Category Archives: Book Notes

Christopher Hitchens, god is not Great

Posted on Tuesday 18 November 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Subtitled “How Religion Poisons Everything” (Twelve, May 2007, 307pp, including 24pp of acknowledgements, references, and index) Here is the fourth, and last-published, of the four books by the so-called “new atheists” published in the mid-2000s. While Sam Harris was an … Continue reading →

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Richard Dawkins, THE GOD DELUSION, post 6

Posted on Tuesday 18 November 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

(Houghton Mifflin, Oct. 2006, 406pp, including 26pp of appendix, books cited, notes, and index) (Post 1; Post 2; Post 3; Post 4; Post 5) * Here are glosses on the Preface and 10 chapters of the book, followed by some … Continue reading →

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Richard Dawkins, THE GOD DELUSION, post 5

Posted on Monday 17 November 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

(Houghton Mifflin, Oct. 2006, 406pp, including 26pp of appendix, books cited, notes, and index) (Post 1; Post 2; Post 3; Post 4) * Here are notes on the final four chapters. Glosses follow in the next post. * Ch 7, … Continue reading →

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Richard Dawkins, THE GOD DELUSION, post 4

Posted on Sunday 16 November 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

(Houghton Mifflin, Oct. 2006, 406pp, including 26pp of appendix, books cited, notes, and index) (Post 1; Post 2; post 3) Our chapter today is about morality, and where it comes from if not religion. We could begin with my standard arguments. … Continue reading →

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Richard Dawkins, THE GOD DELUSION, post 3

Posted on Saturday 15 November 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

(Houghton Mifflin, Oct. 2006, 406pp, including 26pp of appendix, books cited, notes, and index) (Post 1; Post 2) One chapter for today. This is about where religion came from and what use it is. * Ch 5, The Roots of … Continue reading →

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Richard Dawkins, THE GOD DELUSION, post 2

Posted on Friday 14 November 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

(Houghton Mifflin, Oct. 2006, 406pp, including 26pp of appendix, books cited, notes, and index) (Post 1) Here are the first four chapters (out of ten), which deal with the arguments for and against the existence of God, summarized in 3700 … Continue reading →

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Richard Dawkins, THE GOD DELUSION, post 1

Posted on Friday 14 November 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

(Houghton Mifflin, Oct. 2006, 406pp, including 26pp of appendix, books cited, notes, and index) Of the four books published in the mid-2000s by the so-called “new atheists,” this one by Richard Dawkins was the most blunt and least conciliatory; it … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Notes, Psychology, Religion | Comments Off on Richard Dawkins, THE GOD DELUSION, post 1

Jonathan Haidt, THE HAPPINESS HYPOTHESIS, post 5 (conclusion)

Posted on Tuesday 11 November 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Subtitled “Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom” With second subtitle “Why the Meaningful Life is Closer than You Think” (Basic Books, 2006, xiii + 297pp, including 54pp acknowledgements, notes, references, and index. Hardcover with no dust jacket.) (Post 1, Post … Continue reading →

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Jonathan Haidt, THE HAPPINESS HYPOTHESIS, post 4

Posted on Friday 7 November 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Subtitled “Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom” With second subtitle “Why the Meaningful Life is Closer than You Think” (Basic Books, 2006, xiii + 297pp, including 54pp acknowledgements, notes, references, and index. Hardcover with no dust jacket.) (Post 1, Post … Continue reading →

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Jonathan Haidt, THE HAPPINESS HYPOTHESIS, post 3

Posted on Thursday 6 November 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Subtitled “Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom” With second subtitle “Why the Meaningful Life is Closer than You Think” (Basic Books, 2006, xiii + 297pp, including 54pp acknowledgements, notes, references, and index. Hardcover with no dust jacket.) (Post 1, Post … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Notes, Human Nature, Meaning, Morality | Comments Off on Jonathan Haidt, THE HAPPINESS HYPOTHESIS, post 3