Beyond Belief: Enlightenment 2.0 thesciencenetwork.org <p><b>BEYOND BELIEF DVDs are now available! Purchase them <a href="http://www.beyondbeliefdvd.com/" target="_blank">here</a>.</b></p><p>As you watch the conversation in Beyond Belief: Enlightenment 2.0, it might help to know about one of the sources that was helpful to me in formulating the agenda, assembling the cast of characters, and setting the tone for the meeting. I quoted this passage from Humanity: A Moral History of the Twentieth Century by Jonathan Glover (who directs the Centre of Medical Law and Ethics at King's College, London):<p> <p>"Now we tend to see the Enlightenment view of human psychology as thin and mechanical, and Enlightenment hopes of social progress through the spread of humanitarianism and the scientific outlook as naïve...One of this book's aims is to replace the thin, mechanical psychology of the Enlightenment with something more complex, something closer to reality...another aim of the book is to defend the Enlightenment hope of a world that is more peaceful and humane, the hope that by understanding more about ourselves we can do something to create a world with less misery. I have qualified optimism that this hope is well founded..."</p> <p>I say Amen to that. If Enlightenment 1.0 took a thin and mechanical view of human nature and psychology, I think Enlightenment 2.0 can offer a much 'thicker' and cognitively richer account - less naïve and also, perhaps, less hubristic. If there's one thing we've learned - particularly from cognitive neuroscience - it is that we need to have some strategic humility about the hobby horses we are inclined to ride.</p> <p>Roger Bingham<br> Director, The Science Network</p> en-us Sat, 20 Jul 2024 06:29:00 GMT en-us Beyond Belief: Enlightenment 2.0 <p><b>BEYOND BELIEF DVDs are now available! Purchase them <a href="http://www.beyondbeliefdvd.com/" target="_blank">here</a>.</b></p><p>As you watch the conversation in Beyond Belief: Enlightenment 2.0, it might help to know about one of the sources that was helpful to me in formulating the agenda, assembling the cast of characters, and setting the tone for the meeting. I quoted this passage from Humanity: A Moral History of the Twentieth Century by Jonathan Glover (who directs the Centre of Medical Law and Ethics at King's College, London):<p> <p>"Now we tend to see the Enlightenment view of human psychology as thin and mechanical, and Enlightenment hopes of social progress through the spread of humanitarianism and the scientific outlook as naïve...One of this book's aims is to replace the thin, mechanical psychology of the Enlightenment with something more complex, something closer to reality...another aim of the book is to defend the Enlightenment hope of a world that is more peaceful and humane, the hope that by understanding more about ourselves we can do something to create a world with less misery. I have qualified optimism that this hope is well founded..."</p> <p>I say Amen to that. If Enlightenment 1.0 took a thin and mechanical view of human nature and psychology, I think Enlightenment 2.0 can offer a much 'thicker' and cognitively richer account - less naïve and also, perhaps, less hubristic. If there's one thing we've learned - particularly from cognitive neuroscience - it is that we need to have some strategic humility about the hobby horses we are inclined to ride.</p> <p>Roger Bingham<br> Director, The Science Network</p> no Welcome by Roger Bingham http://thesciencenetwork.org/media/videos/176/bb2-00-bingham.mp3 Mon, 13 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMT Darrin McMahon http://thesciencenetwork.org/media/videos/177/bb2-01-mcmahon.mp3 Thu, 09 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMT Margaret Jacob http://thesciencenetwork.org/media/videos/178/bb2-02-jaob.mp3 Thu, 09 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMT Edward Slingerland http://thesciencenetwork.org/media/videos/179/bb2-03-slingerland.mp3 Thu, 09 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMT Donald Rutherford http://thesciencenetwork.org/media/videos/180/bb2-04-rutherford.mp3 Thu, 09 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMT Daniel Dennett http://thesciencenetwork.org/media/videos/181/bb2-05-dennett.mp3 Thu, 09 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMT David Sloan Wilson http://thesciencenetwork.org/media/videos/182/bb2-06-wilson.mp3 Thu, 09 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMT Jonathan Haidt http://thesciencenetwork.org/media/videos/183/bb2-07-haidt.mp3 Thu, 09 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMT Michael Shermer http://thesciencenetwork.org/media/videos/184/bb2-08-shermer.mp3 Thu, 09 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMT Panel http://thesciencenetwork.org/media/videos/185/bb2-09-panel.mp3 Thu, 09 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMT Gregory Clark http://thesciencenetwork.org/media/videos/186/bb2-10-clark.mp3 Thu, 09 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMT Deirdre McCloskey http://thesciencenetwork.org/media/videos/187/bb2-11-mccloskey.mp3 Thu, 09 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMT Stuart Kauffman http://thesciencenetwork.org/media/videos/188/bb2-12-kauffman.mp3 Thu, 09 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMT Sean Carroll http://thesciencenetwork.org/media/videos/189/bb2-13-carroll.mp3 Thu, 09 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMT David Albert http://thesciencenetwork.org/media/videos/190/bb2-14-albert.mp3 Thu, 09 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMT Welcome by Roger Bingham http://thesciencenetwork.org/media/videos/191/bb2-15-bingham.mp3 Thu, 09 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMT Peter Atkins http://thesciencenetwork.org/media/videos/192/bb2-16-atkins.mp3 Thu, 09 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMT Sir Harold Kroto http://thesciencenetwork.org/media/videos/193/bb2-17-kroto.mp3 Thu, 09 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMT Scott Atran http://thesciencenetwork.org/media/videos/194/bb2-18-atran.mp3 Thu, 09 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMT Lee Silver http://thesciencenetwork.org/media/videos/195/bb2-19-silver.mp3 Thu, 09 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMT Greg Epstein http://thesciencenetwork.org/media/videos/196/bb2-20-epstein.mp3 Thu, 09 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMT Ronald de Sousa http://thesciencenetwork.org/media/videos/197/bb2-21-sousa.mp3 Thu, 09 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMT Patricia Churchland http://thesciencenetwork.org/media/videos/198/bb2-22-churchland.mp3 Tue, 28 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMT Rebecca Newberger Goldstein http://thesciencenetwork.org/media/videos/199/bb2-23-goldstein.mp3 Tue, 28 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMT John Allen Paulos http://thesciencenetwork.org/media/videos/200/bb2-24-paulos.mp3 Thu, 09 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMT V.S. Ramachandran http://thesciencenetwork.org/media/videos/201/bb2-25-ramachandran.mp3 Mon, 27 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMT Adam Kolber http://thesciencenetwork.org/media/videos/202/bb2-26-kolber.mp3 Thu, 09 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMT Jonathan Gottschall http://thesciencenetwork.org/media/videos/203/bb2-27-gottschall.mp3 Thu, 09 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMT David Brin http://thesciencenetwork.org/media/videos/204/bb2-28-brin.mp3 Thu, 09 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMT Robert Winter http://thesciencenetwork.org/media/videos/205/bb2-29-winter.mp3 Thu, 09 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMT Welcome by Roger Bingham http://thesciencenetwork.org/media/videos/206/bb2-30-bingham.mp3 Thu, 09 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMT Sam Harris http://thesciencenetwork.org/media/videos/207/bb2-31-harris.mp3 Thu, 09 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMT Daniel Smail http://thesciencenetwork.org/media/videos/208/bb2-32-smail.mp3 Thu, 09 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMT Jeff Hawkins http://thesciencenetwork.org/media/videos/209/bb2-33-hawkins.mp3 Thu, 09 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMT PZ Myers (overview from audience) http://thesciencenetwork.org/media/videos/210/bb2-34-meyers.mp3 Thu, 09 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMT