| Summary: |
Despite the mistaken use of the label "New Atheists," there is a lot of continuity over the past couple of centuries among atheist authors in their critiques of religion, theism, and superstition. Not every argument is identical, and even when the same basic argument is being offered there can be variety in how it is presented. This evolution of atheist critiques of supernatural religion is one of the virtues of Christopher Hitchens' book The Portable Atheist: Essential Readings for the Nonbeliever. Well known for his own atheist book God Is Not Great, Hitchens treads some very heavily-traveled ground here in editing a compendium of atheist writings. Do we really need yet another book of essays, isolated chapters, and other selections from atheists, agnostics, freethinkers and skeptics of the past? What could we get out of this latest offering that we didn't get from the past half dozen that we bought - or the others that we simply skipped? Those are good questions, and reasons why I was skeptical of Hitchens' book, but in the end I think he succeeds in making his book more than "just one more" collection of atheist essays.
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| Contents: |
Introduction / Christopher Hitchens --- Lucretius, from De Rerum Natura (On the nature of things), Book I, translated by W. Hannaford Brown --- Omar Khayyám, from Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám : a paraphrase from several literal translations by Richard Le Gallienne --- Thomas Hobbes, Of religion, from Leviathan --- Benedict de Spinoza, Theological-political treatise --- David Hume, The natural history of religion; Of miracles --- James Boswell, An account of my last interview with David Hume, Esq. --- Percy Bysshe Shelley, A refutation of deism --- John Stuart Mill, Moral influences in my early youth, from Autobiography --- Karl Marx, Contribution to the critique of Hegel's Philosophy of right --- George Elliot, Evangelical teaching --- Charles Darwin, Autobiography --- Leslie Stephen, An agnostic's apology --- Analote France, Miracle --- Mark Twain, Thoughts of God, from Fables of man; Bible teaching and religious practice, from Europe and elsewhere and A pen warmed up in Hell --- Joseph Conrad, Author's note to The shadow line --- Thomas Hardy, God's funeral --- Emma Goldman, The philosophy of atheism --- H.P. Lovecraft, A letter on religion --- Carl Van Doren, Why I am an unbeliever --- H.L. Mencken, Memorial service --- Sigmund Freud, from The future of an illusion, translated and edited by James Strachey --- Albert Einstein, Selected writings on religion --- George Orwell, from A clergyman's daughter --- John Betjeman, In Westminster Abbey --- Chapman Cohen, Monism and religion; An old story --- Bettrand Russel, An outline of intellectual rubbish --- Philip Larkin, Aubade; Church going --- Martin Gardner, The wandering Jew and the Second Coming --- Carl Sagan, The demon-haunted world; The God hypothesis --- John Updike, from Roger's version --- J.L. Mackie, Conclusions and implications, from The miracle of theism : arguments for and against the existence of God --- Michael Shermer, Genesis revisited : a scientific creation story --- A.J. Ayer, That undiscovered country --- Daniel C. Dennett, Thank goodness! --- Charles Templeton, from A farewell to God, A personal word; Questions to ask yourself --- Richard Dawkins, Why there almost certainly is no God; Gerin oil; Atheists for Jesus --- Victor Stenger, from God : the failed hypothesis, Cosmic evidence --- Daniel C. Dennett, A working definition of religion, from "Breaking which spell?" --- Elizabeth Anderson, If God is dead, is everything permitted? -- Penn Jillette, There is no God --- Ian McEwan, End of the world blues --- Steven Weinberg, What about God? from Dreams of a final theory --- Salman Rushdie, "Imagine there's no Heaven" : a letter to the six billionth world citizen --- Ibn Warraq, The Koran; The totalitarian nature of Islam --- Sam Harris, In the shadow of God, from The end of faith --- A.C. Grayling, Can an atheist be a fundamentalist? from Against all gods --- Ayaan Hirsi Ali, How (and why) I became an infidel.
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