Richard Dawkins
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Richard Dawkins | |
---|---|
![]() Dawkins at a signing for his book The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution in 2009.
|
|
Born | Clinton Richard Dawkins 26 March 1941 Nairobi, Colony of Kenya |
Residence | Oxford, England |
Nationality | British |
Ethnicity | English |
Fields | Ethologist, evolutionary biologist |
Institutions | University of California, Berkeley University of Oxford New College, Oxford |
Alma mater | Balliol College, Oxford |
Doctoral advisor | Nikolaas Tinbergen |
Doctoral students | Alan Grafen Mark Ridley |
Known for | Gene-centred view of evolution Introduction of the concept of memes Advocacy of atheism and rationalism Criticism of religion |
Influences | Charles Darwin, Ronald Fisher, George C. Williams, W. D. Hamilton |
Notable awards | Zoological Society Silver Medal (1989) Faraday Award (1990) Kistler Prize (2001) |
Clinton Richard Dawkins, FRS, FRSL (born 26 March 1941) is a British ethologist, evolutionary biologist and popular science author. He was formerly Professor for Public Understanding of Science at Oxford and was a fellow of New College, Oxford.[1][2][3][4]
Dawkins came to prominence with his 1976 book The Selfish Gene, which popularised the gene-centred view of evolution and introduced the term meme. In 1982, he made a widely cited contribution to evolutionary biology with the concept, presented in his book The Extended Phenotype, that the phenotypic effects of a gene are not necessarily limited to an organism's body, but can stretch far into the environment, including the bodies of other organisms.
Dawkins is a prominent critic of creationism and intelligent design. In his 1986 book The Blind Watchmaker, he argued against the watchmaker analogy, an argument for the existence of a supernatural creator based upon the complexity of living organisms. Instead, he described evolutionary processes as analogous to a blind watchmaker. He has since written several popular science books, and makes regular television and radio appearances, predominantly discussing these topics.
Dawkins is an atheist,[5][6][7] secular humanist, sceptic, scientific rationalist,[8] and supporter of the Brights movement.[9] He has been referred to in the media as "Darwin's Rottweiler",[10][11] by analogy with English biologist T. H. Huxley, who was known as "Darwin's Bulldog" for his advocacy of Charles Darwin's evolutionary ideas. In his 2006 book The God Delusion, Dawkins contends that a supernatural creator almost certainly does not exist and that faith qualifies as a delusion − as a fixed false belief.[12] As of November 2007, the English language version had sold more than 2 million copies [13] and had been translated into 31 other languages,[14] making it his most popular book to date.
Contents |
Biography
Dawkins was born in Nairobi, Colony of Kenya, British Empire.[15] His father, Clinton John Dawkins, was an agricultural civil servant in the British colonial service, in Nyasaland (now Malawi). His father was called up into the King's African Rifles during the second world war[16] and was based in Kenya,[17] returning to England in 1949, when Richard was eight. Both of his parents were interested in natural sciences, and they answered Dawkins' questions in scientific terms.[18]
Dawkins describes his childhood as "a normal Anglican upbringing". Though he began having doubts about the existence of God when he was about nine years old, he was persuaded by the argument from design, an argument for the existence of God or a creator based on perceived evidence of order, purpose, or design in nature. By his mid-teens, he had instead concluded that the theory of evolution was a better explanation for life's complexity, and became nonreligious.[19]
Dawkins attended Oundle School from 1954 to 1959. He studied zoology at Balliol College, Oxford, where he was tutored by Nobel Prize-winning ethologist Nikolaas Tinbergen, graduating in 1962. He continued as a research student under Tinbergen's supervision at the University of Oxford, receiving his M.A. and D.Phil. degrees in 1966, while staying as a research assistant for another year.[15] Tinbergen was a pioneer in the study of animal behaviour, particularly the questions of instinct, learning and choice.[20] Dawkins' research in this period concerned models of animal decision making.[21]
From 1967 to 1969, Dawkins was an assistant professor of zoology at the University of California, Berkeley. During this period, the students and faculty at UC Berkeley were largely opposed to the ongoing Vietnam War, and Dawkins became heavily involved in the anti-war demonstrations and activities.[22] He returned to the University of Oxford in 1970 taking a position as a lecturer, and in 1990, as a reader in zoology. In 1995, he was appointed Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science in the University of Oxford, a position that had been endowed by Charles Simonyi with the express intention that the holder "be expected to make important contributions to the public understanding of some scientific field".[23] Since 1970, he has been a fellow of New College, Oxford.[24]
In the 1970s, Dawkins turned to explaining the life sciences to a popular audience, beginning with his 1976 book, The Selfish Gene.[20]
Dawkins has delivered a number of inaugural and other lectures, including the Henry Sidgwick Memorial Lecture (1989), first Erasmus Darwin Memorial Lecture (1990), Michael Faraday Lecture (1991), T.H. Huxley Memorial Lecture (1992), Irvine Memorial Lecture (1997), Sheldon Doyle Lecture (1999), Tinbergen Lecture (2004) and Tanner Lectures (2003).[15] In 1991, he gave the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures for Children. He has also served as editor of a number of journals, and has acted as editorial advisor to Encarta Encyclopedia and the Encyclopedia of Evolution. He is a senior editor of the Council for Secular Humanism's Free Inquiry magazine, for which he also writes a column. He has been a member of the editorial board of Skeptic magazine since its foundation.[25]
He has sat on judging panels for awards as diverse as the Royal Society's Faraday Award and the British Academy Television Awards,[15] and has been president of the Biological Sciences section of the British Association for the Advancement of Science. In 2004, Balliol College, Oxford instituted the Dawkins Prize, awarded for "outstanding research into the ecology and behaviour of animals whose welfare and survival may be endangered by human activities".[26]
In September 2008, Dawkins retired from his post as Simonyi Professor of the Public Understanding of Science,[27] announcing plans to "write a book aimed at youngsters in which he will warn them against believing in "anti-scientific" fairytales."[28]
On 19 August 1967, Dawkins married fellow ethologist Marian Stamp; they divorced in 1984. Later that same year, on 1 June, Dawkins married Eve Barham − with whom he had a daughter, Juliet Emma Dawkins − but they too divorced, and Barham died of cancer on 28 February 1999.[29][30] In 1992, he married actress Lalla Ward.[31] Dawkins had met her through their mutual friend Douglas Adams, who had previously worked with Ward on the BBC science-fiction television programme Doctor Who. Ward has illustrated over half of Dawkins' books and co-narrated the audio versions of two of his books, The Ancestor's Tale and The God Delusion. In 2008, Dawkins made a cameo appearance as himself in the Doctor Who episode "The Stolen Earth".
Work
Evolutionary biology
In his scientific works, Dawkins is best known for his popularisation of the gene-centred view of evolution. This view is most clearly set out in his books The Selfish Gene (1976), where he notes that "all life evolves by the differential survival of replicating entities", and The Extended Phenotype (1982), in which he describes natural selection as "the process whereby replicators out-propagate each other". In his role as an ethologist, interested in animal behaviour and its relation to natural selection, he advocates the idea that the gene is the principal unit of selection in evolution.
Dawkins has consistently been sceptical about non-adaptive processes in evolution (such as spandrels, described by Gould and Lewontin)[32] and about selection at levels "above" that of the gene.[33] He is particularly sceptical about the practical possibility or importance of group selection as a basis for understanding altruism.[34] This behaviour appears at first to be an evolutionary paradox, since helping others costs precious resources and decreases one's own fitness. Previously, many had interpreted this as an aspect of group selection: individuals were doing what was best for the survival of the population or species as a whole, and not specifically for themselves. British evolutionary biologist W. D. Hamilton had used the gene-centred view to explain altruism in terms of inclusive fitness and kin selection − that individuals behave altruistically toward their close relatives, who share many of their own genes.[35][a] Similarly, Robert Trivers, thinking in terms of the gene-centred model, developed the theory of reciprocal altruism, whereby one organism provides a benefit to another in the expectation of future reciprocation.[36] Dawkins popularised these ideas in The Selfish Gene, and developed them in his own work.[37]
Critics of Dawkins' approach suggest that taking the gene as the unit of selection − of a single event in which an individual either succeeds or fails to reproduce − is misleading, but that the gene could be better described as a unit of evolution − of the long-term changes in allele frequencies in a population.[38] In The Selfish Gene, Dawkins explains that he is using George C. Williams' definition of the gene as "that which segregates and recombines with appreciable frequency".[39] Another common objection is that genes cannot survive alone, but must cooperate to build an individual, and therefore cannot be an independent "unit".[40] In The Extended Phenotype, Dawkins suggests that because of genetic recombination and sexual reproduction, from an individual gene's viewpoint all other genes are part of the environment to which it is adapted.
Advocates for higher levels of selection such as Richard Lewontin, David Sloan Wilson, and Elliot Sober suggest that there are many phenomena (including altruism) that gene-based selection cannot satisfactorily explain. The philosopher Mary Midgley, with whom Dawkins clashed in print concerning The Selfish Gene,[41][42] has criticised gene selection, memetics and sociobiology as being excessively reductionist.[43]
In a set of controversies over the mechanisms and interpretation of evolution (the so-called 'Darwin Wars'),[44][45] one faction was often named after Dawkins and its rival after the American paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould, reflecting the pre-eminence of each as a populariser of pertinent ideas.[46][47] In particular, Dawkins and Gould have been prominent commentators in the controversy over sociobiology and evolutionary psychology, with Dawkins generally approving and Gould generally being critical.[48] A typical example of Dawkins' position was his scathing review of Not in Our Genes by Steven Rose, Leon J. Kamin and Richard C. Lewontin.[49] Two other thinkers on the subject often considered to be allied to Dawkins are Steven Pinker and Daniel Dennett; Dennett has promoted a gene-centred view of evolution and defended reductionism in biology.[50] Despite their academic disagreements, Dawkins and Gould did not have a hostile personal relationship, and Dawkins dedicated a large portion of his 2003 book A Devil's Chaplain posthumously to Gould, who had died the previous year.
Dawkins' latest book, The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution, expounds the evidence for biological evolution. It was released on 3 September 2009, published in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth nations by Transworld.[51] In the United States it was released on 22 September 2009, where it was published by Free Press.[52] All of his previous works dealing with evolution had assumed its truth, and not explicitly provided the evidence to this effect. Dawkins felt that this represented a gap in his oeuvre, and decided to write the book to coincide with Darwin's bicentennial year.[53]
Meme
Dawkins coined the word meme (the cultural equivalent of a gene) to describe how Darwinian principles might be extended to explain the spread of ideas and cultural phenomena.[54] This has spawned the field of memetics. Dawkins memes refer to any cultural entity that an observer might consider a replicator. He hypothesised that people could view many cultural entities as capable of such replication, generally through exposure to humans, who have evolved as efficient (although not perfect) copiers of information and behaviour. Memes are not always copied perfectly, and might indeed become refined, combined or otherwise modified with other ideas, resulting in new memes, which may themselves prove more, or less, efficient replicators than their predecessors, thus providing a framework for a hypothesis of cultural evolution, analogous to the theory of biological evolution based on genes.[55] Since originally outlining the idea in his book The Selfish Gene, Dawkins has largely left the task of expanding upon it to other authors such as Susan Blackmore.[56]
Although Dawkins invented the specific term meme independently, he has not claimed that the idea itself was entirely novel,[57] and there have been other expressions for similar ideas in the past. For instance, John Laurent has suggested that the term may have derived from the work of the little-known German biologist Richard Semon.[58] In 1904, Semon published Die Mneme (which appeared in English in 1924 as The Mneme). This book discussed the cultural transmission of experiences, with insights parallel to those of Dawkins. Laurent also found the term mneme used in Maurice Maeterlinck's The Life of the White Ant (1926), and has highlighted the similarities to Dawkins' concept.[58]
Criticism of creationism
Dawkins is a prominent critic of creationism (the religious belief that humanity, life and the universe were created by a deity,[59] without recourse to evolution[60]). He has described the Young Earth creationist view that the Earth is only a few thousand years old as "a preposterous, mind-shrinking falsehood,"[61] and his 1986 book, The Blind Watchmaker, contains a sustained critique of the argument from design, an important creationist argument. In the book, Dawkins argued against the watchmaker analogy made famous by the 18th-century English theologian William Paley in his book Natural Theology. Paley argued that, just as a watch is too complicated and too functional to have sprung into existence merely by accident, so too must all living things, with their far greater complexity, be purposefully designed. According to Dawkins, however, natural selection is sufficient to explain the apparent functionality and non-random complexity of the biological world, and can be said to play the role of watchmaker in nature, albeit as an automatic, nonintelligent, blind watchmaker.[62]
In 1986, Dawkins participated in a Oxford Union debate, in which he and English biologist John Maynard Smith debated Young Earth creationist A. E. Wilder-Smith and Edgar Andrews, president of the Biblical Creation Society.[b] In general, however, Dawkins has followed the advice of his late colleague Stephen Jay Gould and refused to participate in formal debates with creationists because doing so would give them the "oxygen of respectability" they crave. He suggests that creationists "don't mind being beaten in an argument. What matters is that we give them recognition by bothering to argue with them in public."[63]
In a December 2004 interview with American journalist Bill Moyers, Dawkins said that "among the things that science does know, evolution is about as certain as anything we know". When Moyers questioned him on the use of the word theory, Dawkins stated that "evolution has been observed. It's just that it hasn't been observed while it's happening." He added that "it is rather like a detective coming on a murder after the scene... the detective hasn't actually seen the murder take place, of course. But what you do see is a massive clue... Huge quantities of circumstantial evidence. It might as well be spelled out in words of English."[64]
Dawkins has ardently opposed the inclusion of intelligent design in science education, describing it as "not a scientific argument at all, but a religious one".[65] He has been a strong critic of the British organisation Truth in Science, which promotes the teaching of creationism in state schools, and he plans − through the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science − to subsidise the delivering of books, DVDs and pamphlets to schools, in order to counteract what he has described as an "educational scandal".[66]
Atheism and rationalism
![](https://swap.stanford.edu/was/20100322163935im_/http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a7/Richard_dawkins_lecture.jpg/170px-Richard_dawkins_lecture.jpg)
Dawkins is an outspoken atheist and a prominent critic of religion, and has been described as a militant atheist.[67][68] He is an Honorary Associate of the National Secular Society,[69] a vice-president of the British Humanist Association (since 1996),[15] a Distinguished Supporter of the Humanist Society of Scotland,[70] a Humanist Laureate of the International Academy of Humanism,[71] and a fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry.[72] In 2003, he became a signatory of the humanist manifesto Humanism and Its Aspirations, published by the American Humanist Association.[73]
Dawkins believes that his own atheism is the logical extension of his understanding of evolution[74] and that religion is incompatible with science.[75] In his 1986 book The Blind Watchmaker, Dawkins wrote:
An atheist before Darwin could have said, following Hume: "I have no explanation for complex biological design. All I know is that God isn't a good explanation, so we must wait and hope that somebody comes up with a better one." I can't help feeling that such a position, though logically sound, would have left one feeling pretty unsatisfied, and that although atheism might have been logically tenable before Darwin, Darwin made it possible to be an intellectually fulfilled atheist.[76]
In his 1991 essay "Viruses of the Mind" (from which the term faith-sufferer originated), he suggested that memetic theory might analyse and explain the phenomenon of religious belief and some of the common characteristics of religions, such as the belief that punishment awaits non-believers. According to Dawkins, faith − belief that is not based on evidence − is one of the world's great evils. He claims it to be analogous to the smallpox virus, though more difficult to eradicate.[77] Dawkins is well-known for his contempt for religious extremism, from Islamist terrorism[78] to Christian fundamentalism; but he has also argued with liberal believers and religious scientists, from biologists Kenneth Miller[79] and Francis Collins[80] to theologians Alister McGrath and Richard Harries.[81] Dawkins has stated that his opposition to religion is twofold, claiming it to be both a source of conflict and a justification for belief without evidence.[82] However, he describes himself as a "cultural Christian",[83] and proposed the slogan "Atheists for Jesus".[84]
Following the September 11, 2001 attacks, when asked how the world might have changed, Dawkins responded:
Many of us saw religion as harmless nonsense. Beliefs might lack all supporting evidence but, we thought, if people needed a crutch for consolation, where's the harm? September 11th changed all that. Revealed faith is not harmless nonsense, it can be lethally dangerous nonsense. Dangerous because it gives people unshakeable confidence in their own righteousness. Dangerous because it gives them false courage to kill themselves, which automatically removes normal barriers to killing others. Dangerous because it teaches enmity to others labelled only by a difference of inherited tradition. And dangerous because we have all bought into a weird respect, which uniquely protects religion from normal criticism. Let's now stop being so damned respectful![85]
Dawkins has especially risen to prominence in contemporary public debates relating science and religion since the publication of his 2006 book The God Delusion, which has achieved greater sales figures worldwide than any of his other works to date. Its success has been seen by many as indicative of a change in the contemporary cultural zeitgeist, central to a recent rise in the popularity of atheistic literature.[86][87] The God Delusion was praised by many intellectuals including the Nobel laureate chemist Sir Harold Kroto, psychologist Steven Pinker and the Nobel laureate biologist James D. Watson.[88] In the book, Dawkins argued that atheists should be proud, not apologetic, because atheism is evidence of a healthy, independent mind.[89] He sees education and consciousness-raising as the primary tools in opposing what he considers to be religious dogma and indoctrination.[5][22][90] These tools include the fight against certain stereotypes, and he has adopted the term Bright as a way of associating positive public connotations with those who possess a naturalistic worldview.[90] Dawkins notes that feminists have succeeded in arousing widespread embarrassment at the routine use of "he" instead of "she". Similarly, he suggests, a phrase such as "Catholic child" or "Muslim child" should be considered just as socially absurd as, for instance, "Marxist child": children should not be classified based on their parents' ideological beliefs.[90] According to Dawkins, there is no such thing as a Christian child or a Muslim child, as children have about as much capacity to make the decision to become Christians or Muslims as they do to become Marxists.[89]
In January 2006, Dawkins presented a two-part television documentary The Root of All Evil?, addressing what he sees as the malignant influence of religion on society. The title itself is one with which Dawkins has repeatedly expressed his dissatisfaction.[91] Critics have said that the programme gave too much time to marginal figures and extremists, and that Dawkins' confrontational style did not help his cause;[92][93] Dawkins rejected these claims, citing the number of moderate religious broadcasts in everyday media as providing a suitable balance to the extremists in the programmes. He further remarked that someone who is deemed an "extremist" in a religiously moderate country may well be considered "mainstream" in a religiously conservative one.[94] The unedited recordings of Dawkins' conversations with Alister McGrath and Richard Harries, including material unused in the broadcast version, have been made available online by the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science.[95]
Oxford theologian Alister McGrath (author of The Dawkins Delusion and Dawkin's God) maintains that Dawkins is ignorant of Christian theology, and therefore unable to engage religion and faith intelligently.[96] In reply, Dawkins asks "do you have to read up on leprechology before disbelieving in leprechauns?",[97] and − in the paperback edition of The God Delusion − he refers to the American biologist PZ Myers, who has satirised this line of argument as "The Courtier's Reply".[98] Dawkins had an extended debate with McGrath at the 2007 Sunday Times Literary Festival.[99]
Another Christian philosopher Keith Ward explores similar themes in his 2006 book Is Religion Dangerous?, arguing against the view of Dawkins and others that religion is socially dangerous. Criticism of The God Delusion has come from philosophers such as Professor John Cottingham of the University of Reading.[100] Other commentators, including ethicist Margaret Somerville,[101] have suggested that Dawkins "overstates the case against religion",[102] particularly its role in human conflict. Many of Dawkins' defenders claim that critics generally misunderstand his real point. During a debate on Radio 3 Hong Kong, David Nicholls, writer and president of the Atheist Foundation of Australia, reiterated Dawkins' sentiments that religion is an "unnecessary" aspect of global problems.[103]
Dawkins argues that "the existence of God is a scientific hypothesis like any other".[104] He disagrees with Stephen Jay Gould's principle of nonoverlapping magisteria (NOMA). In an interview with Time magazine, Dawkins said:
I think that Gould's separate compartments was a purely political ploy to win middle-of-the-road religious people to the science camp. But it's a very empty idea. There are plenty of places where religion does not keep off the scientific turf. Any belief in miracles is flat contradictory not just to the facts of science but to the spirit of science.[105]
Astrophysicist Martin Rees has suggested that Dawkins' attack on mainstream religion is unhelpful.[106] Regarding Rees' claim in his book Our Cosmic Habitat that "such questions lie beyond science", Dawkins asks "what expertise can theologians bring to deep cosmological questions that scientists cannot?"[107][108] Elsewhere, Dawkins has written that "there's all the difference in the world between a belief that one is prepared to defend by quoting evidence and logic, and a belief that is supported by nothing more than tradition, authority or revelation."[77] As examples of "good scientists who are sincerely religious", Dawkins names Arthur Peacocke, Russell Stannard, John Polkinghorne and Francis Collins, but says "I remain baffled ... by their belief in the details of the Christian religion."[109][110][111][112][113] He has said that the publication of The God Delusion is "probably the culmination" of his campaign against religion.[114]
In 2007, Dawkins founded the Out Campaign to encourage atheists worldwide to declare their stance publicly and proudly.[115] Inspired by the gay rights movement, Dawkins hopes that atheists' identifying of themselves as such, and thereby increasing public awareness of how many people hold these views, will reduce the negative opinion of atheism among the religious majority.[6][116]
In September 2008, following a complaint by Islamic creationist Adnan Oktar, a court in Turkey blocked access to Dawkins' website richarddawkins.net. The court decision was made due to "insult to personality".[117][118][119][120][121][122]
![](https://swap.stanford.edu/was/20100322163935im_/http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d3/Ariane_Sherine_and_Richard_Dawkins_at_the_Atheist_Bus_Campaign_launch.jpg/220px-Ariane_Sherine_and_Richard_Dawkins_at_the_Atheist_Bus_Campaign_launch.jpg)
In October 2008, Dawkins officially supported the UK's first atheist advertising initiative, the Atheist Bus Campaign. Created by Guardian journalist Ariane Sherine, the campaign aimed to raise funds to place atheist adverts on buses in the London area, and Dawkins pledged to match the amount raised by atheists, up to a maximum of £5,500. However, the campaign was an unprecedented success, raising over £100,000 in its first four days, and generating global press coverage.[123][124] The campaign, started in January 2009, features adverts across the UK with the slogan: "There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life." Dawkins said that "this campaign to put alternative slogans on London buses will make people think — and thinking is anathema to religion."[125] A Church of England spokesman said: "we would defend the right of any group representing a religious or philosophical position to be able to promote that view through appropriate channels. However, Christian belief is not about worrying or not enjoying life. Quite the opposite -- our faith liberates us to put this life into a proper perspective."[126]
Richard Dawkins Foundation
In 2006, Dawkins founded the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science (RDFRS), a non-profit organisation. The foundation is in developmental phase. It has been granted charitable status in the United Kingdom and the United States. RDFRS plans to finance research on the psychology of belief and religion, finance scientific education programs and materials, and publicise and support secular charitable organisations. The foundation also offers humanist, rationalist and scientific materials and information through its website.[127]
Other fields
In his role as professor for public understanding of science, Dawkins has been a critic of pseudoscience and alternative medicine. His 1998 book Unweaving the Rainbow takes John Keats' accusation that, by explaining the rainbow, Isaac Newton had diminished its beauty, and argues for the opposite conclusion. He suggests that deep space, the billions of years of life's evolution, and the microscopic workings of biology and heredity contain more beauty and wonder than do "myths" and "pseudoscience".[128] Dawkins wrote a foreword to John Diamond's posthumously published Snake Oil, a book devoted to debunking alternative medicine, in which he asserted that alternative medicine was harmful, if only because it distracted patients from more successful conventional treatments, and gave people false hopes.[129] Dawkins states that "there is no alternative medicine. There is only medicine that works and medicine that doesn't work."[130]
Dawkins has expressed concern about the growth of the planet's human population, and about the matter of overpopulation.[131] In The Selfish Gene, he briefly mentions population growth, giving the example of Latin America, whose population, at the time the book was written, was doubling every 40 years. He is critical of Roman Catholic attitudes to family planning and population control, stating that leaders who forbid contraception and "express a preference for 'natural' methods of population limitation" will get just such a method in the form of starvation.[132]
As a supporter of the Great Ape Project – a movement to extend certain moral and legal rights to all great apes – Dawkins contributed the article "Gaps in the Mind" to the Great Ape Project book edited by Paola Cavalieri and Peter Singer. In this essay, he criticises contemporary society's moral attitudes as being based on a "discontinuous, speciesist imperative".[133]
Dawkins also regularly comments in newspapers and weblogs on contemporary political questions; his opinions include opposition to the 2003 invasion of Iraq,[134] the British nuclear deterrent and the actions of U.S. President George W. Bush.[135] Several such articles were included in A Devil's Chaplain, an anthology of writings about science, religion and politics. He is also a supporter of the Republic campaign to replace the British monarchy with a democratically-elected president.[136]
In the 2007 TV documentary The Enemies of Reason,[137] Dawkins discusses what he sees as the dangers of abandoning critical thought and rationale based upon scientific evidence. He specifically cites astrology, spiritualism, dowsing, alternative faiths, alternative medicine and homeopathy. He also discusses how the Internet can be used to spread religious hatred and conspiracy theories with scant attention to evidence-based reasoning.
Continuing a long-standing partnership with Channel 4, Dawkins is set to present an episode of the upcoming five-part television series The Genius of Britain, along with fellow scientists Stephen Hawking, James Dyson, Paul Nurse, and Jim Al-Khalili.[138] The programme will focus on major British scientific achievements throughout history.
Awards and recognition
Dawkins was awarded a Doctor of Science by the University of Oxford in 1989. He holds honorary doctorates in science from the University of Huddersfield, University of Westminster, Durham University,[139] the University of Hull, and the University of Antwerp, and honorary doctorates from the University of Aberdeen,[140] Open University, the Vrije Universiteit Brussel[15], and the University of Valencia.[141] He also holds honorary doctorates of letters from the University of St Andrews and the Australian National University (HonLittD, 1996), and was elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1997 and the Royal Society in 2001.[15] He is one of the patrons of the Oxford University Scientific Society.
In 1987, Dawkins received a Royal Society of Literature award and a Los Angeles Times Literary Prize for his book, The Blind Watchmaker. In the same year, he received a Sci. Tech Prize for Best Television Documentary Science Programme of the Year, for the BBC Horizon episode The Blind Watchmaker.[15]
His other awards have included the Zoological Society of London Silver Medal (1989), Finlay innovation award (1990), the Michael Faraday Award (1990), the Nakayama Prize (1994), the American Humanist Association's Humanist of the Year Award (1996), the fifth International Cosmos Prize (1997), the Kistler Prize (2001), the Medal of the Presidency of the Italian Republic (2001), the Bicentennial Kelvin Medal of The Royal Philosophical Society of Glasgow (2002)[15] and the Nierenberg Prize for Science in the Public Interest (2009).[142]
Dawkins topped Prospect magazine's 2004 list of the top 100 public British intellectuals, as decided by the readers, receiving twice as many votes as the runner-up.[143][144] He has been short-listed as a candidate in their 2008 follow-up poll.[145] In 2005, the Hamburg-based Alfred Toepfer Foundation awarded him its Shakespeare Prize in recognition of his "concise and accessible presentation of scientific knowledge". He won the Lewis Thomas Prize for Writing about Science for 2006 and the Galaxy British Book Awards Author of the Year Award for 2007.[146] In the same year, he was listed by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2007,[147] and was awarded the Deschner Award, named after German anti-clerical author Karlheinz Deschner.[148]
Since 2003, the Atheist Alliance International has awarded a prize during its annual conference, honouring an outstanding atheist whose work has done most to raise public awareness of atheism during that year. It is known as the Richard Dawkins Award, in honour of Dawkins' own work.[149]
Media
Publications
- The Selfish Gene. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 1976. ISBN 0-19-286092-5.
- The Extended Phenotype. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 1982. ISBN 0-19-288051-9.
- The Blind Watchmaker. New York: W. W. Norton & Company. 1986. ISBN 0-393-31570-3.
- River out of Eden. New York: Basic Books. 1995. ISBN 0-465-06990-8.
- Climbing Mount Improbable. New York: W. W. Norton & Company. 1996. ISBN 0-393-31682-3.
- Unweaving the Rainbow. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. 1998. ISBN 0-618-05673-4.
- A Devil's Chaplain. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. 2003. ISBN 0-618-33540-4.
- The Ancestor's Tale. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. 2004. ISBN 0-618-00583-8.
- The God Delusion. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. 2006. ISBN 0-618-68000-4.
- The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution. Free Press (United States), Transworld (United Kingdom and Commonwealth). 2009. ISBN 0-593-06173-X.
Documentary films
- Nice Guys Finish First (1987)
- The Blind Watchmaker (1987)[150]
- Growing Up in the Universe (1991)
- Break the Science Barrier (1996)
- The Root of All Evil? (2006)
- The Enemies of Reason (2007)
- The Genius of Charles Darwin (2008)
Notes
a. ^ W. D. Hamilton hugely influenced Dawkins and the influence can be seen throughout Dawkins' book The Selfish Gene.[22] They became friends at Oxford and following Hamilton's death in 2000, Dawkins wrote his obituary and organised a secular memorial service.[151]
b. ^ The debate ended with the motion "That the doctrine of creation is more valid than the theory of evolution" being defeated by 198 votes to 115.[152][153]
References
- ^ "The Simonyi Professorship Home Page". The University of Oxford. http://www.simonyi.ox.ac.uk/index.shtml. Retrieved 2008-03-08.
- ^ "The Third Culture: Richard Dawkins". Edge.org. http://www.edge.org/3rd_culture/bios/dawkins.html. Retrieved 2008-03-08.
- ^ Staff (2008). "(Clinton) Richard Dawkins". Who's Who. London: A & C Black.
- ^ List of Fellows of New College, Oxford - NB Dr Dawkins is no longer listed because he is retired
- ^ a b Smith, Alexandra (27 November 2006). "Dawkins campaigns to keep God out of classroom". The Guardian. http://education.guardian.co.uk/schools/story/0,,1958138,00.html. Retrieved 2007-01-15.
- ^ a b Chittenden, Maurice; Waite, Roger (23 December 2007). "Dawkins to preach atheism to US". The Sunday Times. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article3087486.ece. Retrieved 2008-04-01.
- ^ Persuad, Raj (2003-03-20). "Holy visions elude scientists". The Daily Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/connected/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=P8&targetRule=%5C10&xml=%2Fconnected%2F2003%2F03%2F19%2Fecfgod119.xml. Retrieved 2008-04-17.
- ^ "Why I am a secular humanist". The University of Oxford. http://www.simonyi.ox.ac.uk/dawkins/WorldOfDawkins-archive/Dawkins/Work/Interviews/1997-winterhumanist.shtml. Retrieved 2008-03-13.
- ^ Hitchens, Christopher (2007). God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything. Twelve Books. pp. 5. ISBN 0-446-57980-7.
- ^ Hall, Stephen S. (2005-08-09). "Darwin's Rottweiler". Discover magazine. http://discovermagazine.com/2005/sep/darwins-rottweiler. Retrieved 2008-03-22.
- ^ Mohler, R. Albert (9 September 2005). ""Darwin's Rottweiler" -- Richard Dawkins Speaks His Mind". AlbertMohler.com. http://www.albertmohler.com/commentary_read.php?cdate=2005-09-09. Retrieved 2008-03-22.
- ^ Dawkins, Richard (2006). The God Delusion. Transworld Publishers. pp. 5. ISBN 0-5930-5548-9.
- ^ "The God Delusion - back on the Times extended list at #24". Richard Dawkins at RichardDawkins.net. 27 January 2010. http://richarddawkins.net/articles/5000#455619. Retrieved 6 February 2010.
- ^ "Richard Dawkins — Science and the New Atheism". Richard Dawkins at Point of Inquiry. 2007-12-08. http://media.libsyn.com/media/pointofinquiry/POI_2007_12_7_Richard_Dawkins.mp3. Retrieved 2008-03-14.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Curriculum vitae of Richard Dawkins". The University of Oxford. http://www.simonyi.ox.ac.uk/dawkins/CV.shtml. Retrieved 2008-03-13.
- ^ The Ancestor's Tale, p 317
- ^ Dawkins, Richard. "Statement by Richard Dawkins". RichardDawkins.net. http://www.richarddawkins.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=88869&p=2176192#p2176192. Retrieved 2009-08-08.
- ^ "Richard Dawkins: The foibles of faith". BBC News. 2001-10-12. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/uk/2000/newsmakers/1595744.stm. Retrieved 2008-03-13.
- ^ Hattenstone, Simon (10 February 2003). "Darwin's child". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2003/feb/10/religion.scienceandnature. Retrieved 2008-04-22.
- ^ a b Schrage, Michael (July 1995). "Revolutionary Evolutionist". Wired. http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/3.07/dawkins_pr.html. Retrieved 2008-04-21.
- ^ Dawkins, Richard (1969). "A threshold model of choice behaviour". Animal Behaviour 17 (1): 120. doi:10.1016/0003-3472(69)90120-1.
- ^ a b c ""Belief" interview". BBC. 5 April 2004. http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/atheism/people/dawkins.shtml. Retrieved 2008-04-08.
- ^ Simonyi, Charles (1995-05-15). "Manifesto for the Simonyi Professorship". The University of Oxford. http://www.simonyi.ox.ac.uk/aims/manifesto.shtml. Retrieved 2008-03-13.
- ^ "The Current Simonyi Professor: Richard Dawkins". The University of Oxford. http://www.simonyi.ox.ac.uk/dawkins/index.shtml. Retrieved 2008-03-13.
- ^ "Editorial Board". The Skeptics' Society. http://www.skeptic.com/the_magazine/editorial_board.html. Retrieved 2008-04-22.
- ^ "The Dawkins Prize for Animal Conservation and Welfare". Balliol College, Oxford. 9 November 2007. http://www.balliol.ox.ac.uk/official/miscellany/dawkins/index.asp. Retrieved 2008-03-30.
- ^ Dawkins, Richard. "Charles Simonyi Professorship in the Public Understanding of Science". RichardDawkins.net. http://www.richarddawkins.net/article,2246,Charles-Simonyi-Professorship-in-the-Public-Understanding-of-Science,Richard-Dawkins. Retrieved 2008-03-29.
- ^ Martin Beckford and Urmee Khan. "Harry Potter fails to cast spell over Professor Richard Dawkins". The Daily Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/3255972/Harry-Potter-fails-to-cast-spell-over-Professor-Richard-Dawkins.html. Retrieved 2008-11-01.
- ^ Riddell, Mary (26 March 1999). "Eating people is wrong". New Statesman. http://www.newstatesman.com/199903260013. Retrieved 2008-03-13.
- ^ Dawkins, Richard (21 March 1999). "There are happy and sad songs to be sung". The Independent. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_/ai_n14218072. Retrieved 2008-11-04.
- ^ McKie, Robin (25 July 2004). "Doctor Zoo". The Guardian. http://observer.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,6903,1268687,00.html. Retrieved 2008-03-17.
- ^ Gould, Stephen Jay; Lewontin, Richard C. (1979). "The Spandrels of San Marco and the Panglossian Paradigm: A Critique of the Adaptationist Programme". Proceedings of the Royal Society of London (London) Series B, VOL. 205 (1161): 581–598. http://www.aaas.org/spp/dser/03_Areas/evolution/perspectives/Gould_Lewontin_1979.shtml. Retrieved 2009-08-14.
- ^ Dawkins, Richard (1999). The Extended Phenotype. Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press. p. 4. ISBN 0-1....
- ^ Dawkins, Richard (2006). The God Delusion. Transworld Publishers. pp. 169–172. ISBN 0-5930-5548-9.
- ^ Hamilton, W.D. (1964). "The genetical evolution of social behaviour I and II". Journal of Theoretical Biology 7: 1–16, 17–52. doi:10.1016/0022-5193(64)90038-4.
- ^ Trivers, Robert (1971). "The evolution of reciprocal altruism". Quarterly Review of Biology 46: 35–57. doi:10.1086/406755.
- ^ Dawkins, Richard (1979). "Twelve Misunderstandings of Kin Selection" (PDF). Zeitschrift fur Tierpsychologie 51: 184–200. http://www.simonyi.ox.ac.uk/dawkins/writings/Twelve%20Misunderstandings%20of%20Kin%20Selection.pdf.
- ^ Dover, Gabriel (2000). Dear Mr Darwin. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. ISBN 0-7538-1127-8.
- ^ Williams, George C. (1966). Adaptation and Natural Selection. United States: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-02615-7.
- ^ Mayr, Ernst (2000). What Evolution Is. Basic Books. ISBN 0-465-04426-3.
- ^ Midgley, Mary (1979). "Gene Juggling". Philosophy 54 (210): pp. 439–458. doi:10.1017/S0031819100063488. http://www.royalinstitutephilosophy.org/articles/article.php?id=14. Retrieved 2008-03-18.
- ^ Dawkins, Richard (1981). "In Defence of Selfish Genes". Philosophy 56: pp. 556–573. doi:10.1017/S0031819100050580. http://www.royalinstitutephilosophy.org/articles/article.php?id=5. Retrieved 2008-03-17.
- ^ Midgley, Mary (2000). Science and Poetry. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-27632-2.
- ^ Brown, Andrew (1999). The Darwin Wars: How stupid genes became selfish genes. London: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0-684-85144-X.
- ^ Brown, Andrew (2000). The Darwin Wars: The Scientific Battle for the Soul of Man. London: Touchstone. ISBN 0-684-85145-8.
- ^ Brockman, J. (1995). The Third Culture: Beyond the Scientific Revolution. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-684-80359-3.
- ^ Sterelny, K. (2007). Dawkins Vs Gould: Survival of the Fittest. Cambridge, U.K.: Icon Books. ISBN 1-84046-780-0. Also ISBN 978-1840467-80-2
- ^ Morris, Richard (2001). The Evolutionists. W. H. Freeman. ISBN 071674094X.
- ^ Dawkins, Richard (24 January 1985). "Sociobiology: the debate continues". New Scientist. http://www.simonyi.ox.ac.uk/dawkins/WorldOfDawkins-archive/Dawkins/Work/Reviews/1985-01-24notinourgenes.shtml. Retrieved 2008-04-03.
- ^ Dennett, Daniel (1995). Darwin's Dangerous Idea. United States: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-684-80290-2.
- ^ "Transworld signs new book from Dawkins". The Bookseller. 15 February 2008. http://www.thebookseller.com/news/52925-transworld-signs-new-book-from-dawkins.html. Retrieved 2009-01-12.
- ^ Neyfakh, Leon (7 February 2008). "Richard Dawkins' Follow-Up to God Delusion Sold to Free Press for $3.5 Million". The New York Observer. http://www.observer.com/2008/richard-dawkins-follow-god-delusion-sold-free-press-3-5-million. Retrieved 2008-03-04.
- ^ Dawkins, Richard (2009). The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution. London: Transworld Publishers. pp. xii. ISBN 0-593-06173-X.
- ^ Dawkins, Richard (1989). The Selfish Gene (2nd ed.). United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. pp. 11. ISBN 0-19-286092-5.
- ^ Kelly, Kevin (1994). Out of Control: The New Biology of Machines, Social Systems, and the Economic World. United States: Addison-Wesley. pp. 360. ISBN 0-201-48340-8.
- ^ Blackmore, Susan (1999). The Meme Machine. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-286212-X.
- ^ Shalizi, Cosma Rohilla. "Memes". Center for the Study of Complex Systems. University of Michigan. http://www.cscs.umich.edu/~crshalizi/formerly-hyper-weird/memetics.html. Retrieved 2009-08-14.
- ^ a b Laurent, John (1999). A Note on the Origin of 'Memes'/'Mnemes'. 3. Journal of Memetics. pp. 14–19. http://cfpm.org/jom-emit/1999/vol3/laurent_j.html. Retrieved 2008-03-17.
- ^ Ruse, Michael. "Creationism". Stanford Ecyclopedia of Philosophy. Metaphysics Research Laboratory, Stanford University. http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/creationism/. Retrieved 2009-09-09. "a Creationist is someone who believes in a god who is absolute creator of heaven and earth."
- ^ Scott, Eugenie C. "Creationism". Evolution vs. creationism: an introduction. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. pp. 51. ISBN 9780520261877. "The term 'creationism' to many people connotes the theological doctrine of special creationism: that God created the universe essentially as we see it today, and that this universe has not changed appreciably since that creation event. Special creationism includes the idea that God created living things in their present forms..."
- ^ Dawkins, Richard (9 March 2002). "A scientist's view". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2002/mar/09/religion.schools1. Retrieved 2009-11-07.
- ^ Catalano, John. "Book: The Blind Watchmaker". The University of Oxford. http://www.simonyi.ox.ac.uk/dawkins/WorldOfDawkins-archive/Dawkins/Work/Books/blind.shtml. Retrieved 2008-02-28.
- ^ Dawkins, Richard (2003). A Devil's Chaplain. Houghton Mifflin. pp. 256. ISBN 0-618-33540-4.
- ^ Moyers, Bill (3 December 2004). "Now with Bill Moyers". Public Broadcasting Service. http://www.pbs.org/now/transcript/transcript349_full.html#dawkins. Retrieved 2006-01-29.
- ^ Dawkins, Richard and Coyne, Jerry (1 September 2005). "One side can be wrong". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2005/sep/01/schools.research. Retrieved 2006-12-21.
- ^ Swinford, Steven (19 November 2006). "Godless Dawkins challenges schools". The Times. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/education/student/news/article641971.ece. Retrieved 2008-04-03.
- ^ Ralph Levinson, Science Today: Problem Or Crisis?, Routledge, 1997, p. 32.
- ^ "Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams criticizes popular atheist writers", International Herald Tribune, 13 October 2007.
- ^ "Our Honorary Associates". National Secular Society. 2005. http://www.secularism.org.uk/honoraryassociates.html. Retrieved 2007-04-21.
- ^ "The HSS Today". The Humanist Society of Scotland. 2007. http://www.humanism-scotland.org.uk/about-us/the-hss-today.html. Retrieved 2008-04-03.
- ^ "The International Academy Of Humanism — Humanist Laureates". Council for Secular Humanism. http://www.secularhumanism.org/index.php?section=iah&page=index. Retrieved 2008-04-07.
- ^ "The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry — Fellows". The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. http://www.csicop.org/about/fellows.html. Retrieved 2008-04-07.
- ^ "Humanism and Its Aspirations — Notable Signers". American Humanist Association. http://www.americanhumanist.org/Who_We_Are/About_Humanism/Humanist_Manifesto_III/Notable_Signers. Retrieved 2010-02-09.
- ^ Sheahen, Laura (October 2005). "The Problem with God: Interview with Richard Dawkins (2)". Beliefnet.com. http://www.beliefnet.com/story/178/story_17889_2.html. Retrieved 2008-04-11.
- ^ "Interview with Richard Dawkins". PBS. http://www.pbs.org/faithandreason/transcript/dawk-frame.html. Retrieved 2008-04-12.
- ^ Dawkins, Richard (1986). The Blind Watchmaker. New York: Norton. pp. 6. ISBN 0-393-31570-3.
- ^ a b Dawkins, Richard (January/February 1997). "Is Science a Religion?". American Humanist Association. http://www.thehumanist.org/humanist/articles/dawkins.html. Retrieved 2008-03-15.
- ^ Dawkins, Richard (15 September 2001). "Religion's misguided missiles". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4257777,00.htm. Retrieved 2008-04-13.
- ^ Hall, Stephen S. (2005-08-09). "Darwin's Rottweiler". Discover magazine. http://www.discover.com/issues/sep-05/features/darwins-rottweiler/. Retrieved 2008-03-22.
- ^ Biema, David Van (5 November 2006). "God Vs. Science". Time. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1555132-1,00.html. Retrieved 2008-04-07.
- ^ Dawkins, Richard (2006). "The Root of All Evil?". Channel 4. http://www.channel4.com/culture/microsites/C/can_you_believe_it/debates/rootofevil.html. Retrieved 2008-04-13.
- ^ Dawkins, Richard (2006). The God Delusion. Transworld Publishers. pp. 282–286. ISBN 0-5930-5548-9.
- ^ "Dawkins: I'm a cultural Christian". BBC News. 10 December 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7136682.stm. Retrieved 2008-03-01.
- ^ Dawkins, Richard (11 April 2006). "Atheists for Jesus". RichardDawkins.net. http://richarddawkins.net/article,20,Atheists-for-Jesus,Richard-Dawkins. Retrieved 2008-03-15.
- ^ Dawkins, Richard (11 November 2001). "Has the world changed?". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/oct/11/afghanistan.terrorism2. Retrieved 2006-01-29.
- ^ Odoyo, Peter (16 July 2007). "The Death of Religion And Rise of Atheism in the West". The Nation. http://allafrica.com/stories/200707160152.html. Retrieved 2008-03-15.
- ^ Burkowitz, Peter (16 July 2007). "The New Atheism". The Wall Street Journal. http://opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110010341. Retrieved 2008-03-15.
- ^ "The God Delusion — Reviews". RichardDawkins.net. http://richarddawkins.net/godDelusionReviews. Retrieved 2008-04-08.
- ^ a b Dawkins, Richard (2006). The God Delusion. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.. pp. 3. ISBN 0-618-68000-4.
- ^ a b c Dawkins, Richard (21 June 2003). "The future looks bright". The Guardian. http://books.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,12084,981412,00.html. Retrieved 2008-03-13.
- ^ "The Jeremy Vine Show". BBC Radio 2. 5 January 2006.
- ^ Jacobson, Howard (11 November 2001). "Nothing like an unimaginative scientist to get non-believers running back to God". The Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/howard-jacobson/howard-jacobson-nothing-like-an-unimaginative-scientist-to-get-nonbelievers-running-back-to-god-523917.html. Retrieved 2007-03-27.
- ^ Ferguson, Ron (19 January 2006). "What a lazy way to argue against God". The Herald. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/smgpubs/971452711.html?did=971452711&FMT=ABS&FMTS=FT&date=Jan+19%2C+2006&author=RON+FERGUSON&pub=The+Herald&desc=What+a+lazy+way+to+argue+against+God. Retrieved 2008-04-03.
- ^ Dawkins, Richard (30 January 2006). "Diary — Richard Dawkins". New Statesman. http://www.newstatesman.com/200601300002. Retrieved 2007-03-25.
- ^ "Richard Dawkins and Alister McGrath Root of All Evil? Uncut Interviews". RichardDawkins.net. 31 May 2007. http://richarddawkins.net/article,1212,Richard-Dawkins-and-Alister-McGrath,Root-of-All-Evil-Uncut-Interviews. Retrieved 2007-10-10.
- ^ McGrath, Alister (2004). Dawkins' God: Genes, Memes, and the Meaning of Life. Oxford, England: Blackwell Publishing. pp. 81. ISBN 1-405-12538-1.
- ^ Dawkins, Richard (17 September 2007). "Do you have to read up on leprechology before disbelieving in them?". RichardDawkins.net. http://richarddawkins.net/articleComments,1647,Do-you-have-to-read-up-on-leprechology-before-disbelieving-in-them,Richard-Dawkins-The-Independent,page27. Retrieved 2007-11-14.
- ^ Myers, PZ (24 December 2006). "The Courtier's Reply". Pharyngula. http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2006/12/the_courtiers_reply.php. Retrieved 2007-11-14.
- ^ Cole, Judith (26 March 2007). "Richard Dawkins at The Sunday Times Oxford Literary Festival". The Times. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/audio_video/podcasts/books/article1570989.ece. Retrieved 2008-03-04.
- ^ Cole, Judith (19 October 2006). "Flawed case for the prosecution". The Tablet. http://www.thetablet.co.uk/reviews/312. Retrieved 2008-03-04.
- ^ Huxley, John (24 May 2007). "Aiming for knockout blow in god wars". The Sydney Morning Herald. http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/aiming-for-knockout-blow-in-god-wars/2007/05/24/1179601500045.html. Retrieved 2007-05-27.
- ^ Easterbrook, Gregg. "Does God Believe in Richard Dawkins?". Beliefnet. http://www.beliefnet.com/story/202/story_20279_1.html. Retrieved 2007-05-26.
- ^ "Is God a Delusion?". Radio 3, Hong Kong. 4 April 2007. http://www.rthk.org.hk/rthk/radio3/backchat/20070404.html.
- ^ Dawkins, Richard (2006). The God Delusion. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.. pp. 50. ISBN 0-618-68000-4.
- ^ Van Biema, David (5 November 2006). "God vs. Science (3)". Time. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1555132-3,00.html. Retrieved 2008-04-03.
- ^ Jha, Alok (29 May 2007). "Scientists divided over alliance with religion". The Guardian. http://books.guardian.co.uk/hay2007/story/0,,2089947,00.html. Retrieved 2008-03-17.
- ^ Dawkins, Richard (2006). "When Religion Steps on Science's Turf". Free Inquiry magazine. http://www.secularhumanism.org/library/fi/dawkins_18_2.html. Retrieved 2008-04-03.
- ^ Dawkins, Richard (2006). The God Delusion. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.. pp. 55–56. ISBN 0-618-68000-4.
- ^ Dawkins, Richard (2006). The God Delusion. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.. pp. 99. ISBN 0-618-68000-4.
- ^ Crace, John (10 January 2006). "Richard Dawkins: Beyond belief". The Guardian. http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/profile/story/0,11109,1682655,00.html. Retrieved 2008-04-03.
- ^ Ruse, Michael (2000). "Double-Dealing in Darwin". Beliefnet. http://www.beliefnet.com/story/7/story_762_1.html. Retrieved 2008-04-03.
- ^ "Belief — radio interview". BBC Radio. 2004. http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/programmes/belief/scripts/dawkins.shtml. Retrieved 2008-04-03.
- ^ "The Atheist: interview with Gordy Slack". Salon.com. 28 April 2005. http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2005/04/30/dawkins/index.html. Retrieved 2008-04-03.
- ^ Bearder, Tim (24 March 2006). "BBC Oxford interview". FT Magazine. http://www.bbc.co.uk/oxford/content/articles/2006/03/24/dawkins.shtml. Retrieved 2007-05-25.
- ^ "The Out Campaign (original announcement)". RichardDawkins.net. 2007-07-30. http://richarddawkins.net/article,1471,The-Out-Campaign,Richard-Dawkins. Retrieved 2008-04-01.
- ^ Dawkins, Richard (24 October 2007). "Richard Dawkins speech at Atheist Alliance International Convention 2007". The Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science. RichardDawkins.net. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2936455252329399558&hl=en. Retrieved 2008-04-01.
- ^ "Dawkins website banned in Turkey". The Times. 2008-09-19. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article4790039.ece. Retrieved 2008-09-19.
- ^ Hooper, Rowan (2008-09-19). "Turkey bans evolutionist's website". New Scientist Blogs. http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/shortsharpscience/2008/09/turkey-bans-dawkins-website.html. Retrieved 2008-09-20.
- ^ Butt, Riazat (2008-09-19). "Missing link: creationist campaigner has Richard Dawkins' official website banned in Turkey". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/sep/19/religion.turkey. Retrieved 2008-09-20.
- ^ Staff writer (2008-09-17). "Evolutionist Dawkins' Internet Site Banned In Turkey". Bianet. http://bianet.org/english/kategori/english/109778/evolutionist-dawkins-internet-site-banned-in-turkey. Retrieved 2008-09-20.
- ^ Arpa, Yasemin (2008-09-17). "Evrimci yazarın sitesini Adnan Oktar kapattırdı" (in Turkish). NTV-MSNBC. http://www.ntvmsnbc.com/news/459522.asp. Retrieved 2008-09-20.
- ^ Ozimek, John (2008-09-22). "The Turkish court bans Dawkins' website". The Register. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/09/22/turkey_bans_dawkins_website/. Retrieved 2008-09-22.
- ^ Ariane Sherine (2008). "All aboard the atheist bus campaign". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/oct/21/religion-advertising. Retrieved 2008-12-11.
- ^ Ariane Sherine (2008). "'Probably' the best atheist bus campaign ever". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/oct/23/atheist-bus-campaign-ariane-sherine. Retrieved 2008-12-11.
- ^ Riazat Butt (2008). "Arriving soon: atheist bus campaign gets off to a flying start". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/oct/22/religion-atheist-dawkins-god. Retrieved 2008-12-11.
- ^ "London buses may advertise 'there's probably no God'". Agence France-Presse. 2008. http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jJJPnbeIqCvhvmnSPVvqOdUGbSAA. Retrieved 2008-12-11.
- ^ "Our Mission". The Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science. http://www.richarddawkins.net/foundation,ourMission. Retrieved 2006-11-17.
- ^ Dawkins, Richard (1998). Unweaving The Rainbow. United Kingdom: Penguin. pp. 4–7. ISBN 0-618-05673-4.
- ^ Diamond, John (2001). Snake Oil and Other Preoccupations. United Kingdom: Vintage. ISBN 0-099-42833-4.
- ^ Dawkins, Richard (2003). A Devil's Chaplain. United States: Houghton Mifflin. pp. 58. ISBN 0-618-33540-4.
- ^ "The Selfish Green". RichardDawkins.net. 2 April 2007. http://richarddawkins.net/article,829,The-Selfish-Green,Jonathan-Dimbleby-David-Attenborough-Richard-Dawkins-Jane-Goodall-Richard-Leakey. Retrieved 2008-04-22.
- ^ Dawkins, Richard (1989). The Selfish Gene (2nd ed.). United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. pp. 213. ISBN 0-19-286092-5.
- ^ edited by Paola Cavalieri and Peter Singer.; Paola Cavalieri, Peter Singer (1993). The Great Ape Project. United Kingdom: Fourth Estate. ISBN 0-312-1181-8-X.
- ^ Dawkins, Richard (22 March 2003). "Bin Laden's victory". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2003/mar/22/iraq.usa. Retrieved 2008-03-15.
- ^ Dawkins, Richard (18 November 2003). "While we have your attention, Mr President...". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2003/nov/18/usa.politics1. Retrieved 2008-03-16.
- ^ Republic | Our supporters
- ^ "The Enemies of Reason". Channel 4. August 2007. http://www.channel4.com/culture/microsites/E/enemies_of_reason/. Retrieved 2008-04-13.
- ^ "C4 lines up Genius science series". Broadcast. 2009. http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/news/2009/01/dawkins_to_front_c4_science_series.html. Retrieved 2009-01-31.
- ^ "Durham salutes science, Shakespeare and social inclusion". Durham News & Events Service. 26 August 2005. http://www.dur.ac.uk/news/allnews/?itemno=3972. Retrieved 2006-04-11.
- ^ Best-selling biologist and outspoken atheist among those honoured by University, University of Aberdeen.
- ^ "Richard Dawkins, doctor 'honoris causa' per la Universitat de València". 31 March 2009. http://www.uv.es/~webuv/noticies/noticia.php?idnoticia=7165. Retrieved 2009-04-02.
- ^ Scripps Institution of Oceanography (7 April 2009). "Scripps Institution of Oceanography Honors Evolutionary Biologist, Richard Dawkins, in Public Ceremony and Lecture". Scripps Institution of Oceanography. http://scrippsnews.ucsd.edu/Releases/?releaseID=967. Retrieved 2009-04-07.
- ^ "Q&A: Richard Dawkins". BBC News. 29 July 2004. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3935757.stm. Retrieved 2008-03-09.
- ^ Herman, David (2004). "Public Intellectuals Poll". Prospect magazine. http://www.prospect-magazine.co.uk/article_details.php?id=6768&issue=480. Retrieved 2008-03-09.
- ^ "The Top 100 Public Intellectuals". Prospect magazine. http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=4262. Retrieved 2008-04-22.
- ^ "Galaxy British Book Awards — Winners & Shortlists 2007". Publishing News. 2007. http://www.britishbookawards.co.uk/pnbb_winners2007.asp?#3. Retrieved 2007-04-21.
- ^ Behe, Michael. "Time Top 100". TIME. http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/time100/article/0,28804,1595326_1595329_1616137,00.html. Retrieved 2008-03-02.
- ^ Giordano Bruno Stiftung (28 May 2007). "Deschner-Preis an Richard Dawkins". Humanistischer Pressedienst. http://hpd-online.de/node/2010. Retrieved 2008-04-04.
- ^ Slack, Gordy (2005-04-30). "The atheist". Salon. http://dir.salon.com/story/news/feature/2005/04/30/dawkins/index.html. Retrieved 2007-08-03.
- ^ Staff. "BBC Educational and Documentary: Blind Watchmaker". BBC. http://www.bbcactive.com/BroadCastLearning/asp/catalogue/productdetail.asp?productcode=207. Retrieved 2 December 2008.
- ^ Dawkins, Richard (3 October 2000). "Obituary by Richard Dawkins". The Independent. http://www.unifr.ch/biol/ecology/hamilton/hamilton.html#Dawkins. Retrieved 2008-03-22.
- ^ Critical-Historical Perspective on the Argument about Evolution and Creation, John Durant, in "From Evolution to Creation: A European Perspective (Eds. Sven Anderson, Arthus Peacocke), Aarhus Univ. Press, Aarhus, Denmark
- ^ "1986 Oxford Union Debate: Richard Dawkins, John Maynard Smith". RichardDawkins.net. http://richarddawkins.net/article,721,1986-Oxford-Union-Debate,Richard-Dawkins-John-Maynard-Smith. Retrieved 2007-05-10. Debate downloadable as MP3 files.
External links
![]() |
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Richard Dawkins |
![]() |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Richard Dawkins |
General
- Official website
- Richard Dawkins' page on Academia.edu
- The Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science
- Richard Dawkins at the Internet Movie Database
- Works by or about Richard Dawkins in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
Video
- National Geographic Interviews – A series of video interviews with National Geographic Channel with Richard Dawkins on Darwin, Evolution and God.
- TED Talks: Richard Dawkins on militant atheism at TED in 2002
- TED Talks: Richard Dawkins on our "queer" universe at TED Global in 2005
- Video interview with Riz Khan for Al Jazeera English
Selected writings
- Viruses of the Mind (1993) – Religion as a mental virus.
- The Real Romance in the Stars (1995) – A critical view of astrology.
- The Emptiness of Theology (1998) – A critical view of theology.
- Snake Oil and Holy Water (1999) – Suggests that there is no convergence occurring between science and theism.
- What Use is Religion? (2004) – Suggests that religion may have no survival value other than to itself.
- Race and Creation (2004) – On race, its usage and a theory of how it evolved.
- The giant tortoise's tale, The turtle's tale and The lava lizard's tale (2005) – A series of three articles written after a visit to the Galápagos Islands.
- Dawkins' Huffington Post articles
Audio
- Richard Dawkins on RadioLIVE's Weekend Variety Wireless – Richard Dawkins appears live on New Zealand's RadioLIVE, taking calls from the audience.
|