The Portable Atheist

Posted on 08 October 2018 by Christopher Hitchens

From the 1 New York Times best selling author of God Is Not Great, a provocative and entertaining guided tour of atheist and agnostic thought through the ages with never before published pieces by Salman Rushdie, Ian McEwan, and Ayaan Hirsi Ali Christopher Hitchens continues to make the case for a splendidly godless universe in this first ever gathering of the influential voices past and present that have shaped his side of the current and raging God no god debate With Hitchens as your erudite and witty guide, you ll be led through a wealth of philosophy, literature, and scientific inquiry, including generous portions of the words of Lucretius, Benedict de Spinoza, Charles Darwin, Karl Marx, Mark Twain, George Eliot, Bertrand Russell, Emma Goldman, H L Mencken, Albert Einstein, Daniel Dennett, Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins, and many others well known and lesser known And they re all set in context and commented upon as only Christopher Hitchens political and literary journalist extraordinaire canLos Angeles TimesAtheist Believer Uncertain No matter The Portable Atheist will speak to you and engage you every step of the way. New Read [ The Portable Atheist ] author [ Christopher Hitchens ] – kino-fada.fr THE UNAPPEALING ATHEIST PROPOSITIONOne early medieval story says that humans are like a bird who flies in one window of a great hall where a vast banquet is in progress The bird only has time to catch a glimpse of all the festivities before it flies out of the other window That s us we rapidly pass from non existence to non existence Is that going to be a message many people want to hear No Is that why religion with its vivid promises of afterlife joy for you, and, hopefully, misery for THE UNAPPEALING ATHEIST PROP...Hitchens is one of the wittiest men of our time, and as a great writer, his taste is impeccable.I love reading essays and short pieces, but it becomes a problem when I find collections that I don t particularly like, because I don t want to buy a collection for a single essay.That is not a problem with Hitchens, who combines the fundamental originators of the atheist thought, with the writings of Hume and Spinoza, with the great leaders of the modern atheist movement, including a few essays from Hitchens is one of the wittiest men of our time, and as a great writer, his taste is impeccable.I love reading essays and short pieces, but it becomes a problem when I find collections that I don t particularly like, because I don t want to buy a collection for a single essay.That is not a problem with Hitchens, who combines the fundamental originators of the atheist thought, with the writings of Hume and Spinoza, with the great leaders of the modern atheist movement, including a few essays from my personal favorite, Professor Daniel Dennett.He includes the essentials of Russell and Dawkins, which are, of course, unavoidable in a discussion of atheism, and he makes sure to tackle the elements of atheist and naturalist philosophy.It s a w...I would not call myself an atheist, but a some of what is collected in this book rings true to me However, like most atheist philosophy there is much to be desired Much of the counter points favoring the non existence of god s can be boiled down into 1 God does not exist because there is no evidence.2 God does not exist because there is evil in the world.3 God does not exist because bad people have embellished on the myths 4 God does not exist because there are too many gods both past an I would not call myself an atheist, but a some of what is collected in this book rings true to me However, like most atheist philosophy there is much to be desired Much of the counte...Loved the guy He lived in my neighborhood and lumbered around like a bear that had been poked by a stick I ve been following him since the 80 s when he contributed regularly to The Nation His contributions to Vanity Fair, The Atlantic, Foreign Policy and Prospect were invaluable, his prose inimitable.But when it comes to spiritual beliefs the guy was a cretin.For all his erudition he never grokked that many humans have a desire to worship something outside themselves and that desire or need d Loved the guy He lived in my neighborhood and lumbered around like a bear that had been poked by a stick I ve been following him since the 80 s when he contributed regularly to The Nation His contributions to Vanity Fair, The Atlantic, Foreign Policy and Prospect were invaluable, his prose inimitable.But when it comes to spiritual beliefs the guy was a cretin.For all his erudition he never grokked that many humans have a desire to worship something outside themselves and that desire or need does not automatically make them stupid, deluded, evil or dangerous.That was always Chris problem people s needs and weaknesses constituted a target for his rage Once, in the early 90 s at a briefing at Chapters Bookstore during the Serbian conflict he YELLED at some poor guy asking for some clarification on who was who And I mean full on Christian Bale I got quiet and slipped out the door fea...Although, as can only be expected, it is missing some crucial works, and allows for only small excerpts of others, it an excellent collection overall The first third of the book will allow you to understand the philosophical intellectual history of atheism agnosticism Lucretius c 60 BCE , Hobbes, Spinoza, Hume, Mill, Marx, Eliot, Darwin, Twain, Freud, Einstein, Orwell, and Russell The rest of the book hasmodern and recent arguments, that I believe aresystematic and convincing Although, as can only be expected, it is missing some crucial works, and allows for only small excerpts of others, it an excellent collection overall The first third of the book will allow you to understand the philosophical intellectual history of atheism agnosticism Lucretius c 60 BCE , Hobbes, Spinoza, Hume, Mill, Marx, Eliot, Darwin, Twain, Freud, Einstein, Orwell, and Russell The rest of the book hasmodern and recent arguments, that I believe aresystematic and convincing My favorites 1 Hume He takes the idea of miracles to task 2 Mill Rationally explains his lack of faith 3 Marx Ever wondered what the opium of the people really means 4 Mencken A witty memorial service to all the dead gods 5 Einstein Always one of the best when it comes to collecting eloquent and humorous short quotes 6 Russell Puts superstition to task 7 Mackie Dis...Page 363 my book St AugustineThere is another form of temptation, evenfraught with danger This is the disease of curiosity It is this which drives us to try and discover the secrets of nature which are beyond our understanding, which can avail us nothing, and which man should not wish to learn These 47 essays are chronologically arranged from Lucretius to the 21st century But over two thirds of the essays are from 1900 onwards One does get a history of atheism, and how, even to th Page 363 my book St AugustineThere is another form of temptation, evenfraught with danger This is the disease of curiosity It is this which drives us to try and discover the secrets of nature which are beyond our understanding, which can avail us nothing, and which man should not wish to learn These 47 essays are chronologically arranged from Lucretius to the 21st century But over two thirds of the essays are from 1900 onwards One does get a history of atheism, and how, even to this day, it is difficult to acknowledge or admit that one is an atheist One essay by A.C Grayling said that the term should be naturalist which has a farpositive connotation.The essays are uneven I can t for the life of me know why some were chosen the essays by Leslie Stephen, Anatole France, Joseph Conrad, Martin Gardner, George Orwell, John Updike and a fewwere useless Bertrand Russell s essay on An Outline of Intellectual Rubbish ...Christopher Hitchens, why so angry This is an interesting collection of essays, fiction, articles and arguments, compiled by the acidic and immature Hitchens When Hitchens is NOT speaking, this proves evocative readi... The Portable Atheist Essential Readings for the Nonbelieveris a collection of essays by various authors who have addressed the topic of atheism and or agnosticism throughout the years Although there are a few gems to be found Hitchen s introduction, essays by Sigmund Freud and Mark Twain, Salman Rushdie to name a few , most of the articles are pure drudgery written by long winded philosophers who appear to have been paid by the word or page I particularly hated the section from Einstei The Portable Atheist Essential Readings for the Nonbelieveris a collection of essays by various authors who have addressed the topic of atheism and or agnosticism throughout the years Although there are a few gems to be found Hitchen s introduction, essays by Sigmund Freud and Mark Twain, Salman Rushdie to name a few , mo...Although I am certainly not an atheist, I enjoyed the book Liked having a selection of Atheist readings with the additional comments of the author, a renowned atheist himself I gave the book 3 stars because, well, not being an atheist, I found the book lacking on several levels First, the words the jump to my mind after reading this book are, holier than thou, dogmatic, exclusive, and well, many others that are used by atheists against people of faith What strikes me as hilarious, no Although I am certainly not an atheist, I enjoyed the book Liked having a selection of Atheist readings with the additional comments of the author, a renowned atheist himself I gave the book 3 stars because, well, not being an atheist, I found the book lacking on several levels First, the words the jump to my mind after reading this book are, holier than thou, dogmatic, exclusive, and well, many others that are used by atheists against people of faith What strikes me as hilarious, none of the philosophical arguments consist in any empirical proof whatsoever So, let s agree that whether theologian or philosopher including atheists , none of us can conclusively prove anything We must each look at the relevant data and facts that we find in all domains of life and history and make our own decision as to what our beliefs are Healthy debate is part of that decision making, which is why I liked reading this book S...The late Christopher Hitchens was a tremendous wit and man of letters, as well as an effective political and religious polemicist This is a collection of some of the greatest Atheistic, or at least skeptical writings, selected and abridged by Hitchens with short introductions to each as well as a longer opening introduction While that longer essay is a bit of a period piece not up to the standard of most of Hitchens writing, his shorter intros are delightful His choices range from classical The late Christopher Hitchens was a tremendous wit and man of letters, as...

English
08 October 2018

Christopher Hitchens