Are Sam Harris and RIchard Dawkins in competition of each other?

Question

Are they fighting to be the atheist leader?

The reason I ask this is because Sam Harris said that atheists shouldn't call themselves atheists anymore.

And Richard Dawkins sells shirts with red As on them, telling people to embrace the term.

It just seems like they have a feud going on here.

Answer 1

Not a feud - just very different approaches.



Technically, Sam, Dan, and Richard are allies.



But they have there differences.



Richard really is "fire and brimstone," Sam wants to be the rational spiritualist, and Dan....well in my opinion Dan kind of carries the two by building an expalantory philosophy.



You may also notice that not all Atheists like all 3 of them (well, at least the ones who declare themselves to be individualists).



I've known a lot of people who think Sam is "on crack" and Dan isn't "out there" enough. I know a lot of atheists who while they agree with Rich, think he's set back Atheist PR for another 100 years and would prefer the less fiery responses of Dan. They also tend to find Rich, as a person not as a thinker, to be a bit of a blowhard.



Finally, i know folks who are very enthusiastic about Sam thinking that Dan and Rich don't have an "follow through." In other words, "Ok great..we've proved God doesn't exist..now what?" They approve of Sam's rational spirituality as a means of replacing the emotional void left by the end of religion - a void that they accuse Rich of ignoring and Dan not addressing. (Personally i think they both did address it, just not to the satisfactory conclusion of the respondents).



Wheh.....yeah that's a bit long.

Answer 2

Wow, this is what YOU call a feud?



They have differing opinions. I take it you agree with all other human beings on the planet, right?



Atheism isn't a belief system. It's simply the lack of belief in any god whatsoever.



Sam Harris is a non-fiction writer.



Richard Dawkins is an evolutionary biologist.



They both happen to believe that religion is a detriment to society.

Answer 3

There relatively isn't something to be 'reconciled'. Harris' viewpoint is genuine. we ought to continually no longer be termed as some form of reaction to the believers or the Theists (A - Theists) via fact in reality we are no longer. we are purely people who carry no have faith in a god or gods. people who carry no theory in Unicorns are no longer stated as Aunicornists, people who carry no theory in dragons are no longer stated as adragonists. Dawkins on the different hand recognizes that folk DO talk with people who don't think in god as "atheists" and desires to insure that they understand that we isn't marginalized or placed under any form of unfavourable gentle. he's likewise waging a conflict agains extremist fundamentalist believers who prefer to supplant medical wisdom with religious mysticism - even in technology school rooms. this could not be tolerated in any experience. So the two have valid factors to make and could be taken heavily. there is not any ought to reconcile something.

Answer 4

Lol. An atheist leader? Sorry honey, atheists only share one thing in common-the belief that there are no deities. It would be very hard for anyone to be a "leader" for atheists as there are a million other issues that have nothing to do with atheism that we would disagree on.

Answer 5

Have you read any of the answers to your previous questions? Didn't you understand the answers? Atheism is just not believing in any god. That is the only commonality between atheists. We are not organized, we don't follow an atheist leader and we have no agenda PERIOD.

Answer 6

Atheists don't have leaders.



I've never read either of their work. And yet, I'm an atheist.

Answer 7

professor richard dawkins is a famous british scientist.



sam harris is a famous american author.



i doubt they even know much about each other.



atheists don't follow leaders.



you are thinking of sheep.

Answer 8

People are in competition with each other, not of each other.



I wonder what an "atheist leader" might be.



Whom would one follow to non-belief with an absence of dogma?

Answer 9

there is no atheist "leader". most atheists do not take pride in being referred to as sheep....like christians.

Answer 10

Not quite like the holy father and his holy son. Of the two, who is actually god?

Answer 11

It takes very little intelligence or ingenuity to be a Richard Dawkins type.....fools have been doing trying to get rid of God for centuries. (Yawn..)

Answer 12

No. You are wrong again.

Answer 13

No...