Dawkins or Gray??

Question

After reading Richard Dawkin's 'The God dellusion' I felt elated.
After reading John Gray's 'Straw dogs' I felt deflated.
Has anyone else read these, if so what where your feelings/thoughts after reading them?

Answer 1

I liked Straw Dogs..

Answer 2

I liked 'The God Delusion'. I thought it was well-argued, compassionate and a tough argument to answer. I haven't liked any of John Gray's books because he doesn't make arguments, he just rants and gives his opinions about stuff. I get depressed when I read him not because I think anything he says is true, but because it's a shame that someone with so little to say has a publishing contract.

It may interest you to know that in the 80s, when it was intellectually fashionable in many political philosophy circles to be on the far right, he was on the far right, then in the 90s when everyone was sick of Thatcher and Major and supported Labour he was a new Labour supporter, and now that it's fashionable to be neither, he's neither. He certainly has a remarkable talent for going whichever way the wind happens to be blowing, unlike Dawkins who consistently sticks to his moral and ethical guns.

Answer 3

Reading The God Delusion, haven't read Straw Dogs.

I'm an atheist through and through, but reading such works gives me the information to both argue my point as well as being able to listen to other views. Though Dawkins gives the impression that religious people have no valid opinion, and that they should all be stopped, which is a bit extremeist in itself.

Answer 4

I have not John Gray's "Straw Dogs." Nor have I read "God is Not Great" or "Letters to A Christian Nation." They're on my list. I thought Richard Dawkin's "The God Delusion" was a pretty good work of Atheist scepticism, though.

Still, my favourites are the Carl Sagan classics "Broca's Brain" and "The Demon Haunted World."

Answer 5

Dawkins is too dogmatic. He tries to come off as a scientist but says things that most self-respecting scientists wouldn't ever say. The kind of things that can very easily come back to haunt you, and in some cases already ARE coming back to haunt him. A good scientist doesn't use facts to prove a point, he lets the facts speak for themselves.

Gray struck me as a nihilist. And I think he has a LOT to learn about how many animals behave. We are not the only ones prone to bloody-mindedness, genocide, and any of a variety of other unpleasant characteristics. I don't think I'd recommend him except as a counter-example... sort of like Velikosky's "Worlds in Collision".

PS: Kudos to Tablecloth for that link. That was a good read too!

Answer 6

I have read Richard Dawkins “The God Delusion”, but not the other work of that other author you are referring to. Dawkins book, elicited in me, the same euphoria that it did in you. He said something that so many of us are thinking, but could not articulate as skillfully as he can. With unmatchable wit, Dawkins dismantles most of the basic philosophical and pragmatic reasons for belief in a deity, and then artfully proceeds to demonstrate how deleterious these beliefs are in our society, showing how they are the impetus behind much of human tyranny, and the fundamental impediment to our progress both scientifically and morally. “The God Delusion” is a must have book in the library of every humanist.

Answer 7

I liked "the god delusion"... but i am a little baised since i like richard dawkin's work. the first book i read of his was "the blind watchmaker" [name might be a little off]... and i found it inspiring. But i have always had a taste for genetic variations... like the computer work of karl simms...or the upcoming game 'spore'.

Answer 8

I'm about half way through the God Delusion and was enjoying it immensely. It's always nice to have one's prejudices confirmed.

Then I read this article this morning and am now a bit confused:
http://www.skeptic.com/eskeptic/07-07-04.html

Answer 9

The Anti-God Dawkins needs a medical. If I got elated reading him I would seek one too.