Thought Theater

The following video clips are the first part of the second program of The Enemies Of Reason, a multi-part series by Richard Dawkins that recently aired in the UK.

The first program can be found here (Part I) and here (Part II).

In this second program, Dawkins focuses upon alternative medicine and the many areas that have burgeoned in recent years. He seeks to understand why these type of practitioners continue to attract clients.

Dawkins posits that the appeal of those who practice alternative medicines is the attention to the individual's psychological needs...something he calls a placebo methodology...a focus on comforting the patient and spending time addressing each patient with a level of individualized depth not often found in scientific medicine.

Readers can find more detail on the issues discussed by Dawkins as well as a link to some additional information on the topics at the above link to part one of the series.

The second half of the second program (Part IV) will be posted in the next couple of days here at Thought Theater.

From the original posting:

Richard Dawkins, the author of the recent book, The God Delusion, has unveiled his latest endeavor in a series just recently aired in the UK. The series tackles the many threats to reason found in our daily lives.

In two programs, Dawkins looks at astrology, psychic mediums, and the many other superstition based fields which he contends promote the degradation of rationality and an avoidance of reality...all of which threatens the many advances that have resulted from the scientific method and serve to undermine civilization.

During the program, Dawkins actually uses the scientific method to demonstrate that those who present themselves as practitioners in these various fields are little more than charlatans who have made a business out of praying upon the irrational thoughts and desires of people seeking easy answers to our complex human experience.