,1,Complete video at: http://fora.tv/2011/11/15/Debate_The_World_Would_Be_Better_Off_Without_Religion
New York Times bestselling author Dinesh D'Souza argues that religious people aren't hypocrites simply because they aspire for higher morals and ideals. "Holding up to a standard and falling short of it, now that is not hypocrisy," he says.
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In the words of Blaise Pascal, mathematician and Catholic, "Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from a religious conviction." Does religion breed intolerance, violence, and the promotion of medieval ideas? Or should we concede that overall, it has been a source for good, giving followers purpose, while encouraging morality and ethical behavior?
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FOR THE MOTION
Matthew Chapman
Author, Filmmaker and Co-Founder of Science Debate
A.C. Grayling
Renowned Atheist and Professor of Philosophy
AGAINST THE MOTION
Dinesh D'Souza
President of The King's College and author of What's So Great About Christianity
Rabbi David Wolpe
Named the #1 Pulpit Rabbi in America by Newsweek
A New York Times bestselling author, Dinesh D'Souza, the President of The King's College in NYC, has had a distinguished 25 year career as a writer, scholar and intellectual. A former policy analyst in the Reagan White House, D'Souza also served as an Olin Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute as well as a Rishwain Scholar at the Hoover Institution at Stanford. Called one of the "top young public-policy makers in the country" by Investor's Business Daily, he quickly became a major influence on public policy through his writings. In 2008 D'Souza released the book, What's So Great About Christianity, the comprehensive answer to a spate of atheist books denouncing theism in general and Christianity in particular. Consequently he has gone on to debate atheists such as Christopher Hitchens, Peter Singer, Daniel Dennett, and Michael Shermer.
,1,Complete video at: http://fora.tv/2010/03/18/The_Genius_in_All_of_Us_David_Shenk
Can the decisions you make influence your children's genetics? Maybe, according to emerging research. The Genius in All of Us author David Shenk introduces the field of epigenetics, which explores how environmental factors affect genetic expression.
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With irresistibly persuasive vigor, David Shenk, author of The Genius in All of Us, debunks the long-standing notion of genetic "giftedness."
Forget everything you think you know about genes, talent, and intelligence. In recent years, a mountain of scientific evidence has emerged suggesting a completely new paradigm: not talent scarcity, but latent talent abundance. Integrating cutting-edge research from a wide swath of disciplines—cognitive science, genetics, biology, child development—Shenk and The Genius in All of Us portrays a highly-optimistic new view of human potential. Genes are not a "blueprint" that doom some and bless others. Instead, genes are dynamic actors in a complex developmental process—dynamics that we can influence. - Commonwealth Club of California
David Shenk is the national bestselling author of five previous books, including The Forgetting, Data Smog and The Immortal Game. He is a correspondent for TheAtlantic.com, and has contributed to National Geographic, Slate, The New York Times, Gourmet, Harper's, The New Yorker, NPR, and PBS. Shenk's new book, The Genius in All of Us was published by Doubleday on March 9, 2010.
Shenk's book The Immortal Game: A History of Chess (Doubleday, 2006), was hailed as "superb," by The Wall Street Journal, "fresh and fascinating" by The Chicago Sun-Times, "engaging" by The Washington Post, and "a thrilling tour" by Entertainment Weekly. Shenk speaks frequently on the history, biology and social urgency of Alzheimer's disease. He has also advised the President's Council on Bioethics on dementia-related issues.
Prior to that, Shenk published two books and dozens of essays on the emotional, social and political ramifications of the information revolution.