Product Description

Militant atheism is on the rise. Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Daniel Dennett, and Christopher Hitchens have dominated bestseller lists with books denigrating religious belief as dangerous foolishness. And these authors are merely the leading edge of a far larger movement–one that now includes much of the scientific community.

“The attack on traditional religious thought,” writes David Berlinski in The Devil’s Delusion, “marks the consolidation in our time of science as the single system of belief in which rational men and women might place their faith, and if not their faith, then certainly their devotion.”

A secular Jew, Berlinski nonetheless delivers a biting defense of religious thought. An acclaimed author who has spent his career writing about mathematics and the sciences, he turns the scientific community’s cherished skepticism back on itself, daring to ask and answer some rather embarrassing questions:

Has anyone provided a proof of God’s inexistence?
Not even close.

Has quantum cosmology explained the emergence of the universe or why it is here?
Not even close.

Have the sciences explained why our universe seems to be fine-tuned to allow for the existence of life?
Not even close.

Are physicists and biologists willing to believe in anything so long as it is not religious thought?
Close enough.

Has rationalism in moral thought provided us with an understanding of what is good, what is right, and what is moral?
Not close enough.

Has secularism in the terrible twentieth century been a force for good?
Not even close to being close.

Is there a narrow and oppressive orthodoxy of thought and opinion within the sciences?
Close enough.

Does anything in the sciences or in their philosophy justify the claim that religious belief is irrational?
Not even ballpark.

Is scientific atheism a frivolous exercise in intellectual contempt?
Dead on.

Berlinski does not dismiss the achievements of western science. The great physical theories, he observes, are among the treasures of the human race. But they do nothing to answer the questions that religion asks, and they fail to offer a coherent description of the cosmos or the methods by which it might be investigated.

This brilliant, incisive, and funny book explores the limits of science and the pretensions of those who insist it can be–indeed must be–the ultimate touchstone for understanding our world and ourselves.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2992 in Books
• Published on: 2008-04-01
• Released on: 2008-04-01
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 256 pages

Review
“Berlinski knows his science and wields his rapier deftly. He makes great sport with his opponents, and his readers will surely enjoy it.”
—Tom Bethell, bestselling author of The Politically Incorrect Guide to Science

“A powerful riposte to atheist mockery and cocksure science, and to the sort of philosophy that surrenders to them. David Berlinski proceeds reasonably and calmly to challenge recent scientific theorizing and to expose the unreason from which it presumes to criticize religion.”
—Harvey Mansfield, Professor of Government, Harvard University

“Berlinski’s book is everything desirable: it is idiomatic, profound, brilliantly polemical, amusing, and of course vastly learned. I congratulate him.”
—William F. Buckley Jr.

“With high style and light-hearted disdain, David Berlinski deflates the intellectual pretensions of the scientific atheist crowd. Maybe they can recite the Periodic Table by heart, but the secular Berlinski shows that this doesn’t get them very far in reasoning about much weightier matters.”
—Michael J. Behe, Professor of Biological Sciences, Lehigh University, bestselling author of Darwin’s Black Box and The Edge of Evolution

“David Berlinski plus any topic equals an extraordinary book.”
—Chicago Tribune

About the Author
DAVID BERLINSKI has a Ph.D. from Princeton University and has taught mathematics and philosophy at universities in the United States and in France. He is the bestselling author of such books as A Tour of the Calculus, The Advent of the Algorithm, and Newton’s Gift. A senior fellow at the Discovery Institute in Seattle and a former fellow at the Institute for Applied Systems Analysis and the Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques, Berlinski writes frequently for Commentary, among other journals. He lives in Paris.

Customer Reviews

It will offend some, but what doesn't these days?
I would say with a modest amount of certainty that the topics of darwinian evolution and creationism/intelligent design are probably the most controversial topics one can discuss or even suggest in this modern society. Couple a controversy of such magnitude with an "empowerment" of sorts for today's atheists in the form of individuals such as Richard Dawkins and his vehement tirades against any thoughts which could be categorized as even remotely "spiritual", and we now see two of the largest populations in the world squaring off against each other. In this corner, ladies and gentlemen, we have the those who stand persistent in their opposition to religion. In the other corner, we have those professing to stand for a greater cause, and always affirming their belief in the almighty God. It is this society in which David Berlinski begins his book, "The Devil's Delusion". What must be understood first is that David Berlinski has no religious agenda. Indeed, he explicitly states that his religious upbringing "didn't take", and he classifies himself as neither Jew nor Christian...or Muslim, or Hindu, or Buddhist. His position is one in which he does not profess to know the answers to the "big questions" such as "is there proof that God exists?", but he does draw conclusions from the information present to us all (both religious and scientific). And it is this which should intrigue individuals tired or the the standard polarized arguments.

Perhaps this alone may be enough to prompt some interest, but be warned, Dr. Berlinski presents a very harsh critique of the modern scientific "idols", with his main focus being the evolutionary theory. The difference between Dr. Berlinski's arguments and those of other, more religious writers is that Dr. Berlinski is not arguing from a religious point of view; he is arguing from a scientific standpoint. Nowhere in this book does he propose a model proving creationism, nor does he state that he can show the calculus necessary to demonstrate the existence of the Almighty. What he does do is point out flaws in scientific theories from a scientist's point of view. He often does so with very sharp and concise comments, frequently utilizing moderately sarcastic humor to keep the mood from getting to grave. As a scientist myself working in the field of molecular biology, I greatly appreciate Dr. Berlinski's work to demonstrate that scientists are not always as correct as they many times proclaim to be. I too have seen the unfortunate mentality that modern scientists seem to have, and that is one of great superiority. This is another point discussed nicely in Dr. Berlinski's book. (As an aside, please understand that I believe there are many humble, well-meaning scientists, but there are also far too many who show a great deal of arrogance).

Dr. Berlinski's second focus in the book is that of atheism and the effects it can have in the scientific community. One of the points is this: Atheists cannot necessarily make excellent scientists since they already have very significant preconceptions about the way reality is, therefore they can be more prone to ignoring or dismissing anything contrary to their current worldview. This is a very rough translation, and I cannot do the book justice here, and I suggest reading it for the sake of reading his words straight from him, as opposed to hearing my paraphrases.

Overall, I believe that Berlinski's work here in "The Devil's Delusion" is highly necessary, as he is an individual who is not from the atheist side nor the religious side. Too often the scientific community merely dismisses anything spoken by a religious individual as being "tainted" by their "blind faith", which is why Berlinski's voice is one which is potent, since he cannot reasonably be called religious. As I mentioned previously, be warned that this book will probably offend your beliefs in some way (whether you are Christian or atheist), but it is an important third voice in an argument which is too often only represented by two rather loud sides.

And my final (rather off-topic) observation, for which I am sure many others reading this retaliate against, is this: I cannot help but notice how most items on amazon which could be controversial (especially those concerning evolution and creationism) are always given tags by users which usually amount to little more than childish name-calling. And this is not just for this book, but also for pro-religion and anti-religion books alike. For example, some of the tags for this book are "absolute crap", "delusional", "dumb as a rock", and "garbage". Is it not rather immature to give this book tags such as this? If this a position which you have, or if this is the way you perceive this book then simply say so in a review of the book where you can thoroughly discuss what you found to be "crap", "delusional", or "garbage", rather than simply attempting to smear the book simply because you disagree with its contents.

A great response to the "new atheists"
For the past couple years "militant atheism," as the Wall Street Journal put it, has been on the rise. Figures such as Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Daniel Dennett and others have brought atheism to the forefront of cultural discussion through books, blogs, debates, and TV appearances. While their books have been mega bestsellers, there has been a need for critical responses to their views. David Berlinski--a secular Jew--has recently met that need with the release of The Devil's Delusion.
The basic contention of the "militant atheists" is that science has disproved the existence of God. Known as the "God of the gaps" argument, it is widely believed that the more science progresses the less room there is for God. But, as Berlinski points out, the exact opposite is true. He says that scientific progress has "made the world more mysterious than it ever was. We know better than we did what we do not know and have not grasped." While science has certainly progressed, so have the gaps that need to be filled. For example, there is no naturalistic explanation for the following: (1) where everything came from; (2) the emergence of life; (3) the origin of consciousness; (4) the origin of morality; (5) the fine-tuning of the universe (just to name a few). There are certainly speculations about these, but no convincing answers. This is why Berlinski says that the widely held idea that we are nothing more than cosmic accidents is "an article of faith. There is not the slightest reason to think this so." In this brief review, I am going to highlight some of the key insights of The Devil's Delusion.
First, one of the common arguments for atheism is that the more science teaches us about the natural world, the less important a role human beings play in the grand scheme of things. Sagan famously said that earth is merely a pale blue dot that only appears to be significant. Berlinski counters this by pointing out that while astronomical findings have demonstrated that the earth is no more numerous than a single grain of sand on a vast beach, significance, of course, is another thing.
Second, militant atheists love to recount in luring detail the history of religious brutality and persecution. According to these figures, religion is to blame. Nobel prize winning Steven Weinberg famously said: "But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion." Berlinski asks, "Just who has imposed on the suffering human race poison gas, barbed wire, high explosives experiments in eugenics, the formula for Zyklon B, heavy artillery, pseudo-scientific justifications for mass murder, cluster bombs, attack submarines, napalm, intercontinental ballistic missiles, military space platforms, and nuclear weapons?...If my memory serves, it was not the Vatican." The common denominator of the most blood-thirsty dictators in history, says Berlinski, is that they believed no God was watching them.
Third, one of the persistent problems facing atheists is the fine-tuning of the universe. Probably the most common naturalistic response is to posit that for us to survive the world has to be ordered as it is. Thus, we should be surprised to find ourselves in a universe with such properties. Berlinski gives a creative response based on Elijah's experience of being cared for by an angel (1 Kings 19). Could the angel's appearance be explained solely by the fact that Elijah's exact needs were cared for? Of course not! Berlinski says, "No matter the extent to which we need the laws and parameters of the physical world to be as they are, that by itself cannot explain the fact that they are as they are." Clearly, another explanation is needed. The same is true for our universe.
These are only a sample of the points made by Berlinski in The Devil's Delusion. If you are looking for a solid response to the militant atheism of today, this book will be helpful (it's also humorous and a quick-read). I will close with one of my favorite lines from the book: "If sexual preferences are rooted in the late Paleolithic era, men worldwide should now be looking for stout muscular women with broad backs, sturdy legs, a high threshold for pain...It has not been widely documented that they do."

Irreverent and delightfully pithy
Unlike religiously motivated texts, which declare atheism dead before they even try to argue the case, this book holds no such presumptions. An agnostic and a mathematician by trade, Berlinski takes the reader into a journey exploring the ethical, philosophical, and logical consequences of a godlesss worldview.