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I am reacting to a talk given by Güven Güzeldere here on the topic of human flourishing/Eudaimonics, some of this post will be paraphrased.

Two dimensions or goals of religion or other forms of philosophy competing for followers:

• Expanding horizons and knowledge
• Changing how people live

Güzeldere responds to attacks that the new atheists are not addressing the second point.  His general point is that changing how people live in the current generation is a very difficult task, whereas changing the state of knowledge and awareness in the general population will more easily influence future generations.

I see his point, but if I understand him correctly I also disagree.  If the current generation is not made to see the harmful effects of their belief without evidence, they will very likely pass these beliefs on to their children.  Whether it be homeopathy, ghosts, big foot, or a deity, these things must be exposed to the light of reason in a way that the believer will at least have a chance to see them in said light of evidence.

Also, the popularity of books by some of the new atheists is a good sign that they may in fact be changing minds out there and making a real impact on how people live.  I would love to here from anyone who had this happen to them.  Just leave a comment please!

I doubt Güzeldere was rejecting activism and I probably misunderstood his argument.  Either way, it made me think.

Watch the video here.

Güven Güzeldere is Associate Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences and of Neurobiology at Duke University. He has published articles on philosophy of mind, history and philosophy of psychology, and artificial intelligence. He is a founder of Stanford Electronic Humanities Review, a founding associate editor of Psyche: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Consciousness, and a founding member of the Association for the Scientific Study of Consciousness.