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With whom would you have dinner?

Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, Sam Harris or Christopher Hitchens? And why?

I think Richard Dawkins is my favorite horseman, (If you don't get the reference the four aforementioned atheists did a two hour documentary where they spoke about atheism, morality, and religion called "The Four Horsemen.") he seems so nice and approachable. Not mention he has a great sense of humor.

However, I think I'd rather have dinner with Hitchens out of the four. I'm a smart-ass anti-theist atheist, just like Hitchens. I think we would have a great conversation about the absurdity of religion, and how its a plague that needs to be vanquished. It would be a great night with a lot of laughs and smart-ass comments...

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Permalink Reply by Madeline (Brigit) on August 11, 2008 at 7:19pm

I'd go for Dawkins, I have the biggest mental crush with him. I imagine long evo. bio. and neurobiology topics that slowly go into a conversation of how to make these topics available for people so they stop believing nonsense! *sigh* Dawkins.
I percieve this (unconscious?) anti-feminist vibe from Hitchens that makes me feel somewhat uncomfortable.

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Permalink Reply by Madeline (Brigit) on August 18, 2008 at 4:22pm

I should clarify. He writes articles that are sometimes frankly sexist. It's not that I don't like what or how he approaches atheism, I do. But he goes and writes articles based on common negative stereotypes of women:

Why is it the case?, I mean. Why are women, who have the whole male world at their mercy, not funny? Please do not pretend not to know what I am talking about.

Also:

Off to the side, snarling with barely concealed rage, are the Clinton machine-minders, who, having failed to ignite the same kind of identity excitement with an aging and resentful female, are perhaps wishing that they had made more of her errant husband having already been "our first black president."

The fact that he is Ayaan's champion falls in the "I have a black friend" camp, and does not excuse the bias in his writing. Since his impression of me could be warped by bias, I would feel a lot less comfortable interacting with him.

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Permalink Reply by Prytanis on September 12, 2008 at 9:51pm

Ayaan had, at least for part of her seclusion, been living at Hitchens' house, though she has sinced moved on. So he's pulled out a couch for that "black friend" when the chips were down. Or so I've heard.

Speaking in very general terms, and admitting that you are, does not make you a sexist. If he had said that men tend to be, on average, larger and stronger than women, you probably wouldn't have cared. He goes out of his way in that article to acknowledge that there are many amusing female comedians and conversationalists, but that he is speaking in general terms. You've conveniently ignored that bit of the article, I notice.

Generally speaking, I think women are physically softer and nicer to look at than men. And they smell nice too.

If you (the reader of the post, not Madeline) are the kind of person determined to be offended, you probably took that last paragraph as a slight to the intelligence and ability of women, as if by making those observations, I somehow limited their charms to the ones listed. Let me point out to you that I didn't, you did when you read it that way...

I can think that women are wonderful sex objects if I want (and I do). But I never consider them to be merely sex objects. I'm sure some of the ladies out there feel the same way about men, given how many of you seem to have a predilection for slobbering over trashy magazines with Brad Pitt on the cover.

Cheers, and keep loving each other, every way you can!

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Permalink Reply by LoLo on August 11, 2008 at 11:56pm

Sam Harris does seem like a very nice person, and he has a very subtle sense of humor.

Hitchens just entertains me the most out of all of the horsemen!

Have you tried going to Amazon.com? You can find used books that are really cheap on there, and you can most certainly find "End of Faith" on the site. They should ship to almost anywhere in the world. I've ordered music, books, among other things from the site...and I haven't been disappointed. They are timely, and everything I got was in the quality I expected it to be.

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Permalink Reply by Yan Viktor Ivaniya on August 22, 2008 at 3:48am

I have great respect for Dennett, I attended two of his lectures. However, I do agree that he is a bit boring. I chuncked Dawkins and Hitchens books in no time, however Breaking the Spell is tough to follow. But also Dennett is a philosopher, so I think its natural for him to be more wordly in his writings/lecture

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Permalink Reply by LoLo on August 13, 2008 at 11:14pm

If we ever get Dawkins to join AN you are going to be in charge of the Dawkins Carrot Board.

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Permalink Reply by The Nerd on August 13, 2008 at 11:19pm

I think we should offer Elles an honorary chair on that board.

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Permalink Reply by fortunate on August 13, 2008 at 4:58pm

Forget dinner, someone needs to lure all four to AN.

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Permalink Reply by The Nerd on August 13, 2008 at 6:46pm

Yes, famous people are half of the secret equation of online success, the other half being hot chicks.

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Permalink Reply by Fizzy on August 13, 2008 at 8:45pm

Sure, but it could be a while before the hot chicks show up.
In the meantime, I bet it would be incredibly entertaining to hang out with Hitchens in a bar.