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Good books to read (non aviation)

Emir wrote:

Anything by R. Dawkins

Provided one’s reading is balanced by also reading his critics like McGraph, Flew, Eagleton, Haught, Spufford etc.
I always insisted on my students that if they were to quote Dawkins in their essays, they should always balance it with a quote from another source: Trying to teach them that it is very un-academic in Philosophy of Religion (as in Political Theory) to think/pretend that one writer, or one school of thought, has a monopoly on truth.

Rochester, UK, United Kingdom

Peter_G wrote:

Provided one’s reading is balanced by also reading his critics like McGraph, Flew, Eagleton, Haught, Spufford etc.
I always insisted on my students that if they were to quote Dawkins in their essays, they should always balance it with a quote from another source: Trying to teach them that it is very un-academic in Philosophy of Religion (as in Political Theory) to think/pretend that one writer, or one school of thought, has a monopoly on truth.

I leave such readings to students for pure academical reasons. Probably if someone is interested in debating at academic level can benefit from reading both sides of the debate. For me it’s just enough to read factual based literature rather than losing time on someone’s philosophical delusions

And no, I don’t think that anybody owns the monopoly on truth and that’s where the strength of facts and science is.

BTW I remember watching Dawkins-McGraph debate and McGraph is just blah blah blah And long time ago I read Flew’s pathetic try to write something about “God delusion”. Today I watched Eagleton’s “The God Debate” and it’s at level of average priest’s speech on Sunday mass. I guess I won’t spend time on the rest if they are not better than these.

LDZA LDVA, Croatia

Emir wrote:

leave such readings to students for pure academical reasons. Probably if someone is interested in debating at academic level can benefit from reading both sides of the debate. For me it’s just enough to read factual based literature rather than losing time on someone’s philosophical delusions

And no, I don’t think that anybody owns the monopoly on truth and that’s where the strength of facts and science is.

Indeed. If there was a secular critic of Dawkins, that would be interesting. A ‘faith’ based criticism is rather pointless.

EGTK Oxford

CS Lewis and Lee Strobel have written about how they (re)discovered Faith. I did too but didn’t write a book about it sorry

You can only answer this question with faith. You must decide for yourself what you believe. You won’t find a hidden evidence somewhere to show you what to think. Study and make your own opinion.
Good Easter Eve

LFOU, France

NASA has many of the books in pdf/ebooks/kindle formats:

https://www.nasa.gov/connect/ebooks/aeronautics_ebooks_archive_1.html

Paris/Essex, France/UK, United Kingdom

The March Info-pilote is available online for free here

Graham wrote:

Aubrey/Maturin

I had the Aubrey-Maturin series as audiobooks about a year ago and they became compulsive listening. I’d tried the first two as a child after reading some of the Hornblower books but found them slow and boring at the time. The second attempt 25 years later was a delight. They’re meticulously researched, explaining both the technical aspects of the sailing, and the social and cultural values of the Napoleonic era. Some reviewers have likened the novels’ in-depth character study and ironic wit to Jane Austen, but I just can’t get into Austen.

EGHO-LFQF-KCLW, United Kingdom

Emir wrote:

And long time ago I read Flew’s pathetic try to write something about “God delusion”

Emir: I don’t think this is the right Forum to pursue our discussion of this particular topic. Rather, we should try and find when our flying brings us together in a nice place where, in a relaxed manner over a cold beer, we can ‘chew the cud’ until the sun goes down.

I first got to know Professor Anthony Flew when he was at the height of his influence as one, if not THE, world’s most convinced (and convincing) atheist. Among many of the things that he taught me was that one should, with integrity, keep to the Socratic principle, whatever the personal cost: “Always be prepared to follow the argument, wherever it leads” – something which he did himself to the end when, to my great surprise and of many others, he changed his mind thereby incurring the vilification of his confrères and the wrath of Dawkins.
I always found him a kind, gentle man, with an incisive mind. In fact, I would like to count him as among my friends.
But I am biased . . . he was my tutor.

Last Edited by Peter_G at 13 Apr 10:41
Rochester, UK, United Kingdom

Whatever… I didn’t start the discussion, you did. People tend to become religious when getting old for many reasons. I was brought up atheist by atheist mother (mathematician) and atheist father (engineer). My father fought in the WWII against nazism which was heavily supported in my part of the world by religious organizations (mainly catholic and orthodox churches) and their priests. I survived war in ex-Yugoslavia which was again heavily supported by clergymen. So yes, I’m a bit biased in this case as well. But you’re right this discussion doesn’t belong to aviation forum.

LDZA LDVA, Croatia

Just as well nobody clicked on the link in my last post above

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Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom
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