The God delusion

The God delusion Richard

The God Delusion Richard Dawkins Bantam Press, 2006

The temptation with a rallying cry such as Dawkins’s latest effort is to join the chorus of praise or boos, or note dismissively that it is a popular book not really worthy of academic attention. While we might imagine a theological journal taking a passing interest (along with passing pot-shots), surely a social scientific journal need not pay attention to The God Delusion. But Dawkins quite s...

The medical miracles delusion.

Humans are not ants, but we often trudge together along the same trail, neglecting to look around for alternatives. Mass delusions involve large groups holding false or exaggerated beliefs for sustained periods. Humanity has a long, sorry list of these shadow-the-leader epidemics of collective consciousness which appear obviously wrong only in hindsight. Some last for centuries: early alchemist...

The Growth Delusion

Concern for the environment and a move towards ―sustainable development‖ has assisted progress in a wide range of renewable energy technologies in recent years. The science suggests that a transition from fossil fuels to sustainable sources of energy in a time frame commensurate with the demise of the fossil fuels and prevention of runaway climate change is needed. However, while the movement t...

The Arising of Delusion

1 The varying answers given to the single question of whether the mind is pure by nature or defiled by nature form a convenient lenses through which to view the development of Yogācāra thought. If the mind is pure, then where do the defilements originate? If it is defiled, where does purity originate? Though the classical formulation of Asaṇga and Vasubandhu sees consciousness as paratantric, t...