Religion and Science - Bertrand Russell (Audiobook)

"My conclusion is that there is no reason to believe any of the dogmas of traditional theology and, further, that there is no reason to wish that they were true. Man, in so far as he is not subject to natural forces, is free to work out his own destiny. The responsibility is his, and so is the opportunity." The quote by Bertrand Russell

Philosopher Bertrand Russell speaks to us beyond his time in his brilliant and mind-opener book Religion and Science. This is the story of the struggle between science and religion; demons, dogmas and reason. Russell concludes the argument with how science is superior than religion, determines how the world was shaped by these dogmatic and reactionary ideas and awakened by the powerful arguments of Charles Darwin.

Here is the contents of this beautiful book:
Grounds of Conflict
The Copernican Revolution
Demonology and Medicine
Evolution
Body and Soul
Mysticism
Mysticism and Logic
Cosmic Purpose
Determinism
Science and Ethics
Science and Education


File Size: 32 MB

Download:
http://rapidshare.com/files/179100128/Bertrand.Russell-Religion.and.Science.rar


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Carl Sagan - The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark

Eminent Cornell astronomer and bestselling author Sagan debunks the paranormal and the unexplained in a study that will reassure hardcore skeptics but may leave others unsatisfied. To him, purported UFO encounters and alien abductions are products of gullibility, hallucination, misidentification, hoax and therapists' pressure; some alleged encounters, he suggests, may screen memories of sexual abuse. He labels as hoaxes the crop circles, complex pictograms that appear in southern England's wheat and barley fields, and he dismisses as a natural formation the Sphinx-like humanoid face incised on a mesa on Mars, first photographed by a Viking orbiter spacecraft in 1976 and considered by some scientists to be the engineered artifact of an alien civilization. In a passionate plea for scientific literacy, Sagan deftly debunks the myth of Atlantis, Filipino psychic surgeons and mediums such as J.Z. Knight, who claims to be in touch with a 35,000-year-old entity called Ramtha. He also brands as superstition ghosts, angels, fairies, demons, astrology, Bigfoot, the Loch Ness monster and religious apparitions. Amazon

Download:
http://rapidshare.com/files/49959244/Carl.Sagan.-.The.Demon.Haunted.World.-.science.as.a.candle.in.the.dark.pdf

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Why People Believe Weird Things: Pseudoscience, Superstition, and Other Confusions of Our Time - Michael Shermer (Audiobook and E-book)

Few can talk with more personal authority about the range of human beliefs than Michael Shermer. At various times in the past, Shermer has believed in fundamentalist Christianity, alien abductions, Ayn Rand, megavitamin therapy, and deep-tissue massage. Now he believes in skepticism, and his motto is "Cognite tute--think for yourself." This updated edition of Why People Believe Weird Things covers Holocaust denial and creationism in considerable detail, and has chapters on abductions, Satanism, Afrocentrism, near-death experiences, Randian positivism, and psychics. Shermer has five basic answers to the implied question in his title: for consolation, for immediate gratification, for simplicity, for moral meaning, and because hope springs eternal. He shows the kinds of errors in thinking that lead people to believe weird (that is, unsubstantiated) things, especially the built-in human need to see patterns, even where there is no pattern to be seen. Throughout, Shermer emphasizes that skepticism (in his sense) does not need to be cynicism: "Rationality tied to moral decency is the most powerful joint instrument for good that our planet has ever known."

Also read: Quantum Leaps in the Wrong Direction - Charles M. Wynn


Audiobook [65 MB]:
http://rapidshare.com/files/66375397/Michael.Shermer.-.Why.People.Believe.Weird.Things.zip

E-book:
http://rapidshare.com/files/140012117/Michael_Shermer_-_Why_people_believe_weird_things.pdf


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Superstition: Belief in the Age of Science - Robert L. Park

"If a tree falls on a a scientist in a forest with no one else around does it mean he won't make a sound? Not if that scientist is the indomitable Bob Park, the skeptic's skeptic, the Ralph Nader of nonsense, the man who rose from the (nearly) dead to pen this uncompromising critique of superstition and the beliefs that follow once you abandon science and reason. Read this book. Now." Michael Shermer

Science is the only way of knowing—everything else is just superstition, says physicist Park (Voodoo Science) in this thinly argued rehash of the debate between science and religion. Among other questions, Park revisits experiments regarding the healing power of intercessory prayer (prayer for the healing of others), citing several studies that he claims are meaningless because it is impossible to measure prayer. Further, he says, only science, not prayer, con protect us from so-called acts of God, like a tsunami. Park argues against the existence of the soul by debunking a tale of reincarnation and even interprets the Bible to his own purposes. But this chapter also shows how disjointed his arguments can be, as he jumps from the Plan B contraceptive to genes and memes to stem cells and ghosts. Such issues have been covered more eloquently and in greater depth by thinkers like Daniel Dennett in Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon. Publishers Weekly


File Size: 1.36 MB

Download:
http://www.mediafire.com/?yc2gwumodwy

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