies with the coming of the Autumn. The leaves die in their greatest beauty. The fairies live on till the next Spring and if people labor again the beauty is again. But in my case the nutrients of the soil where exhausted and the garden kept getting less beautiful. Now it is just a lawn which my pets trample at will. As I drink my ale I wonder if the fairies ever really existed! So the next step would be a scientific one if I choose to have the garden back. Thanks
@Darkaero199 :FOURTY TWO !!!??
@fredatled Actually many religious people do think about this thoroughly but sadly are not taken seriously. It is not sad because they aren't taken seriously but because those religious people that easily hold the title RELIGIOUS NUTCASE are the ones that are taken seriously. Many prejudice scientists chose to make the NUTCASES the primary example of all whom are religious in any shape or form. In the end every man is entitled to his beliefs. I believe in God, you see otherwise that's ure right.
Your soul.
we can't create matter.
LOL 42!
troyontime, I notice that you mention the film 'Expelled', May I urge you to consider looking into the controversy surrounding the movie from the other side too.
The person involved was a cheat who failed to submit his work for review and used his position to publish an article which he knew would not have passed. it was opinion and belonged in letters or in discussion papers, not a scientific journal.
If cheating is how someone makes claims, then it is not something you should support.
lol!
@Mr88playmaker I can play that game too.
There are three models of Government competing for world domination:
(1) Secularism: Where politics and philosophers debate laws and the right of people.
(2) Sharia Law: where the Qu'ron governs
On the topic below and all like it: why is it so hard to harmonize religion and atheism, to see each as defining the other? Suppose science continues to advance, perhaps we can engineer ("create") whole galaxies, and develop little thought chips in our brains so infinitesimal that we become almost a singular collective consciousness and look over such a universe of life. If we could, then suppose there exists such a force guiding us now. Wouldn't that be god by definition? Aren't both true?
I have not seen the film, but I have followed this closely in publications which I read, they present a fair discussions of the issues raised.
I urge you to look at the rather lengthy list of lectures from Stanford University on my channel. You will see there a very through discussion of evolution and hear the voice of detractors in context, within an academic environment.
Expelled asserts that a conspiracy exists against ID, it does not
It is fringe ideas, there is no controversy
learn biology
Calling atheism a faith is like calling not taking drugs an addiction…
Well just look at it this way:
I would rather die believing there is a God, and find out there is no God.
Rather then; die not believing there is a God and find out there is a God.
I, my friend have NOTHING to lose, you on the other hand have EVERYTHING to lose.
In addition, this is an argument of infinite regress. If hyper-evolved aliens behave like gods it still doesn't solve the problem of who (if anyone) created the aliens, and all the matter/energy in the universe, in the first place. Accordingly a resolution between atheism and theism is impossible as the 'a' rather suggests.
I think you didn't get it.
Chaffinch4, check out the GOD DELUSION by Dawkins as it demonstrates an interpretation of Einstein's God as non-religious and misconstrued and falsely used as religious. But it's one of only several opinions on the issue. You bring up a good point nonetheless.
Peace, may you have a sense of the indivisible whole of which every religion and philosophy is only an aspect.
It was Simon Jones and that is a massive wow...
But come on... how much more of a wow would it have been if it had been PETER Jones? Wouldn't that be ace? The BOOK reading the author?
(And yes, I know Peter's dead....!)
I almost never use the term god.
Christianity simply does not make sense until you have faced the sort of facts I have been describing. Christianity tells people to repent and promises them forgiveness. It therefore has nothing (as far as I know) to say to people who do not know they have done anything to repent of and who do not feel that they need forgiveness.
-C.S. LEWIS
troyontime, I reread my comment, It is indeed very strongly worded, this no doubt, prompted your response.
Let me explain less clumsily;
Consider how you would feel if Islam, or some other faith which you strongly disagreed with was taught to your kids, or if it was the basis for laws and your rights as a human being.
Secularism is freedom of expression for everybody on the basis of democratically agreed law.
challenge that and you inspire religious rage.
Keep religion out of ed and politics
@fredatled Deluded arrogance equals ignorance, in this case, of profound religious thought.
Which he admitted could happen.
I dont understand what you mean? are you Athesit? I would love to see religion out of the window and Science & Reason in through the door...
MICE!?....
2:15 your gut feeling was wrong buddy.
Philosophically I guess you could say that I am an agnostic or agnostic atheist.
I can't be 100% sure that there is no god or gods and it's pretty much impossible to disprove a fairy tale (or a fairy).
I'm 99,999999etc% sure that there is not a magic pink elephant named Lenny in the room next door.
So I would say that in life I'm an atheist when it comes to "Lenny" .
Of course I can never be 100% sure, but I don't think that would make me an "Lenny" agnostic.
These are all excellent arguments against the modern concept of god that Christians, Jews and Islams. However there are understandings of spirit and the interconnectedness of all the energies of the universe that these arguments have nothing to do with. The sum total of all the experiences of all the energy of the universe can be summed up as god.
You will waste your only life living in ignorance of the magnificence of reality.
@Mr88playmaker
"In America, there exists not one single legal document that states or suggests that your rights and liberties are granted by men"
I quote your own historical documents..
"we hold these truths to be self evident "
I'm pretty sure that those "truths" are at least the beginnings of your own country's right to governance without religious interference
The "we" referred to in the quote were MEN, some of them Atheists
Your constitution guarantees every citizen freedom FROM religion
That is god-of-the-gaps theology. Ultimately, it is a dead end.
@opulase1 never it has been confirm
He´s got his talent from:
- a VERY good Education
- a broadminded View of Things
- the Ability to look behind the Views that were introducted to you by your Parents etc.
- a very good sense of Proportion !!!
...and NOT (at all) from some sort of GOD !
God wouldn't care if you chose to have faith in him or not so it doesn't matter what people think of the immeasurable or unthinkable.. just be cool to others and expect others to be cool to you.. basic self evident common sense.
@Mr88playmaker did you know thomas jefferson wrote that ....a man, does that make him your god!
@TheRobotarchie Humanity would greatly benefit if the concept of a perpetual tribal tyrant who controlled all matter and mind was erased from our collective memory.
Consider also that 70% of scientists profess some kind of religious faith.
Even those who have a sense of a personal God are not suggesting that evolution is false.
ID is a cultural phenomena inspired by 2 small groups, American and Islamic fundamentalists. The basis for their ideas is biblical text and not experiment or testing.
ID was ruled to be religion in the Dover trial, No scientists were forthcoming to defend it.
Expelled makes wrong assertions.
omg hes not!, excuse my ignorance but i just got really really sad......ok im over it now but he was very smart
@fredatled Do you believe in your version of the truth? Is yours better than mine? Have you seen yours? How can you know that your perception of what is true or untrue is of the highest order? How can you prove that mine is wrong as a consequence of it being of a lower, or even, the lowest order? You cannot, and as a consequence, your faith in exclusively rationally begotten evidence, is a leap of unsubstantiated faith that leaves you short of spanning the abyss of ignorance and arrogance.
The burden of proof isn't on atheists to prove non-existence, but theists to prove god since they make the claim there is one.
True. Athiesm can do nothing to assuage your guilt or allivate your fears of death, sorry. You did what you did and you die when you die, no matter how you feel about it, how inconvinient it may be. Just because your worldview NEEDS something to be true does not make it so.
lol you got it wroung, no college i guess
Where he got his talent from?... well... from God, Allah, Shiva, Brahma, The Great Ju-Ju Up The Mountain....blahblah... shall I continue?
So as God is all, and so are we of God and in God, and so is God within us all, and so are we equal in God, and so as God is love, and so are we equal in love, but unequal in hate, and so as love equals knowledge and hate equals ignorance, our will for good or for evil is free, yet our will for good is blessed. I hold these truths to be self evident.
Which god, and why that particular one?
Why don’t you believe in any of the thousands of gods mankind believes/has believed in?
What convinced you your god is real? What is your evidence for its existence? Bible isn’t evidence, as it is the CLAIM. “Look at the trees” or you mistaking your inner voice for the voice of a deity doesn’t cut it either, I’m afraid.
Do you know that the god of the bible is mainly hate and loves to kill people for not believing or not making offerings the right way?
Did you know that Jesus supposedly (because there’s no evidence the man even existed) said: If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters-yes, even their own life-such a person cannot be my disciple? That doesn’t exactly sound very loving, does it.
You should try to use some critical thinking once in a while.
Gods are good entertaining fun, but there's no proof they exist, right?
The true religion is the ability to laugh. That is a gift from "god". Everytime you laugh, it's a prayer.
uh, the good selfless kind, that will help people. some how.
whatevs. sorry, i know this is 5 months ago, but still.
gotta love douglas adams. he was a genious.
Absolutely you, I, everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Yes religion has power over society and in some cases I do believe religion does not belong such as the government ruling a church and the religion it represents. With oppression I agree and disagree with that. This is because in most of the public schools i have seen have only oppressed Christianity while Judaism and Muslim where respected as legitimate beliefs. I believe Atheism is a belief because like anything you need to believe
No, it is not a belief, it is the absence of a belief. It is your typical christian projection that makes you think that way.
@Mr88playmaker Ask those American citizens with Japanese ancestry how those unalienable, god given rights and liberties worked out for them in the 40's when their property was seized by the government including businesses and farmland, and they were shoved into internment camps. A right is not a right if it can be taken away. You have no rights.
i love how every one thinks ever Christian is a complete dunderhead. "You believe in god therefor you CAN'T believe in ANYTHING other god". i am a christian, i believe in evolution, in science, gay rights, and so on. can we just except peoples believes and move on instead of being assholes to everyone? oh, no, thats to easy, to rational, we need to hate someone, right?
DNA itself proves there is a god. It can’t be created at random. Oh the irony....
@xEXABYTEx
Atheism is a LACK of belief.
well first Atheist is NOT BELIEVING IN FAIRY TALES!, Atheist rule their life with Reason, Science and logic, when a scientist takes away believes then they can really work on their stuff, by taking away crazy thinking I think you need to read more on what BELIEVES are, ATHEISM is not a branch of theology Atheist don't have faith, we apply RATIONAL THINKING! let me tell you that thanks to religion science hasn't got far enough and it is retarding our advancement in science
@fredatled Clearly they have lost their towels.
lulz sorry no offence but three words whales marvin and marigolds
Douglas wasn't american!
...what does science say about there being a God?
well NOTHING! hey there is no evdence for god, people have try to demostrate the evidence of god, but simpley it is a fairy tale!! I dont know your point, and I brough this up becasue you are the first one who thinks Scientist and Atheist should not go toughether... read more about science and Atheism
BTW here is a proof you dont know what you are taking about:
Def. of Atheism: Disbelief in, or denial of, the existence of a god.
What argument? You didn't present an argument you simply rather ignorantly stated that Catholics aren't Christians and being an atheist is akin to being a founder of communist Russia. You stated two things which are empirically incorrect. You cannot divert this by trying to pass off our refutations of your argument as political correctness. You are bowing out of this discussion because you cannot possibly come back from what we have said. You are wrong. I hope this makes U review ur beliefs.
unfortunately he CANT prove that there is a god, because he CANT prove a negative, he has to live with his imaginary friend until he dies, waist his life on this genocidal, blood thirsty, who like virgins sex, the guy who suppose created the universe and we simple humans haver to worship this ass god just because he exist and never has the fucking nerve to come to the earth to prove himself!
to bad people still believe fairy tales and because of this ass we have so many wars
First off: It's embryonic not embyonic.
Second: You are obviously a person who needs a scientific explanation and reason for everything, which i don't.
You don't believe you have a soul, sucks for you. (: