Christopher Hitchens — he’s an irritant to the left (a big defender of the bungled Iraq war) and to the right (an atheist who wrote the controversial bestseller God is Not Great). He’s an equal opportunity polemicist. Now, in the April edition of Vanity Fair, he’s back. This time, he’s deconstructing the Ten Commandments and offering his own updated set of commandments for our modern times. I’m normally not the biggest Hitchens fan. But, I’m on board with the gist of his guiding principles.

via @KirstinButler

Christopher Hitchens Revises the Ten Commandments is a post from: Open Culture. Visit us at www.openculture.com

More and more, the Dalai Lama has been developing an interest in what modern science has to say about human emotion — or, more particularly, how neuroscience makes sense of meditation and compassion. Partly as a result, Stanford University has launched The Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education, which is delving deeper into these questions. The clip above features Daniel Goleman, the bestselling science journalist (Emotional Intelligence and Destructive Emotions), talking about the Dalai Lama’s work on this front. You can find the full conversation with Goleman at Bigthink.com, a good resource for thought-provoking video.

When the Dalai Lama Meets the Neuroscientists is a post from: Open Culture. Visit us at www.openculture.com

Bertrand Russell, the Nobel Prize-winning philosopher, mathematician and peace activist, died 40 years ago today. And so, above, we rewind the video tape to 1959, to Russell explaining why he doesn’t believe in God. This was a viewpoint that he otherwise elaborated upon in his well-known lecture/essay, Why I Am Not a Christian. For more vintage Bertrand Russell, you can check out another wide-ranging BBC interview with Russell flagged by one of our faithful readers, Mike S. Find it in three parts here, here and here. To be sure, some readers won’t share Russell’s views on religion. But don’t take umbrage. Just remember, we offer media from across the divide too..

Update: Another reader sent us a nice addition to the video above. Here, you can listen to a famous 1948 debate between Bertrand Russell and Father Frederick C. Copleston, Jesuit Catholic priest and professor of philosophy. It was aired on the BBC. You can listen to the audio below.

Bertrand Russell on God is a post from: Open Culture. Visit us at www.openculture.com

• Introduction to the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible) – Download Course – Christine Hayes, Yale.
• Introduction to New Testament History and Literature - YouTube - iTunes - Download Course - Professor Dale B. Martin, Yale

Note: Unlike most Open Yale courses, the Old Testament course is not available via YouTube and iTunes. But you can download the course in multiple formats (including audio and video) from the Yale site.

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Introduction to the New and Old Testaments is a post from: Open Culture. Visit us at www.openculture.com

What crime, what sin, had those young hearts conceived
That lie, bleeding and torn, on mother’s breast?
Did fallen Lisbon deeper drink of vice
Than London, Paris, or sunlit Madrid?
In these men dance; at Lisbon yawns the abyss.
Tranquil spectators of your brothers’ wreck,
Unmoved by this repellent dance of death,
Who calmly seek the reason of such storms,
Let them but lash your own security;
Your tears will mingle freely with the flood.

Note: Pat Robertson’s controversial remarks contained one basic historical fact, and it was wrong. He asserted that the Haitians brought disaster upon themselves when they broke free from “Napoleon III.” Robertson got the wrong guy here. It wasn’t Napoleon Lite (1808–1873). It was Napoleon Bonaparte (1769–1821) who coopted the French Revolution 50 years earlier and tried to impose his will on Haiti. But, whatever…

via The Sun Times

Voltaire & the Lisbon Earthquake of 1755 is a post from: Open Culture. Visit us at www.openculture.com

In this clip from Richard Dawkins’ YouTube Channel, philosopher A.C. Grayling offers an argument for why intelligent design should’t be taught alongside evolution in the classroom. Some will agree with his position, and some won’t. And probably few will have no opinion. If you have reactions to Grayling’s argument, please state them civilly and intelligently in the comments below.

via @courosa

A.C. Grayling on “Teaching the Controversy” is a post from: Open Culture. Visit us at www.openculture.com

After he left office in 2007, Tony Blair went across the pond and spent time teaching at Yale. Exit Prime Minister Blair. Enter Professor Blair. During the 2008-09 academic year, Blair and Miroslav Volf co-taught “Faith and Globalization,” a course designed to help students understand the two intertwined forces shaping our world. In some ways, religion is the real focus here, and it is Blair’s argument (above, for example) that “If you cannot understand the world of faith, whether you are in business, or in public affairs, or in politics, then you actually cannot understand the world.” The full course can be accessed on Yale’s YouTube Channel, and we have also added it to our large collection of free courses from top universities. (Just look under the Politics and Religion sections.) For more information on this course, please visit Yale’s Faith and Globalization website and also be sure to access Yale’s Open Course initiative.

Faith and Globalization: Tony Blair Teaches at Yale is a post from: Open Culture. Visit us at www.openculture.com

The Case for God: The First Chapter is a post from: Open Culture. Visit us at www.openculture.com

Armstrong’s Case for God is a post from: Open Culture. Visit us at www.openculture.com

The film above takes you inside the spiritual walls of Lhasa, Tibet’s capital, which hosts the Potala Palace, “the traditional winter home of the Dalai Lama and a pilgrimage destination for thousands of Buddhists.” The video runs 9+ minutes, and it’s one of many films produced by Explore.org, a web site supported by the Annenberg Foundation that combines philanthropy, travel, and learning. Offering global coverage, Explore.org also brings you to Africa, India, the Middle East, Costa Rica and beyond. You can find their full collection of films here, and they have also been added to our collection: Intelligent Video: The Top Cultural & Educational Video Sites. Enjoy.

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The Dalai Lama’s Introduction to Buddhism

The Future of Tibet: Does It Have One?

Exploring the Spiritual Side of Tibet is a post from: Open Culture. Visit us at www.openculture.com