The Atheism Tapes (2004) | StreamScapeX

Episodes

Season 1, 6 episodes

Episode 1: Colin McGinn
- Now playing
- 1h
- Oct 18, 2004
English philosopher McGinn speaks about the various reasons for not believing in God, and some of the reasons for. He gives a thorough treatment of the ontological argument. In addition, McGinn draws an important distinction between atheism (lack of belief in a deity) and antitheism (active opposition to theism); he identifies himself as both an atheist and an antitheist. Finally, he speculates about a post-theistic society.
Episode 2: Steven Weinberg
- 1h
- Oct 26, 2004
Weinberg talks about the effectiveness of the Design Argument, both in the past and today. He also discusses the reasons that people become religious, including the varying influences of physical and biological arguments against religion. Miller connects this to a higher likelihood of biologists being non-believers than physicists, which Weinberg finds surprising. Weinberg goes on to distinguish between harm done in the name of religion from that done by religion and states that both of these are very real and very dangerous. He goes on to discuss the difference between religious belief in America and Europe, and about how he doesn’t like the "character" of the monotheistic God. He ends by saying that science is very definitely corrosive to religious belief, and that he considers this a good thing.
Episode 3: Arthur Miller
- 1h
- Nov 1, 2004
Jonathan Miller and Arthur Miller talk about disbelief and their experiences of anti-Semitism, recorded in 2004.
Episode 4: Richard Dawkins
- 1h
- Nov 9, 2004
Biologist Richard Dawkins talks to Jonathan Miller about his implacable opposition to all religion.
Episode 5: Denys Turner
- 1h
- Nov 15, 2004
Christian theologian Denys Turner defends the case for God as the answer to the most important questions.
Episode 6: Daniel Dennett
- 1h
- Nov 22, 2004
American philosopher Dennett explains why he called one of his books Darwin's Dangerous Idea, and why many of Darwin's contemporaries, in particular, considered Darwin's theory of evolution to be dangerous. He goes on to deal with the question of consciousness (i.e., is the consciousness/soul distinct from the body), talking about Darwin's rejection of the soul and the possible origins and psychological purposes of a belief in an immaterial soul. Next, he talks about his Christian upbringing and how he became an atheist. He goes on to ask why it is thought rude to criticise religious belief, and suggests that it is due to the influential status of the religions in question. He finishes by wondering whether we could live effectively in a post-theistic world.

The Atheism Tapes

2004
1 season
1h per episode
Documentary

8.0TMDB(2)

Overview

The Atheism Tapes is a 2004 BBC television documentary series presented by Jonathan Miller. The material that makes up the series was originally filmed in 2003 for another, more general series, Atheism: A Rough History of Disbelief, but was too lengthy for inclusion. Instead, the BBC agreed to create The Atheism Tapes as a supplementary series of six programmes, each consisting of an extended interview with one contributor.

Fun facts

Episodes
Ran for 1 season and 6 episodes (2004)
Source for Episodes, opens in a new tab

Details

Status: Ended
Seasons: 1
Episodes: 6
First aired: October 18, 2004
Last aired: November 22, 2004
Original language: English
Countries: GB

Network

Cast

Jonathan Miller

Episodes

Season 1, 6 episodes

Episode 1: Colin McGinn
- Now playing
- 1h
- Oct 18, 2004
English philosopher McGinn speaks about the various reasons for not believing in God, and some of the reasons for. He gives a thorough treatment of the ontological argument. In addition, McGinn draws an important distinction between atheism (lack of belief in a deity) and antitheism (active opposition to theism); he identifies himself as both an atheist and an antitheist. Finally, he speculates about a post-theistic society.
Episode 2: Steven Weinberg
- 1h
- Oct 26, 2004
Weinberg talks about the effectiveness of the Design Argument, both in the past and today. He also discusses the reasons that people become religious, including the varying influences of physical and biological arguments against religion. Miller connects this to a higher likelihood of biologists being non-believers than physicists, which Weinberg finds surprising. Weinberg goes on to distinguish between harm done in the name of religion from that done by religion and states that both of these are very real and very dangerous. He goes on to discuss the difference between religious belief in America and Europe, and about how he doesn’t like the "character" of the monotheistic God. He ends by saying that science is very definitely corrosive to religious belief, and that he considers this a good thing.
Episode 3: Arthur Miller
- 1h
- Nov 1, 2004
Jonathan Miller and Arthur Miller talk about disbelief and their experiences of anti-Semitism, recorded in 2004.
Episode 4: Richard Dawkins
- 1h
- Nov 9, 2004
Biologist Richard Dawkins talks to Jonathan Miller about his implacable opposition to all religion.
Episode 5: Denys Turner
- 1h
- Nov 15, 2004
Christian theologian Denys Turner defends the case for God as the answer to the most important questions.
Episode 6: Daniel Dennett
- 1h
- Nov 22, 2004
American philosopher Dennett explains why he called one of his books Darwin's Dangerous Idea, and why many of Darwin's contemporaries, in particular, considered Darwin's theory of evolution to be dangerous. He goes on to deal with the question of consciousness (i.e., is the consciousness/soul distinct from the body), talking about Darwin's rejection of the soul and the possible origins and psychological purposes of a belief in an immaterial soul. Next, he talks about his Christian upbringing and how he became an atheist. He goes on to ask why it is thought rude to criticise religious belief, and suggests that it is due to the influential status of the religions in question. He finishes by wondering whether we could live effectively in a post-theistic world.

Episodes

E1 Episode 1: Colin McGinn

E2 Episode 2: Steven Weinberg

E3 Episode 3: Arthur Miller

E4 Episode 4: Richard Dawkins

E5 Episode 5: Denys Turner

E6 Episode 6: Daniel Dennett

Overview

Fun facts

Details

Network

Cast

More like this

Episodes

E1 Episode 1: Colin McGinn

E2 Episode 2: Steven Weinberg

E3 Episode 3: Arthur Miller

E4 Episode 4: Richard Dawkins

E5 Episode 5: Denys Turner

E6 Episode 6: Daniel Dennett

Episode 1: Colin McGinn

Episode 2: Steven Weinberg

Episode 3: Arthur Miller

Episode 4: Richard Dawkins

Episode 5: Denys Turner

Episode 6: Daniel Dennett

Episode 1: Colin McGinn

Episode 2: Steven Weinberg

Episode 3: Arthur Miller

Episode 4: Richard Dawkins

Episode 5: Denys Turner

Episode 6: Daniel Dennett