Ask Richard Dawkins About Evolution, Religion, and Science Education 1142
Richard Dawkins is an author and an evolutionary biologist. For 13 years, he held the Simonyi Professorship at the University of Oxford. His 1976 book The Selfish Gene helped popularize the gene-centric view of evolution and coined the word "meme." Several other of his books, including Climbing Mount Improbable, River Out of Eden, and The Greatest Show on Earth have helped to explain aspects of evolution in a way non-scientists can more easily understand. Dawkins is a frequent opponent of creationism and intelligent design, and he generated widespread controversy and debate in 2006 with The God Delusion, a book that subjected common religious beliefs to unyielding scientific scrutiny. He wrote, "One of the truly bad effects of religion is that it teaches us that it is a virtue to be satisfied with not understanding." Most recently, Dawkins wrote The Magic of Reality: How We Know What's Really True, a graphic book that aims to introduce kids to science. He's also recently begun a video series titled "Sex, Death, and the Meaning of Life" about how our world would look without religion. Mr. Dawkins has graciously agreed to answer some questions for us. Post your suggestions in the comments below, but please limit yourself to one question per post. We'll post his responses sometime next week.
Re:Hitch (Score:5, Funny)
And of course, what is your sexiest memory of Christopher Hitchens? :)
Re:Religion separable from mystical states? (Score:0, Funny)
Re:Widespread religion (Score:5, Funny)
Anyone with an open mind will see that God is really the only rational, logical explanation.
Anyone with an open mind will see that the Flying Spaghetti Monster is really the only rational, logical explanation.
FTFY