Atheism |
Hitchens, Christopher |
Dawkins, Richard, 1941- |
Harris, Sam, 1967- |
Dennett, D. C. (Daniel Clement) |
Hitchens, Christopher (Christopher Eric), 1949-2011 |
Dawkins, R. (Richard), 1941- |
Dawkins, Clinton Richard, 1941- |
Daojinsi, Licha, 1941- |
Harris, Samuel Benjamin, 1967- |
Dennett, Daniel Clement |
Dennett, Daniel C. (Daniel Clement), 1942- |
Dennett, Daniel Clement, III, 1942- |
Available:
Library | Shelf Number | Shelf Location | Status |
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Searching... Mansfield Public Library | 211.8 F | NONFICTION | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Swansea Public Library | 211.8 H | NONFICTION | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Taunton Public Library | 211.8 H636F | 2ND FLOOR STACKS | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
In 2007, Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and Daniel Dennett filmed a landmark discussion about modern atheism. The video went viral. Now in print for the first time, the transcript of their conversation is illuminated by new essays from three of the original participants and an introduction by Stephen Fry.
At the dawn of the new atheist movement, the thinkers who became known as "the four horsemen," the heralds of religion's unraveling--Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and Daniel Dennett--sat down together over cocktails. What followed was a rigorous, pathbreaking, and enthralling exchange, which has been viewed millions of times since it was first posted on YouTube. This is intellectual inquiry at its best: exhilarating, funny, and unpredictable, sincere and probing, reminding us just how varied and colorful the threads of modern atheism are.
Here is the transcript of that conversation, in print for the first time, augmented by material from the living participants: Dawkins, Harris, and Dennett. These new essays, introduced by Stephen Fry, mark the evolution of their thinking and highlight particularly resonant aspects of this epic exchange. Each man contends with the most fundamental questions of human existence while challenging the others to articulate their own stance on God and religion, cultural criticism, spirituality, debate with people of faith, and the components of a truly ethical life.
Praise for The Four Horsemen
"This bracing exchange of ideas crackles with energy. It's fascinating to watch four first-class minds explore a rugged intellectual terrain. . . . The text affords a different, more reflective way of processing the truly vital exchange of ideas. . . . I commend the book to those seeking an honest reckoning with their religion--and those curious about how the world looks from a rigorously naturalistic and atheistic point of view." -- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"The full, electrifying transcript of the one and only conversation between the quartet of luminaries dubbed the 'four horsemen' of the New Atheism, which took place in Washington, D.C., in 2007. Among the vast range of ideas and questions they discuss: Is it ever possible to win a war of ideas? Is spirituality the preserve of the religious? And, are there any truths you would rather not know?" -- The Bookseller (UK) (starred review)
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
This meandering, unmoderated discussion among Dawkins, Hitchens, Harris, and Dennett, a group dubbed the New Atheists, presents their unique positions in provocative but underdeveloped arguments. Composed mainly of transcriptions of a conversation among the four that was posted to YouTube in 2007, the book opens with introductory essays highlighting key points from the three surviving thinkers (Hitchens died in 2011). The writers open the conversation by defending themselves against claims of being overly arrogant; they argue that religion is a much less humble theological belief than atheism. Topics covered include the gap between academic theology and what preachers preach, religion's problematic reliance on authority and ancient texts, and the potential for danger in all religious belief. Moments of genuine disagreement arise, including a relatively heated argument from Hitchens that religion should not disappear because he enjoys having a sparring partner. There is some begrudging respect for Christianity's aesthetic achievements and a constructive section on which arguments could convince them to moderate their attacks (such as artistic merit), but the tone is generally harsh and unsparing. Readers who are looking for a taste of new atheism will get a good sense of the tone and style of these thinkers, but those familiar with the arguments will see this as an unpolished curiosity. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
A commemoration of the only extended conversation the four bestselling authors ever had.It was the loosest of confederations that united these "Four Horsemen" of the literary atheist apocalypse. The publication, around the same time, of bestselling challenges to organized religion by neuroscientist Harris, philosopher Dennett, biologist Dawkins, and journalist/essayist Hitchens linked them in the public's mind, as each of them participated in increasingly public debate on the ascendance of atheism and the decline of religious faith. The bulk of this slim volume is a transcript of a two-hour cocktail conversation among the four, in 2007, at the annual conference of the Atheist Alliance International, filmed by the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science and subsequently available on DVD and YouTube. Padding what would otherwise be a 90-page transcript in large print are a biographical and contextual introduction by Stephen Fry ("sitting in on these dialoguesreminds us that open enquiry, free thinking and the unfettered exchange of ideas yield real and tangible fruit"), a new essay by Dawkins ("The Hubris of Religion, the Humility of Science, and the Intellectual and Moral Courage of Atheism"), and considerably shorter introductory pieces by Dennett and Harris. Though the conversation has plenty of wit and bite, it is the atheist equivalent of preaching to the choir, capable of reinforcing convictions but unlikely to topple or change any. It's a convivial conversation without agenda, as the four thinkers try to figure out what they're collectively trying to accomplish and what the best outcome might be. Dawkins takes the hardest line, hoping that organized religion will simply disappear as the world comes to its collective senses; Harris is the most mystical, confirming the sacred and practicing meditation while distancing both from God; Hitchens wants the debate to continue forever; and Dennett appreciates some of what churches do, though not what they believe.Mostly for devotees of the New Atheism. More than a decade later, not much has changed, as the faithful and the skeptics continue to talk past each other. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Most of this small book is taken up by a transcription of the only discussion that the four-man vanguard of the new atheism ever had. Not open to the public, it was yet meant for the public and probably has had more watchers on YouTube than the best-sellers of its participants Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, and Sam Harris have had readers. The conversation's opening topic is how science purportedly offends religion, and it closes in concern with ongoing, religiously powered conflict in Palestine. The bases touched in between arise from contrasting faith and reason, superstition and theory, and what may surprise some discussing the aspects and products of religion that must be conserved. Besides the talk, the three remaining interlocutors (Hitchens died in 2011) contribute new essays. Dennett on the new atheism's progress and Harris on the Zika virus are quite brief, but Dawkins expands on The Hubris of Religion, the Humility of Science, and the Intellectual and Moral Courage of Atheism. All three miss Hitch, who in these pages remains the best communicator of the four.--Ray Olson Copyright 2010 Booklist
Library Journal Review
In September 2007, four key proponents of New Atheism, popularly called the Four Horsemen, gathered for a two-hour filmed conversation in which they both explained their atheistic positions and addressed criticisms from theistic opponents. The discussion among Richard Dawkins (evolutionary biologist and ethologist), Christopher Hitchens (journalist, essayist, and political historian), Sam Harris (neuroscientist and moralist), and Daniel Dennett (philosopher) was viewed widely on YouTube. This book contains the entire transcript of that influential meeting as well as current reflections and comments by the group's three surviving members, as Hitchens died in 2011. Having the conversation available in book format is beneficial since current statements can be examined more closely and compared with arguments found in other writings. As the ideas of New Atheism in general and those of these four authors have received significant criticism over the years, revisiting the meeting allows these scholars to respond to criticism and contemporary readers to reflect anew on their ideas. VERDICT Spanning religion and philosophy, this work will appeal to readers of both, especially those interested in atheism and apologetics.-John Jaeger, Johnson Univ., Knoxville, TN © Copyright 2019. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.