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The God Delusion Paperback – Bargain Price, January 16, 2008

4.5 out of 5 stars 13,811 ratings

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A preeminent scientist -- and the world's most prominent atheist -- asserts the irrationality of belief in God and the grievous harm religion has inflicted on society, from the Crusades to 9/11.

With rigor and wit, Dawkins examines God in all his forms, from the sex-obsessed tyrant of the Old Testament to the more benign (but still illogical) Celestial Watchmaker favored by some Enlightenment thinkers. He eviscerates the major arguments for religion and demonstrates the supreme improbability of a supreme being. He shows how religion fuels war, foments bigotry, and abuses children, buttressing his points with historical and contemporary evidence.
The God Delusion makes a compelling case that belief in God is not just wrong but potentially deadly. It also offers exhilarating insight into the advantages of atheism to the individual and society, not the least of which is a clearer, truer appreciation of the universe's wonders than any faith could ever muster.
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"A powerful argument for how to think about the place of religion in the modern world. It's going to be a classic." -- Seed Magazine

"In the roiling debate between science and religion, it would be hard to exaggerate the enormous influence of Richard Dawkins." Salon

"A particularly comprehensive case against religion. Everyone should read it. Atheists will love Mr. Dawkins's incisive logic and rapier wit, and theists will find few better tests of the robustness of their faith." --Economist

"If I had to identify Dawkins's cardinal virtues, I would say that he is brilliant, articulate, impassioned, and impolite . . .The God Delusion is a fine and significant book." The San Francisco Chronicle

About the Author

Richard Dawkins taught zoology at the University of California at Berkeley and at Oxford University and is now the Charles Simonyi Professor of the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford, a position he has held since 1995. Among his previous books are The Ancestor’s Tale, The Selfish Gene, The Blind Watchmaker, Climbing Mount Improbable, Unweaving the Rainbow, and A Devil’s Chaplain. Dawkins lives in Oxford with his wife, the actress and artist Lalla Ward.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Mariner Books
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 16, 2008
  • Edition ‏ : ‎ Reprint
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 464 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0618918248
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0618918249
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.05 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 1.06 x 8.25 inches
  • Best Sellers Rank: #27,166 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 out of 5 stars 13,811 ratings

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Richard Dawkins
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Richard Dawkins taught zoology at the University of California at Berkeley and at Oxford University and is now the Charles Simonyi Professor of the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford, a position he has held since 1995. Among his previous books are The Ancestor's Tale, The Selfish Gene, The Blind Watchmaker, Climbing Mount Improbable, Unweaving the Rainbow, and A Devil's Chaplain. Dawkins lives in Oxford with his wife, the actress and artist Lalla Ward.

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Customers say

Customers find the book highly readable and thought-provoking, describing it as a good start to help answer some questions. Moreover, they appreciate its wit, particularly its British style and satirical tone. However, the religious content receives mixed reactions, with several customers noting that it ignores positive contributions of religion. Additionally, the book's comprehensiveness and readability receive mixed reviews, with some finding it uninteresting and repetitive.

1,174 customers mention "Readability"1,046 positive128 negative

Customers find the book highly readable and fun to read, with one customer describing it as a masterpiece.

"...Overall, Great book that Ill continue to cite and reexamine but many pages aren't useful." Read more

"...All round a great book, not a very difficult read, and written with wit, humour, and lots of compassion...." Read more

"...Nonetheless the book is well written and fascinating and believers and nonbelievers alike can get much value from it...." Read more

"Elegant. Smart. Rational. Objective. Well written. Logic. Factual...." Read more

929 customers mention "Thought provoking"836 positive93 negative

Customers find the book thought-provoking, describing it as insightful and educational, with one customer noting its scholarly approach.

"...Further on, his thorough, reasoned treatment of various aspects of faith and reality, and of fair evidence made a compelling case for placing..." Read more

"...ideas expressed therein would inevitably triumph because they were so logical and self-evident...." Read more

"Interesting but condescending in the prognostication that any one educated and intelligent would automatically become an atheist...." Read more

"...He is honest and straightforward in his hatred for God and admits that although he rejects all religions, the primary target of this book is..." Read more

123 customers mention "Wit"104 positive19 negative

Customers appreciate the book's wit, describing it as a good-humored treatise with a bitterly satirical tone and style that makes it laugh-out-loud funny in parts.

"...Prof. Dawkins is one of the kindest, most considerate, charming, witty, even-tempered, mannered, cordial, courtly, and articulate people of..." Read more

"...It's difficult to say why. It has a charm, an honesty, and a humor that together conspire to make an entertaining read. Solid 5 star book." Read more

"...written from a strong anti-religion position, it was well written, funny, serious, entertaining, offending, but overall prompted serious..." Read more

"...its amazing and even humorous, shocking and has its WTF moments!..." Read more

282 customers mention "Religious content"121 positive161 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the religious content of the book, with some appreciating its logical approach to dismantling religious arguments, while others find it too focused on atheism.

"...Simply put, God does not exist...." Read more

"Richard Dawkins is such a great scientist that I cannot follow all matters he explores in this book...." Read more

"...The topic disturbs my soul. The author's thesis is that there is no God , because God cannot be proved to exist...." Read more

"From a staunch believer: a must read for both believers and non-believers...." Read more

61 customers mention "Comprehension"42 positive19 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the book's comprehensibility, with some finding it a tremendous introduction and good start to answer questions, while others find the thinking obtuse and unconvincing about Intelligent Design.

"Dawkins is incredible! He is detailed, specific, tongue in cheek at times and altogether rich in his intellectual paths...." Read more

"...topic addressed with these two approaches: rigorous logics, and comprehensiveness...." Read more

"...However, at times, Dawkins' book becomes tedious, ponderous, and textbook-like...." Read more

"...It is comprehensive and masterfully written, provoking thought and following reason to its logical end...." Read more

67 customers mention "Boredom"10 positive57 negative

Customers find the book uninteresting and repetitive, describing it as drawn out and boring.

"Boring and pointless, but a good read to understand the frustrations of others." Read more

"...amazingly blind, lazy, defeatist, divisive, infantile, fanatical. This is too bad, since Dawkins is a powerful intellect and a fine writer...." Read more

"...I don't know why he decided to write a book on philosophy. Not worth your time, read books written by professionals of that field instead...." Read more

"...Sometimes the narrative is a bit incoherent, but I'd recommend it to anyone interested in the topic!" Read more

Great book, poorly manufactured.
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Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on April 30, 2009
    The irrationality in religious arguments for the existence of God.

    In this book and his related conferences around the world Richard Dawkins rightly demonstrates the irrationality in the arguments put forward for the existence of god. He also correctly analyzes the distorted thinking in major religions of the world and in Creationist dogma under the guise of "Intelligent Design" and how religions have been harming societies of the world throughout history. He refutes many religious allegations that claim to prove the existence of god one by one by showing the distorted and inconsistent thinking in them. For example, the religious reasoning that if science can not explain a natural event this is proof that the natural event is designed and caused by God and therefore God exists is ludicrous. The fact that something is not yet explained by science is no proof of the existence of God. Many natural events that have scientific explanations today could not be explained scientifically centuries ago. Dawkins gives the example that thousands of years ago humans could not explain the sunrise and concluded therefore that it was an event caused by a diety. Science does not claim to be able to explain everything. However, even if science can never explain a certain natural event this does not lead to the logical conclusion that God did it and that God exists.

    Somethings can not be proved nor disproved scientifically. For something to constitute a scientific hypothesis it must be falsifiable either by observation and / or experimentation. I recommend that the reader refer to Karl Popper's books on the philosophy of science for details, although the subjectivity of observations has been brought as a counter argument by some people. When somebody makes a claim and says you can not disprove it by science that does not make the claim automatically true. Dawkins quotes the great philosopher Bertrand Russel on that : if somebody were to claim that a teapot was in orbit around the sun between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter this claim could not be proved nor disproved scientifically because at present we don't have telescopes powerful enough to show such a small object so far away from Earth. However, the fact that science can not disprove it does not make the claim true. Dawkins states that similarly the existence of goblins, genies etc. could be, in fact are claimed and their existence can not be disproved scientifically. Using this as an argument that they must therefore exist is illogical and irrational. By the same reasoning, claiming that God exists because science can not prove its non - existence is also ridiculous. If we want to conclude that God exists this must be based on some strong evidence, not necessarily scientific evidence, but some evidence nevertheless. Religion states that creation as explained in the Holy books is evidence. Dawkins demonstrates that holy scripture is not evidence ; it is not based on any rational reasoning. Religious reasoning goes : " it is so because the Bible / Kuran say so. You can not question the Holy books because they are scripture downloaded from God. "
    Dawkins reminds us that scientific reasoning is based on developing scientific hypothesis that can be tested against evidence. Science never claims to have found the ultimate truth, scientific explanations have been developing and changing for the past 400 years. By contrast, all the major religions claim to have the ultimate truth already. They are divine and written in the Bible, the Kuran etc. There is no need to test them because they are divine truths. And if science claims the contary regarding creation etc. it is science that is wrong, because the holy books are divine scripture and God can not be wrong. Dawkins reminds us that religion is based on faith resulting from indoctrination at childhood.

    Is God a scientific hypothesis or not ?

    I agree with all of Richard Dawkins' comments so far. But two of his statements in two different parts of his book / lectures seriously contradict one another. On the one hand he says that God should be a scientific hypothesis subject to proof or disproof like any scientific hypothesis. On the other hand he says that science can not disprove God. By themselves these statements are OK. But taken together they are mutually exclusive ; they can not both be true. If God is a scientific hypothesis we can not say science can not disprove God ; science may not yet have proved or disproved God. But as a scientific hypothesis it should eventually prove or disprove God. If on the other hand the statement that science can not disprove God is true then we can not say that God is or should be a scientifc hypothesis. Because something that can not be proved nor disproved scientifically, like the teapot in orbit around the sun, is not a scientific hypothesis. It seems that Richard Dawkins overlooked this contradiction in these two statements of his. He did not make these statements one after the other ; they are quite separate in his book / lecture. Put the two statements together and the contradiction is obvious. I think Mr. Dawkins needs to make up his mind about this; can the existence / non- existence of God be a scientific hypothesis or not ? If yes, then he should not say elsewhere in his book / lecture that science can not disprove God. He can say science has not yet disproved nor proved the existence of God. By contrast if he concludes that science can not disprove God then he should drop his other statement that God should be a scientific hypothesis. Both statements can be considered and discussed and perhaps accepted separately, but not together. It is obvious that Dawkins has been analyzing the subject of Religion and God for many years, has traveled the world, discussed with clergy of various religions etc. and is very knowledgeble about it on top of his expertise on biology. I am amazed that with so much knowledge he can fall into such a logical error.

    Proof / disproof does not have to be scientific.

    Whether God should be a scientific hypothesis or not is a discussable issue. However, I wish to add that not everything need be a scientific hypothesis to be fasifiable and / or provable. For example a brilliant detective like Sherlock Holmes can prove who committed a murder by analyzing various evidence and making logical inferences that at the end prove the murder. The method used by the detective is not science no matter how analytical or brilliant it maybe. Yet the proposition of who committed the murder is falsifiable and provable.

    Likewise many analytical and logical thinking methods that lead to proofs / disproofs are not science. For example mathematics, logic, historical analysis etc. are not science. Mathematics is a tool used by science. Many theorems can be proved / disproved mathematically. Some scientifc propositions maybe analyzed and helped to be proved mathematically but mathematical propositions themselves, although provable mathematically, are not falsifiable by observation and therefore not science. If as a reader of this review you find it hard to accept that math is not a science I recommend that you read some material on what science is and is not. Math is a very valuable analytical tool of science, but is not science itself.

    My main point is that if it is concluded that God is a scientific hypothesis its existence / non-existence will eventually be proved or disproved, however long it may take. But it does not need to be a scientific hypothesis to be falsifiable or provable. On the other hand, if it is determined that God can not be a scientific hypothesis this does not mean that existence or non- existence of God can not be proved / disproved. It only means that the God proposition, although unscientific, has not yet been proved nor disproved but may be proved / disproved in the future by some other rational method that is not scientific. Or it may never be proved / disproved. What is certain is that irrational religious arguments have not proved the existence of God and never will. Any proof / disproof will come from some kind of rational method of reasoning.

    Are there any benefits of a religious life ?

    Among other subjects he mentions in his book Richard Dawkins says that religious ceremonies such as weddings in churches and the like should still be part of our culture and we should still learn about the Bible and other holy books like we learn about any work of literature. But that we should do these without indoctrination and dogma. When we study the Iliad and similar works as part of humankind's literature we don't necessarily believe in them. The study of Holy books should be no different.

    Do we need religion to have moral lives ?

    Dawkins also explains with examples that even though religious faith may sometimes provide psychological comfort, that does not make the religious claims true. The allegation that we must be religious to have moral and ethical lives is false. A person can be good without believing in God. Among religious people there are many good ones and many immoral ones. Some of the ethical teachings in the Holy books are good morality but many of them ( Dawkins gives many examples ) are immoral to common sense and downright detrimental to society.

    Who is the audience ?

    This book and Dawkins' lectures are very much needed in the contemporary world where religious polarization is on the rise. However, religious people will not read his book nor listen to his lectures. Even if they do they will not change their minds. Because minds that have been shaped by religious indoctrination since childhood can not be changed by logical arguments and presentation of scientific evidence. Were Galileo and Copernicus able to change the minds of the clergy by presenting scientific evidence of their theories ? Dawkins says that he received some messages from readers that they stopped believing in God and religion after having read his book. But I doubt that they were fundamental advocates of religion in the first place. This book is likely to ( in Dawkins terminology ) " raise the conciousness " of people who are moderately ( non - fanatic ) religious or non - religious. It has no chance of convincing the religious fanatic. Not because it is not a good book, but because dogmatic belief of any kind is not open to evidence of alternative opinions. In fact, we can see on Dawkins' videos on the internet how he has been insulted by religious leaders around the world when he went to discuss with them. I am sure Dawkins does not intend to convert them, perhaps he wants to expose their intolerance to the general public.

    What can we do ?

    I am writing this review from a country that has been a secular republic since its establishment in 1923 but has always been under threat of religious fundamentalism. In fact, access to Richard Dawkins' website is blocked by court decision from this country, no doubt as a result of religious fanatic initiative.

    I think the challenge facing the secular people in various countries in the world is keeping secular education alive and ensuring that children are brought up with secular - not necessarily atheist - methods of thinking.

    In his concluding remarks, Dawkins does not recommend parents to indoctrinate their children to become atheists, although he is an atheist himself. He says don't indoctrinate your children with religion and don't label them as catholic, protestant, moslem or jewish children. They ARE NOT catholic, protestant, moslem or jewish children. They are children of catholic, protestant,moslem or jewish parents. Labelling children as young as 4 years of age with religion is as ridiculous as labelling them as socialist, marxist, capitalist, keynesian, monetarist etc. Therefore Dawkins advises parents to let the children decide themselves when they become adults what they think of religion and of the holy books. Do not indoctrinate them to believe the Bible, the Kuran or atheism at a young age. This is very good advice, but unfortunately only a minority of the populations in many countries have the capability to provide a secular education for their children. I hope that secular education will become more widespread leaving the choice to be an aetheist or religious to the individual without indoctrinating him / her to be either. However, I am not too optimistic that this will ever be possible on a wide scale.

    Is Richard Dawkins taking security measures to protect himself ?

    I see on his videos on the internet that he goes around the world to discuss with leaders of militant Islam, with fundamentalist Christians and although he appears to be courteous on the videos he says that he is an atheist and is often insulted. His views are too extreme for religious people to tolerate and I am worried that he maybe attacked one day. It does not appear on the videos that he is taking any security measures.
    77 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on October 5, 2006
    I find the comments here interesting. I've got to order this book and read the author's viewpoint for myself. I have some thoughts concerning some of the comments posted here.
    As a Christian I see many problems with the church and those who call themselves "believers". I believe the entire concept of "hell" has been distorted over the years to scare people into church attendance. The Greek text doesn't seem to support the current concept of hell as much as Christians would like it to. Nor does the overall O.T./N.T. teaching on "hell". The modern church seems to do alot these days to increase attendance and make money in the name of God. I will never agree with that.
    I must say that all that comes in the name of science is not always science. Much of it is not observable nor can it be truly tested. We have to admit that what science has called fact and good for us often times becomes false and bad for us somewhere down the road. We all thought Pluto was a planet. Now some within the scientific realm are trying to tell us otherwise. I think there are more hidden agendas around than we want to admit to within science. It's not as cut and dry as we would like to make it. There is alot of philosophical thought within the discipline we call "science". Where scientific fact cannot be observed it is often substituted with the latest philosophy that promotes the cause. When this happens it should no longer be considered purely science or science at all. Much of it is not observable, testable, or repeatable.
    We turn to so-called "experts" but who can we call an expert when the experts cannot even agree? Even the most note-worthy of scientists that are considered credible still differ in opinion. Can we determine who is an expert simply from their educational background? If so, then since some colleges and universities are better than others then which college or university produces the best experts? Should the ones who earned a degree with an "A" average be considered better than the ones who earned a degree with a "C" average? Do internet classes count? If scientific experts disagree then which one should we consider to be the expert? We tend to agree with the ones that support our lifestyle choices and support our way of thinking.
    In the same manner much of what is done in the name of Christianity/Religion is neither Christian or particularly good in any way, shape, or form. Just because someone with a cause decides to label it as Christian doesn't make it so. All that comes in the name of Christianity is not necessarily Christian. You cannot judge Christianity by the deceived who claim to follow it yet show no evidence of it.
    I also question the concept of Christian's abusing children with the teaching of a concept of hell. While this may or may not be entirely true in some cases why doesn't anyone question the child abuse done over and over again by those who have absolutely no religious affiliation at all? How many naturalist/atheists have abused children? Some of the reviewers out here act as if only religious people are guilty of child abuse and that those who are not religious never abuse children. You tend to get angry over supposed abuse surrounding an ideology but not physical forms of abuse or perhaps false ideologies that you may hold to that have been taught to your children.
    If morality evolved along with us apart from a god then how do we know it evolved properly? Is there a morality of the fittest as well? Random chance morality doesn't seem all that wonderful. If we all evolved and there are many, many different views of morality how do we decide which moral stance is right and which one is wrong? Obviously some evolved better or at least different than others. How do we make the determination that one view of morality evolved better than another? Which evolved view of morality do we accept and cherish as being proper?
    What if my evolved morality believes that it is proper to kill one of your children yet your evolved morality says that it is not o.k. for me to kill your children? If it is all part of a random chance evolved morality how can you say it is wrong for someone to believe that murder is right? What is the standard for morality in the world of "evolved morals"?
    When it comes to evolution I have often wondered why "man" as the highest evolved creature seems to have less ability to survive in some cases than the lower evolved animals he dwells with. When the tsunamis hit most of the animals had something within them in that told them to seek higher ground before the flood water engulfed them. Meanwhile the human beings were swallowed by the wave. I would like to believe that mankind should have all that the animals have to survive plus so much more. Yet it is apparent that we dont. Why is it that the highest evolved species of man has so many problems? We are dispensing so many psychotropic drugs these days under the guise of "if we cannot help you we will sedate you". We turn to science for answers to our problems but many times we do not find any help at all. The concept of answering life's problems in an easy to swallow pill form seems appealing but it is not realistic. The problems still exist beyond our cloudy sedation and science induced designer pharmaceuticals. Our household pets seem to have less problems than us. That doesn't always make me feel like the crowning glory of the evolutionary process. I do not see as much adaptation to the environment as I do stress, trying to cope, and all out searching for answers. The plethora of self-help material, over use of prescription drugs, psychology, and psychiatry seem to point to a problem without certain answers.
    I don't have to mention all of the down sides to religion in my post here. Others will do fine without my help. I just lost a marriage that I wanted that only got worse when church people became involved. I don't need to hear about what is wrong with the church goers. I already know. It seems likely that both sides are lacking in evidence and explanation. As Christians we need to focus more on living a proper lifestyle that sets an example and doesn't leave non-believers wondering-"What is so great about Christianity or religion?" As for science-----there needs to be some admitting of certain philosophical presuppositions that are held near and dear instead of calling it science.
    I'll give the book 5 out of 5 stars before I even read it. It's worth 5 stars simply because it promotes debate.
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Top reviews from other countries

  • J. Brand
    5.0 out of 5 stars A powerful argument but perhaps a little too argumentative?
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 25, 2012
    Ii will probably not be news to most people that Dawkins' main premise is that the proofs of god's existence are flawed and the probability of god's existence is so astoundingly remote that without some quite unlikely new evidence being produced we should ignore the concept.

    Expressed like that this is a very simple book and one which is very difficult to argue with. Dawkins' quite comprehensively covers most of the main theological arguments and proofs for the existence of god and quite convincingly establishes that they are flawed in some way. Believe in god as an act of faith by all means but do not try to persuade anyone that it is a logical choice let alone something that is proved. However as said that is a fairly trivial point to dismiss those arguments.

    The better part of his book is where he considers the social effects of religion and illustrates the corrosive and damaging nature that religion can all too frequently have in society. Effects that mean that even if religion is long established by tradition it certainly has no automatic right to respect and the tacit assumption through much of modern society that we should respect it should be overhauled. The fact that someone believes in a particular god should far from giving them a right to impose those opinions on others be a reason to be suspicious of their motives. Is that too suspicious of religion? well consider Dawkins' arguments against religion being imposed on children and you might change your point of view. Dawkins' covers a lot of the moral, ethical etc. arguments for religion in society and reasonably easily demonstrates that far from being a moral source most religion is at best a selective reading of a few ancient texts. To follow the texts literally would be frighteningly evil so far from a moral source religion is just a synonym for whatever some section of society has decided and has little to do with what they profess to be their sacred texts.

    Of course not all religious people do deserve such opprobrium and that is one of the criticisms of the God Delusion. Richard Dawkins does seem a little too keen to put all religious people in the same box, Taliban fundamentalists and parents sending their child to sunday school seem to be grouped together in the same breath. He is also a little too keen to paraphrase other peoples arguments, resorting on a couple of occasions to presenting an imaginary argument with a religious proponent which is a particularly weak way of presenting his arguments as it can easily be dismissed, if a religious person would say that he should be able to quote an example and quoting hypothetical arguments lays him open to a charge that he is misrepresenting religion.

    Above all what Dawkins' does not do is prove that god does not exist. He demonstrates that god has not been shown to exist, that there are far more probable explanations and that religion where it does exist can be so socially damaging that there should be a presumption against religion rather than the tacit respect that it all too frequently is given.

    An excellent book if you'll excuse two dodgy strawman presentations of religious arguments but as they're not central to his argument they do not detract too much.
  • rlepsch
    5.0 out of 5 stars A decisive step into building my scientific mind
    Reviewed in Brazil on April 15, 2020
    This book is definitely a milestone in my life and it has been a great help on becoming a real humanist.
  • Peter Heise
    5.0 out of 5 stars What Now! Where do we go from here.
    Reviewed in Canada on February 3, 2013
    I have read (The God Delusion) from cover to cover with great interest because the subject is close to my heart. CONGRATULATIONS!

    Dr.R.Dawkins explanation of our narrow window of our burka world is very apropos, the ‘New Ten Commandments’ are refreshing, and the many quotes from Bertrand Russell etc are very revealing. I was hoping to find in his book the following quotes from Nietzsche’s “Beyond Good and Evil” written in 1886. Permit me: From 52: “To have bound up this New Testament (…) along with the Old Testament into one book, as the “Bible”, as the “Book in Itself”, is perhaps the greatest audacity and “sin against the Spirit” which literary Europe has upon its conscience.” From 57: “Perhaps the most solemn conceptions that have caused the most fighting and suffering, the conception of “God” and “sin”, will one day seem to us of no more importance than a child’s plaything…”.
    The question “WHAT NOW!” repeated itself many times before finishing the book to the point where I had to write to Dr. Dawkins.
    While investigating the book an inevitable conclusion arose leaving me with fact that civilization is at a critical Chaos-window, a critical point of bifurcation. This diagnosis becomes more and more urgent. We are living in a period of transformation which is struggling to be born. The Christian God-head and other religions are incomplete! We are in a world where knowledge and technology proliferates but wisdom languishes. The development of consciousness is the burden, suffering and blessing of humankind. We (all sides) are slowly going to be cooked in this alchemical retort (namely society) until we transcend our current state and differences and only then will the heat subside. The longer solutions are delayed the greater will be the heat! Understood psychologically, we either attract one another wisely in good spirit or confront one another in enmity.

    There is tremendous room for a sequel which could be a 'tour de force' given Dr. Dawkins popularity and abilities. It could help millions throughout the world in raising our consciousness and in shifting the moral Zeitgeist. This shift may be slow but it is time to raise the curtain on our next act and with it our collective awareness.
    We can evolve to a Breakthrough! Future generations may well look back at this time and regard it as a defining moment when man became more human.
  • Placeholder
    5.0 out of 5 stars Provocative, Enlightening, Contentious!!!
    Reviewed in India on August 31, 2023
    "The God Delusion" resurfaces like a philosophical comet, leaving a trail of fiery discussions and sparking fresh constellations of thought in its wake. Richard Dawkins' magnum opus continues to electrify minds, and this edition, adorned with new insights, feels like an awakening of intellectual exploration.

    Dawkins' prose is a symphony of eloquence and persuasion, orchestrating an ardent critique of religious dogma with a precision that is both awe-inspiring and disruptive. Like a master sculptor, he carves through the marble of faith, revealing the contours of reason that lay hidden beneath. The verve of his writing isn't just for show; it is the rallying cry of rationality that ignites minds and challenges them to dare question centuries-old beliefs.

    In this iteration, the book boasts an updated prelude and a concluding reflection by the author. These additions serve as a bridge between past and present, giving readers a compass to navigate the evolution of debates this book has instigated. Dawkins acknowledges the counterarguments his work has faced while steadfastly reaffirming his position—a gesture that is intellectually honest and encouraging of robust discourse.

    Dawkins' analogies are the torchlights guiding us through the labyrinth of theology. He compares belief without evidence to a spectrum of possibilities, from leprechauns to Zeus, forcing us to confront the arbitrary nature of our convictions. His poignant parables highlight the delusionary nature of faith and invite readers to break free from the chains of inherited beliefs.

    However, even in its brilliance, the book can be an acquired taste. Dawkins' unwavering conviction can occasionally feel like an unyielding wave crashing against differing shores, potentially alienating those who stand in the intersection of faith and skepticism. The book's focus on fundamentalist aspects of religion, while driving its point home, might not fully encapsulate the entirety of religious experience and expression.

    "The God Delusion" is a phoenix, reborn from the flames of debate, its feathers now glistening with a decade's worth of insights. Dawkins' words aren't merely text on paper; they are the spark that lights the tinder of contemplation. This edition compels readers to reckon with their beliefs and explore the borders of human knowledge and understanding.

    In closing, the Edition remains a beacon of intellectual audacity, beckoning readers to dance on the edge of enlightenment. Dawkins' magisterial work remains an essential read for the curious, the daring, and the truth-seekers among us. If you're prepared to embark on a voyage that challenges your convictions, this book will be your compass to navigate the uncharted waters of belief and reason.
  • 西本鞠亜奈
    5.0 out of 5 stars ?
    Reviewed in Japan on April 1, 2025
    Didn’t start yet but I’m very excited
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    西本鞠亜奈
    5.0 out of 5 stars
    ?

    Reviewed in Japan on April 1, 2025
    Didn’t start yet but I’m very excited
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