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'{{silver}}[[Image:HappyDawkins.jpg|thumb|right|165px|Just a well-timed shot of Professor Richard Dawkins looking silly]]{{atheism|1}}{{evolution}} {{cquote|[Science] works! Planes fly. Cars drive. Computers compute. If you [[evidence-based medicine|base medicine on science]], you cure people. If you base the design of planes on science, they fly. If you base the design of rockets on science, they reach the moon. It works... <small>bitches.</small>|||Richard Dawkins' thug life<ref>Full quote: https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/884804-science-works-planes-fly-cars-drive-computers-compute-if-you</ref><ref>Best viewed as a Thug Life clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iELs0xMDhxE</ref>}} '''Richard Dawkins''' (b. 1941 as Clinton Richard Dawkins in [[Kenya]]) is a [[British]] [[evolutionary biologist]] (or [[biologist]] in common terms), ethologist and [[author]]. Due to his passionate defense of the [[theory of evolution]] and his attacks on [[religion]] and [[superstition]] in general, he has become known as ''[[Darwin]]'s Rottweiler'' and also as one of the "Four Horsemen" in the [[New Atheism|New Atheist]] movement (along with [[Christopher Hitchens|Hitchens]], [[Daniel Dennett|Dennett]], and [[Sam Harris|Harris]]). He held the Charles Simonyi Chair for the Public Understanding of [[Science]] at the University of Oxford from 1995 to 2008 (after his retirement from this post the Oxford [[mathematician]] Marcus du Sautoy succeeded him). The general public came to know Dawkins' name after he published his first book, ''The Selfish Gene'', in 1976. This book made a [[Gene-centered view of evolution|gene-centric view of evolution]] popular and that view later became an influential approach to evolutionary theory. ''The Selfish Gene'' also introduced the idea of [[meme]]s, and the concept went on to become a meme itself. Other best-selling books Dawkins has written include ''The Extended Phenotype'' (1982), which discussed the way that [[Phenotype|phenotypic]] effects can extend beyond an organism's body and affect the surrounding environment, and ''The Blind Watchmaker'' (1986) which explains how [[natural selection]] works by small, incremental and cumulative steps, keeping what "works" (in terms of the usefulness for survival and reproduction of the [[gene]]s comprising an organism) and discarding what does not. The title, ''The Blind Watchmaker'' obviously plays on the concept of [[unguided evolution]] and on {{wpl | William Paley}}'s "watch" [[argument from design]] (Paley also receives extended attention in Dawkin's later book ''[[The God Delusion]]''). Dawkins is well respected in some circles and a genus of [[fish]] was named after him.<ref> [http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hEvNbHt8O7e3jB5HlC2uwNrSQvpQ?docId=CNG.2417bf61f21b75ec00dacc78e05295ae.341 Sri Lankans name new fish genus after atheist Dawkins] A genus of fish was named ''"Dawkinsia"'' after Richard Dawkins. </ref><ref> [http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2012/07/16/new-genus-of-south-asian-fish-named-after-richard-dawkins/ "New Genus of South Asian Fish Named After Richard Dawkins"]. ''Friendly Atheist''. Retrieved on 8 October 2015. </ref><ref> [http://www.christianpost.com/news/richard-dawkins-gets-fish-named-after-him-for-rational-explanations-of-universe-78291/ "Richard Dawkins Gets Fish Named After Him for 'Rational Explanations' of Universe"]. ''Christian Post''. Retrieved on 8 October 2015. </ref> In 1992 Dawkins married the former actress and [[Fun:Dalek|Time Lady]] Lalla Ward; he has collaborated with his wife on several books. She contributed artwork, and also read audiobook versions of Dawkins' work. He has one daughter from a previous marriage. Dawkins is an [[#Dawkins and atheism|outspoken atheist]] and critic of [[religion]] (see below). ==Career and qualifications - highlights== Dawkins was an Assistant [[Professor]] of [[Zoology]] at the University of [[California]], Berkeley from 1967 to 1969. In 1970 he was appointed a Lecturer, and 10 years later he was appointed a Reader in Zoology at Oxford University. (For readers outside the UK, a "Reader" in a British university is approximately equivalent to an "Associate Professor" or "Full Professor" in the [[US]].) In 1995, he was appointed Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science at the University of Oxford. This position was endowed by Charles Simonyi with an express intention that Dawkins be its first holder. He has been a fellow of New College, Oxford since 1970. (A fellow is part of the governing body of the university.) ===Education, positions and degrees=== For completeness, his full academic career is shown below. *1954-1959 Oundle School *1959-1962 Balliol College, Oxford University *1962-1966 Research Student, Oxford University (D.Phil., 1966) *1965-1967 Research Assistant to Professor N.Tinbergen FRS *1967-1969 Assistant Professor of Zoology, University of California, Berkeley *1969-1970 Senior Research Officer, Department of Zoology, Oxford *1970-1990 University Lecturer in Zoology, and Fellow of New College, Oxford *1989 D.Sc. (Oxford) *1990-1995 Reader in Zoology, Oxford University *1995-2008 Charles Simonyi Professor of the Public Understanding of Science, University of Oxford, and Professorial Fellow of New College<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20070225195322/http://www.simonyi.ox.ac.uk/dawkins/CV.pdf 2007 version of CV]</ref> ==Dawkins and religion== [[File:Richard dawkins lecture.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Dawkins lecturing]] Dawkins' treatment of [[evolution]] is his forte, for he is, by credentials, an evolutionary biologist. He has frequently been the target of less than [[education|literate]] Christian [[fundamentalist]]s. In his book ''The God Delusion,'' (2006) he outraged the Christian right by counterattacking in their own back yard. Dawkins takes exception to [[Stephen Jay Gould]]'s ideas of [[Non-Overlapping Magisteria]]. He points out that [[God]] either exists or he does not, and that statements about his existence or non-existence can be [[Experiment|tested]] by the [[scientific method]] in the same way as any other statement. [[Agnostic]]s, tremble at the mighty Dawkins! While many have praised the book, some [[Theology|theological]] [[academic]]s have criticized the book because he has not mastered their [[Term of art|terms of art]] and have poked at his work as being "deeply ignorant". Dawkins, admittedly, has no formal theological or philosophical education. However, he has responded by saying: "Most of us happily disavow fairies, [[astrology]], and the [[Flying Spaghetti Monster]] without first immersing ourselves in books of Pastafarian theology etc."<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBaAJcv7Vxg "'I'm an atheist, BUT...' by Richard Dawkins (1 of 6)"]. ''YouTube''. 1 July 2007. Retrieved on 8 October 2015.</ref> This mockery and denial of theology is not wholly unlike the [[fundamentalist]] tendency to ridicule and forbid the teaching of [[evolution]]. While never explicitly declaring God not to exist, it's rather difficult to say he is non-partisan. Given his views on theology, religion, the existence of God, and the utter superiority of science, it's not really all that difficult to see he considers the evidence to be against the existence of God. No, he won't explicitly deny God exists. But, he contends, if we don't have evidence for God, it's probably not worth believing in a God. ===''The God Delusion''=== {{main|The God Delusion}} There has been quite a bit of controversy surrounding ''The God Delusion''. Most criticism has come from Christians - both [[fundamentalist]]s and more [[Anglican|moderate]] [[Roman Catholic|varieties]]. More cogent points have involved two particular issues: The [[Tone argument| form of the message]], and the content of the message. In form, Dawkins' message on [[atheism]] is quite abrasive to many - despite insistence by both him and his supporters that he's actually quite mild-mannered ("shrill" gets mentioned a lot, but no video evidence of Dawkins making odd noises has yet been uncovered). This aggression is not necessarily a bad thing. It does echo the passion of fundamentalists, but his [[New Atheism|direct and uncompromising approach]] has alienated many others who fight unreason, especially those who are not atheists, and those who approve of the concept of NOMA. In content, many have argued that he is not the finest philosopher of atheism, and that his work contains many inconsistencies and poor examples, as well as fundamental ignorance of the things he attacks. Specifically, he's often accused of over-simplifying [[the Troubles]] in [[Northern Ireland]], which he reduces to a simple religious feud between [[Roman Catholic]]s and [[Protestant]]s. However, to his credit, the book in general is accessible to the public at large, which cannot be said of many of the great philosophical atheist works (or most [[philosophy]] in general). Dawkins' religious critics were brilliantly parodied in an article which pretended to criticize the non-existent book ''The Fascism Delusion''.<ref>[http://www.thevalve.org/go/valve/article/more_on_dawkins/ The Valve - Review of ''The Fascism Delusion'']</ref> ===''Root of All Evil?''=== {{main|Root of All Evil?}} ''Root of All Evil?'' is a television documentary by Dawkins, and is essentially the [[film]] version of his book ''The God Delusion''. The title was forced upon the show by its producers at Channel 4 and the question mark at the end was a concession to Dawkins. The first part, titled "The God Delusion", explored the beliefs of religion and their conflicts with [[science]], while in the second part, "The Virus Of Faith", he brought in the theory of the meme to explain religions, making them akin to [[virus]]es, and explored the moral implications of religious belief. The programme also included an interview with [[Ted Haggard]] where Haggard's [[wingnut|wingnuttery]] is shown off quite nicely, threatening Dawkins for "calling his children animals," i.e., mentioning evolution. The program received predictably mixed reviews. Religious proponents accused Dawkins of everything from [[Journalism|journalistic]] [[Deceit|dishonesty]] to concentrating on the bad aspects of religion, whilst ignoring the potential good. On the other hand, Dawkins' fans and anyone happy to see potshots taken at the [[church]] on mainstream TV loved it. ===Religion as child abuse=== Dawkins also went out of his way to suggest that religious teaching could be considered as a form of [[child abuse]]. {{cquote|I do disapprove very strongly of labelling children, especially young children, as something like 'Catholic children' or 'Protestant children' or 'Islamic children'. That does seem to me to be very wicked because what you're in effect doing is making the assumption that the beliefs, the cosmology, the beliefs about the world, about life, are automatically going to be inherited in a way that you don't assume for anything else. (...) But society simply assumes, without even asking, that there is such a thing as a Catholic 4-year-old, or a Muslim 4-year-old. And that I do think is wicked.<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/atheism/people/dawkins.shtml "BBC - Religions - Atheism: Richard Dawkins"]. ''bbc.co.uk''. Retrieved on 8 October 2015.</ref>}} Dawkins has also written a great deal about how [[children]] are frightened that they themselves will go to [[Hell]] and that children are upset that people they care about will end up there, which he thinks is a form of child abuse. He cites the example of a woman brought up as a Roman Catholic: when this woman was 7, a childhood friend died tragically in a car accident. The 7-year-old girl lay awake at night thinking about her little friend being tortured in Hell because she had died a Protestant. Dawkins argues that in many cases frightening children over Hell causes more lasting damage than physical abuse or [[Child sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church|sexual abuse]] by religious authorities. ===Theology=== Richard Dawkins believes that theology is not a suitable subject for a university because he believes theology is not scientific.<ref>To which the gap-toothed [[Fundamentalist Christianity|fundamentalist]] would reply, no doubt, "[[Fun:Scientific evidence of evolution being a hoax|Evolution isn't scientific]]! Keep it out of our schools!"</ref> {{cquote|But as for theology itself, defined as "the organised body of knowledge dealing with the nature, attributes, and governance of God", a positive case now needs to be made that it has any real content at all, and that it has any place in today's universities.<ref>whyevolutionistrue. [http://richarddawkins.net/articles/1698 "Articles: odds and ends"]. ''Richard Dawkins Foundation''. Retrieved on 8 October 2015.</ref> }} Dawkins denies that theology is a subject to be studied at any level. {{cquote|What has 'theology' ever said that is of the smallest use to anybody? When has 'theology' ever said anything that is demonstrably true and is not obvious? What makes you think that 'theology' is a subject at all?<ref>[http://www.age-of-the-sage.org/quotations/quotes/richard_dawkins_god.html Richard Dawkins quotations, quotes on God, Religion, Religious Beliefs]</ref> }} Dawkins further draws attention to serious shortcomings in the theology department of Oxford University where he teaches. ===The former Pope=== Dawkins spoke at the Protest the Pope Rally in [[London]] during the visit of (now retired) [[Pope]] [[Benedict XVI]] in 2010: {{Cquote|He is an enemy of truth, promoting barefaced lies about condoms not protecting against [[AIDS]], especially in Africa. He is an enemy of the poorest people on the planet, condemning them to inflated families that they cannot feed, and so keeping them in the bondage of perpetual [[poverty]]. A poverty that sits ill with the obscene riches of the [[Vatican]].|||[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_0kFU7IfPM&feature=player_embedded#! Richard Dawkins' speech at Protest the Pope march] [http://richarddawkins.net/articles/521113-ratzinger-is-an-enemy-of-humanity transcribed here.]}} ===The God helmet=== In 2003, Richard Dawkins had the allegedly religiosity-inducing device known as the [[God helmet]] tested on him; appearing in the [[BBC]] science documentary series ''Horizon''. He did not have a "sensed presence" [[hallucination|experience]], but instead felt at times "slightly dizzy", "quite strange", and had sensations in his limbs and changes in his breathing. Persinger explained Dawkins's limited results in terms of his low score on a psychological scale measuring temporal lobe sensitivity.<ref>From BBC Two: [http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/horizon/2003/godonbrain.shtml God on the Brain] </ref> ==Dawkins and atheism== Dawkins has denied that atheism is a religion, or that atheism is violent; he wrote: {{cquote|There is no atheist religion. (...) Oh yes, I was forgetting. All those atheists beheading people, setting fire to them, cutting off their hands, cutting off their clitorises. If you think atheists are violent you don't know what violence means.|||Richard Dawkins<ref name=Independent/>}} Dawkins is a patron of the [[British Humanist Association]]; he helped get the [[Atheist bus campaign]] going.<ref>[https://humanism.org.uk/campaigns/successful-campaigns/atheist-bus-campaign/ Atheist Bus Campaign]</ref> Dawkins is also an enthusiastic [[The Brights Movement|Bright]], and he expounded his reasons for this in an article in ''[[The Guardian]].''<ref>[http://books.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,12084,981412,00.html "The future looks bright"]. ''the Guardian''. Retrieved on 8 October 2015.</ref> He hopes the term 'Brights' will help reduce negative [[stereotyping]] of atheists in the United States.<ref>[http://www.the-brights.net/vision/essays/let_there_be_brights.html Let There Be Brights: by Richard Dawkins]</ref> Dawkins sees atheists as ordinary people, typically thoughtful people who work things out for themselves and do not accept automatically what they learnt from their parents or in primary school. Dawkins wants atheists to stand up and be counted.<ref>Dawkins sees religion as a childish idea he overcame when he came to think in a more adult way. Discovering evolution removed the [[Teleology|last argument for God he had]]. See [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwcIq42WpjI Richard Dawkins - We Are Atheism]</ref> ==Dawkins and pseudoscience== Dawkins is no less critical of [[pseudoscience]] than he is of religion. He recently made his views known about [[Faith healing|faith healers]], [[psychic]] [[medium]]s, [[angel]] therapists, "[[aura]] photographers", [[Astrology|astrologers]], [[Tarot cards|tarot card]] readers and water [[Divination|diviners]], and claimed that Britain is gripped by "an epidemic of superstitious thinking."<ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/08/05/newage105.xml "News"]. ''Telegraph.co.uk''. Retrieved on 8 October 2015.</ref> ==Dawkins and eugenics== Dawkins has come under fire for statements made in 2006 and 2014 on [[eugenics]]. In 2006 he supported the scientific validity of eugenics asking, "If you can breed cattle for milk yield, horses for running speed, and dogs for herding skill, why on Earth should it be impossible to breed humans for mathematical, musical or athletic ability?" He also asked, "I wonder whether, some 60 years after Hitler's death, we might at least venture to ask what the moral difference is between breeding for musical ability and forcing a child to take music lessons." In 2014 he said "Intelligently designed morality would have no problem with negative eugenics", further arguing that the problem with positive eugenics comes about when it is state directed and government sponsored.<ref>Giles Fraser. [http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2014/aug/29/nobody-better-at-being-human-richard-dawkins "Nobody is better at being human, Professor Dawkins, least of all you"]. ''the Guardian''. Retrieved on 8 October 2015.</ref> ==Baseless attacks on Dawkins== Dawkins' outspoken views on religion have earned him many knee-jerk criticisms from religious [[apologist]]s. With the high regard in which religious [[belief]] is held,<ref>[http://www.smbc-comics.com/comics/20070514.gif And I ''respect'' that.]</ref> openly and directly attacking religion has seen Dawkins break one of the greatest taboos still in existence in the [[Western world]]. Most critics concentrate on his divisive approach to the subject: he is generally seen to reject all [[theist]]ic views, even when they support his own on evolution or [[secular]]ism, and his dismissal of all the claimed good aspects of religion, which Dawkins either believes are non-existent or completely irrelevant. In ''The God Delusion'', Dawkins spends most of the introduction of the book addressing potential critics, predicting their arguments quite accurately and putting forward his own counter-arguments. The criticism of Dawkins and general anti-Dawkins attitudes manifest in many ways, from homemade [[YouTube]] videos to criticism by well-known theists. In September 2008, a Turkish court banned [[internet]] users from viewing the official Richard Dawkins website after [[Harun Yahya]], a [[Muslim]] [[creationist]], claimed its contents were defamatory and [[blasphemy | blasphemous]].<ref>Riazat Butt. [http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/sep/19/religion.turkey "Missing link: creationist campaigner has Richard Dawkins' official website banned in Turkey"]. ''the Guardian''. Retrieved on 8 October 2015.</ref> [[Rabbi]] Shmuley Boteach accused Dawkins of [[Godwin's Law|comparing him to Hitler]].<ref>[http://www.beliefnet.com/Faiths/Judaism/2008/05/Richard-Dawkins-Shameful-Attack.aspx "Beliefnet Presents: Richard Dawkins' Shameful Attack, Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, Atheism, Science, Religion, Evolution - Beliefnet.com"]. ''Beliefnet''. Retrieved on 8 October 2015.</ref><ref>Dawkins' response can be found [http://www.beliefnet.com/News/Science-Religion/2008/05/Richard-Dawkins-Responds-To-Rabbi-Shmuley-Boteach.aspx here].</ref> ===The "11 second pause"=== One of the more famous incidents that Dawkins has been involved in was during an interview in 1997 where he paused for 11 seconds after being asked to answer the question "can you give one example of a [[mutation]] that increases information in the genome?" Creationists happily seized on the video as a "smoking gun" proving evolution was a [[hoax]]: one of its key proponents stumped on a simple question!<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_MN_O9ICzY "11 second Pause Dawkins 'stumped' hoax videos exposed again!"]. ''YouTube''. 12 June 2007. Retrieved on 8 October 2015.</ref> Dawkins has since gone on record explaining that this pause was because he suddenly realised he had been tricked into an interview with creationists — something he doesn't do as policy as such interviews can be used to give [[crank]]s credibility. Most creationists take the pause to be genuine proof that Dawkins doesn't know what he is talking about and evolution is false and that his reasonings for not interviewing creationists are just any old excuse to dodge their questions. [[CreationWiki]] claims that he ''still'' hasn't answered the initial question. Anyone familiar with [[information theory]] and the average creationist tactics and [[straw man]] based arguments should be able to figure out this answer; it's certainly not the simple soundbite they were looking for. Of course Dawkins ''has'' answered, and the entire response can be found on Australian Skeptics.<ref>[http://www.skeptics.com.au/publications/articles/the-information-challenge/ "The Information Challenge"]. ''Australian Skeptics Inc''. Retrieved on 8 October 2015.</ref> ==Legitimate criticisms of Dawkins== {{cquote|Every one of us has lots of things we don't understand. The trick is to realise it.|||Dawkins, Twitter, 2015<ref>[https://twitter.com/RichardDawkins/status/613986184080064512 "Richard Dawkins on Twitter"]. ''Twitter''. Retrieved on 8 October 2015.</ref><br/>(level of perceived [[irony]] depends on the reader)}} === Researchers' views on Dawkins === Despite promoting the virtues of science and scientific research, Dawkins is no longer involved in conducting original scientific research but is in effect a science popularizer. Within the scientific community Dawkins is generally regarded as a very good communicator of science, but certain public [[hagiography]] of him as "the greatest scientist since Darwin" is misplaced. Most of his ideas are based on those of others (see "standing on the shoulders of giants"), in particular the likes of {{wpl|Ronald Fisher|R.A. Fisher,}} {{wpl|W. D. Hamilton|W. D. Hamilton,}} {{wpl|John Maynard Smith|John Maynard Smith,}} {{wpl|Robert Trivers|Robert Trivers,}} and {{wpl|George C. Williams|George C. Williams.}} To be fair to Dawkins, he always cites and defers to his sources, but some Dawkins fanboys don't catch onto historical and social context in which he has written, despite his stating them in his writing! Similarities between his books also leads to the criticism that he's written "the same book" again and again. Dawkins is not, however, immune to criticism from within the scientific community. Theoretical [[physicist]] Peter Higgs ([[Higgs boson|that Higgs]]) criticized him in December 2012 for his [[Atheist thumper|anti-religious "fundamentalism",]] asserting that Dawkins focuses too much of his attacks on religious fundamentalism despite there being many non-fundamentalists out there and that his belief that religion and science cannot co-exist ''at all'' is wrong.<ref>''The Guardian'': [http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2012/dec/26/peter-higgs-richard-dawkins-fundamentalism Peter Higgs criticises Richard Dawkins over anti-religious 'fundamentalism']. Alok Jha, 26 December 2012</ref> Dawkins has countered assertions that he is an anti-religious [[extremist]].<ref>[http://old.richarddawkins.net/articles/1071-how-dare-you-call-me-a-fundamentalist here.]</ref> Dawkins and fellow evolutionary biologist David Sloan Wilson have also debated over ''The God Delusion'' and studying religion scientifically in the pages of ''Skeptic'' magazine.<ref>[http://www.skeptic.com/eskeptic/07-07-04/ Beyond Demonic Memes: Why Dawkins is Wrong About Religion], David Sloan Wilson, eSkeptic</ref><ref>[http://richarddawkins.net/articles/1403 Richard Dawkins Replies to David Sloan Wilson], Richard Dawkins, eSkeptic</ref> Dawkins also denies his own meme theory is pseudoscience, despite not being based on [[experiment]]al data. ===Islamophobia=== {{cquote|For years we've been calling attention to the deafening silence from moderate Muslims, [[Guilt by association|their reluctance to condemn 9/11, suicide bombings and other atrocities]]. For years we have challenged moderate Muslims to disown the death penalty for apostasy, and officially sanctioned Islamic mistreatment of women. With a few honourabe {{sic}} exceptions like {{wpl|Yasmin Alibhai Brown|Yasmin Alibhai Brown,}} our appeals have met with lamentably little response.|||Dawkins, demanding collective punishment for the Islamic community everywhere. Notice how he doesn't say all Catholics to condemn the [[Irish Republican Army|IRA]], or all Jews to condemn [[Israel]]'s actions in the Middle East.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Dawkins|first1=Richard|title=Muslim peace conference condemns terrorism (Comment 77 by Richard Dawkins)|url=http://old.richarddawkins.net/articles/643224-muslim-peace-conference-condemns-terrorism/comments?page=3|website=RichardDawkins.net|accessdate=20 October 2015|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20130507174441/http://old.richarddawkins.net/articles/643224-muslim-peace-conference-condemns-terrorism/comments?page=3|archivedate=7 May 2013|deadurl=y}}</ref>}} In 2013, Dawkins came under fire for a series of statements regarding [[Islam]] that seemed to blur the line between reason-based resistance to [[dogma]] and [[xenophobic]] prejudice. He views Islam as the "greatest force for evil in the world today"<ref>{{cite news|last1=Brown|first1=Andrew|title=[http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/apr/22/richard-dawkins-islamophobic Richard Dawkins' latest anti-Muslim Twitter spat lays bare his hypocrisy]|url=|accessdate=20 October 2015|work=Comment is Free|agency=The Guardian|date=22 April 2013|quote=[paraphrasing [https://twitter.com/RichardDawkins/status/307369895031603200 Dawkins' Twitter post] dated 28 Feb 2013] "I have often said that Islam is the greatest force for evil in the world today."}}</ref> and stated that "All the world's Muslims have fewer [[Nobel Prize]]s than Trinity College, Cambridge,"<ref>[https://twitter.com/RichardDawkins/statuses/365473573768400896 "Richard Dawkins on Twitter"]. ''Twitter''. Retrieved on 8 October 2015.</ref>. He's generally called Islam "an unmitigated evil," which is in line with his opinion on religion in general, but also calls himself a "[[cultural Christian]]"<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_politics/7136682.stm "BBC NEWS | UK | UK Politics | Dawkins: I'm a cultural Christian"]. ''bbc.co.uk''. Retrieved on 8 October 2015.</ref>, which smells of a [[double standard]]. On the other hand, Dawkins recently wrote: {{cquote|Anyone who believes that what is written in a holy book is true even if the evidence is against it is dangerous. Christianity used to be the most dangerous religion. Now Islam is. Of course that doesn't mean more than a small minority of the world's Muslims. But it only takes a few if their beliefs are sufficiently strong, fanatical and unshakeable.|||Richard Dawkins<ref name=Independent>[http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/richard-dawkins-responds-to-the-suggestion-atheists-are-violent-a7056301.html Richard Dawkins responds to the suggestion atheists are violent]</ref>}} This appears to mitigate the charge of Islamophobia somewhat. And, if clarified that one is not referring to all Muslims but only to extremists and governments, the claim that Islam is currently the world's most dangerous religion doesn't seem unreasonable.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/06/13/here-are-the-10-countries-where-homosexuality-may-be-punished-by-death-2/ Here are the 10 countries where homosexuality may be punished by death.] ''[[The Washington Post]].'' 16 June 2016.</ref><ref>[https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Apostasy_laws_in_2013.SVG Apostasy laws in 2013.] Wikipedia commons.</ref> He also wrote of proto-[[fascist]] [[Geert Wilders]]: "if it [[Irony meter|should turn out that you are a racist or a gratuitous stirrer and provocateur]] I withdraw my respect, but [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDms-nP2E90&feature=youtu.be&t=43s on the strength of ''Fitna'' alone I salute you as a man of courage], who has the balls to stand up to a monstrous enemy,"<ref>[http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/not-in-our-name-dawkins-dresses-up-bigotry-as-non-belief-he-cannot-be-left-to-represent-atheists-8754183.html Not in our name: Dawkins dresses up bigotry as non-belief - he cannot be left to represent atheists], Independent, 9 August 2013</ref> described the [[burka]] as being like a "full bin-liner thing", and spoken of his "visceral revulsion" when he sees it being worn.<ref>http://old.richarddawkins.net/articles/498234-fury-over-richard-dawkins-s-burka-jibe-as-atheist-tells-of-his-visceral-revulsion-at-muslim-dress</ref> He also seems to think that being a Muslim makes a person unsuitable for hiring as a journalist, saying of ''[[The Guardian]]'' and ''New Statesman'' contributor and [[Al Jazeera|Al Jazeera journalist, Mehdi Hasan,]] "Mehdi Hasan admits to believing Muhamed {{sic}} flew to heaven on a winged horse. And ''New Statesman'' sees fit to print him."<ref>[https://twitter.com/RichardDawkins/status/325957740835004416 "Richard Dawkins on Twitter"]. ''Twitter''. Retrieved on 8 October 2015.</ref> (So what about those millions of Christian newswriters, then?) Dawkins has become a critic of [[multiculturalism]] which he views as "code for Islam" in Europe.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Robbins|first1=Martin|title=[http://www.theguardian.com/science/the-lay-scientist/2013/may/03/atheism-dawkins Richard Dawkins, 'Islamophobia' and the atheist movement]|url=|accessdate=20 October 2015|work=The Guardian|date=3 May 2013}}</ref> He has described {{wpl|First Cameron ministry|the coalition government}} as "fanatical about multiculturalism and the need to respect the different traditions from which these children come",<ref>{{cite news|last1=Gardham|first1=Duncan|title=[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/2494397/Richard-Dawkins-Muslim-parents-import-creationism-into-schools.html Richard Dawkins: Muslim parents 'import creationism' into schools]|url=|accessdate=20 October 2015|work=The Telegraph|date=8 August 2008}}</ref> and claims that "the compromised values of multicultural Britain mean that teachers hesitate to offend the religious beliefs of their pupils, even when these directly contradict scientific fact."<ref>{{cite web|title=[http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xh0cf8_multiculturalism-against-darwinian-s-science-of-evolution_tech Multiculturalism against Darwinian's science of evolution]|url=|website=DailyMotion|accessdate=20 October 2015}} Cited by Dawkins [https://twitter.com/richarddawkins/status/463620788546203649 on his Twitter] (6 May 2014).</ref> Of course, respecting different cultural traditions is not mutually exclusive with pointing out when those traditions include scientifically false beliefs, so the problem would seem to be not multiculturalism but some teachers' flawed interpretation of it. Following his 'cutural Christian' theme, he has also tweeted such things as "Listening to the lovely bells of Winchester, one of our great mediaeval cathedrals. So much nicer than the aggressive-sounding 'Allahu Akhbar.' Or is that just my cultural upbringing?"<ref>Dawkins, R. [RichardDawkins]. (2018, Jul 16). [https://twitter.com/RichardDawkins/status/1018933359978909696 Tweet].</ref> As some people have noticed, this argument just so happens to mirror that of [[alt-right]] figures such as [[Tommy Robinson]], making Dawkins a [[useful idiot]] for these tools at best. On [[Stopped clock|a more positive note, despite his Islamophobia]], Dawkins condemned the murder of three Muslims by a fundamentalist atheist<ref>[http://www.liberation.fr/planete/2015/02/11/trois-musulmans-abattus-aux-etats-unis-le-silence-mediatique-denonce_1200138 Trois musulmans abattus aux Etats-Unis, le silence médiatique dénoncé - Libération]</ref><ref>https://twitter.com/RichardDawkins/status/565439089038852097?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.liberation.fr%2Fplanete%2F2015%2F02%2F11%2Ftrois-musulmans-abattus-aux-etats-unis-le-silence-mediatique-denonce_1200138&tfw_creator=libe&tfw_site=libe</ref>. ====Ahmed Mohamed aka "Clock Boy"==== {{cquote|Don't call him "clock boy" since he never made a clock. Hoax Boy, having hoaxed his way into the White House, now wants $15M in addition!|||Dawkins, introducing his theory of how a child fooled millions of adult people<ref>https://twitter.com/RichardDawkins/status/669098728662409216</ref>}} Dawkins was heavily criticized after he joined [[Bill Maher]] in attacking Islam as a whole, and on one kid in particular. Said kid was briefly arrested for playing with electronics that looked like a bomb to some, while also being Muslim. On Twitter Dawkins also accused Ahmed Mohammed of being comparable to an [[ISIS]] child soldier.<ref>http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/nov/25/richard-dawkins-links-isis-child-who-beheaded-man-and-clock-boy-ahmed-mohamed</ref> [[PZ Myers]] has called Dawkins' and Maher's team-up as "a combination to bring out the worst in both"<ref>http://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2015/11/28/atheists-should-not-condemn-any-culture/#more-26211</ref> and described their talk as follows: {{quotebox| * "Oh, that’s their culture, you have to respect it," Dawkins said mockingly. * "That’s right! That’s what they say. It’s just insane," Maher said, swooning. * "Liberal about everything else, but then this one exception, ‘It’s their culture.’ Well, to hell with their culture," Dawkins concluded, to a storm of applause and a passionate yelp of approval from Maher. }} Myers went on to describe Dawkins' hypocrisy in how he likes many things about his culture, specifically his "Anglican tradition" which, according to Dawkins, gave birth to "evensong and cricket matches", despite his culture being just as guilty of horrible acts, from [[colonialism]] to wars of mass destruction. Myers went on to denounce people who claim that "unlike Islam, Christianity has mellowed" and pointed at racist police, [[Planned Parenthood]] killings, murders of [[transgender]] people, [[Scott Lively]], the [[Westboro Baptist Church]], the American prison system, the drone war, unfettered [[capitalism#Criticisms of capitalism|capitalism]], and predatory attitude towards the [[environment]]. Myers concluded by praising Islamic gifts to literature, poetry, music, mathematics, and science, and stressed that he wants to embrace Islamic culture as a significant part of the human experience even as he rejects the barbarisms within it, just as he rejects the barbarism in Western culture. ==="Mild pedophilia"=== [[Image:UpdatedDawkins.png|thumb|The timeline so far, updated for 2016.|right]] {{cquote|Mild [[paedophilia]] is bad. Violent paedophilia is worse. If you think that's an endorsement of mild paedophilia, go away and learn how to think. Date [[rape]] is bad. Stranger rape at knifepoint is worse. If you think that's an endorsement of date rape, go away and learn how to think.|||Someone restrain him from anything with an Internet connection<ref>[http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/richard-dawkins-says-date-rape-is-bad-stranger-rape-is-worse-on-twitter-9634572.html Richard Dawkins tweets: 'Date rape is bad, stranger rape is worse'], ''The Independent''</ref>}} Dawkins has been criticized for comments he made in his books<ref>[http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2013/09/10/richard-dawkins-isnt-defending-mild-pedophilia-but-that-doesnt-make-his-comments-okay/ "Richard Dawkins Isn’t Defending ‘Mild Pedophilia’… but That Doesn’t Make His Comments Okay"]. ''Friendly Atheist''. Retrieved on 8 October 2015.</ref> and interviews<ref>AbOhlheiser. [http://www.thewire.com/global/2013/09/richard-dawkins-defends-mild-pedophilia-again-and-again/69269/ "Richard Dawkins Defends 'Mild' Pedophilia, Again and Again"]. ''The Wire''. Retrieved on 8 October 2015.</ref> regarding "mild paedophilia" he experienced as a child. He says a prep school teacher "pulled me on his knee and put his hand inside my shorts".<ref>[http://www.news.com.au/world/he-was-a-victim-of-child-sexual-abuse-but-richard-dawkins-refuses-to-condemn-the-behaviour/story-fndir2ev-1226717774514 He was a victim of child sexual abuse but Richard Dawkins refuses to condemn the behaviour]</ref> Dawkins downplays the effects of the crime because he said it did not have a big effect on him but may on others.<ref>[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/09/richard-dawkins-pedophilia_n_3895514.html "Richard Dawkins Pedophilia Remarks Provoke Outrage"]. ''The Huffington Post''. Retrieved on 8 October 2015.</ref> Dawkins commented saying:<ref>https://richarddawkins.net/2013/09/child-abuse-a-misunderstanding-w-polish-translation/</ref> {{quotebox|Should I have lied and said it was the worst thing that ever happened to me? Should I have mendaciously sought the sympathy due to a victim who had truly been damaged for the rest of his life? Should I have named the offending teacher and called down posthumous disgrace upon his head? No, no and no. To have done so would have been to belittle and insult those many people whose lives really were blighted and cursed, perhaps by year-upon-year of abuse by a father or other person who was deeply important in their life. ... To excuse pedophiliac assaults in general, or to make light of the horrific experiences of others, was a thousand miles from my intention.}} Dawkins made many well publicised attacks on the [[Catholic Church]] over the [[Child sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church|priest molestation scandal]] which includes numerous cases of severe child sexual abuse. ===Feminism=== ===="Elevatorgate," or how the fallacy of relative privation went into overdrive==== {{main|Elevatorgate}} If you found the above abhorrent, it's not particularly new. The 2011 conference incident known as "Elevatorgate" showed that even we "enlightened" atheists (a lot of us male) can be easily prone to [[Not as bad as|logical fallacies]] and appalling nastiness. ====Ranting about "radical feminists" on Twitter==== Between Dawkins' rushing to the aid of poor beleaguered [[Sam Harris]] and propping [[Christina Hoff Sommers]], it started to dawn on everyone that Dawkins might have an amateur understanding of feminism. This has led [[PZ Myers]] to write an open letter on [[Freethought Blogs|FtB]] to Dawkins<ref>[http://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2014/09/12/dear-richard-dawkins/ Dear Richard Dawkins] PZ Myers</ref>, where he tried to explain to him what feminism is about and his own journey to understanding it. It fell on deaf ears, as Dawkins instead went on Twitter to rant about "'''F'''eedingfrenzy '''T'''houghtpolice '''B'''ullies"<ref>[http://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2014/09/16/richard-dawkins-the-wrongering/ Richard Dawkins: The Wrongering] PZ Myers</ref> and "clickbait"<ref>[http://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2014/09/16/clickbait-abuse/ Clickbait abuse] PZ Myers</ref>. Things backfired on Dawkins after he [http://web.archive.org/web/20160127095804/https:/twitter.com/richarddawkins/status/692033018970705920 retweeted a link to a video] by noted antifeminist [[Sargon of Akkad]]. He later [https://twitter.com/RichardDawkins/status/692468079184449536 deleted his tweet] but the damage was already done, as he was swiftly [http://us12.campaign-archive1.com/?u=1fe062c83a0e3b45fcbc0e2de&id=95aeb913c6&e=393d12151e uninvited from the NECSS 2016 conference by majority vote of the leading panel]. Since then, however, the NECSS panel had both publicly and privately apologized to Dawkins for acting unilaterally rather than first expressing their concerns, and he has been [http://necss.org/2016/02/14/statement-from-the-executive-committee/ re-invited to NECSS to discuss both his prior planned talk, as well as being part of a panel discussion about feminism/diversity and free speech within the skeptical community]. Unfortunately, this was just prior to his stroke, and cancellation of this and other talks due to his health. In early 2016, Dawkins re-tweeted a meme juxtaposing a picture of {{wpl|Matt_Taylor_(scientist)#Shirt_controversy|Matt Taylor's shirt}} and a still frame of a fully-veiled Muslim woman about to be executed that, instead of making a point about the lack of Western media reporting on the latter or calling for more humanitarian aid/intervention, tried to suggest that Western feminists don't care enough about the fate of oppressed Muslim women, while also appearing so unseasoned on feminism as to conflate [[fringe]] ''radical'' feminists with the broader movement of [[feminism]]. This prompted PZ Myers to strongly criticize him — as he did in the "Dear Muslima" situation years ago — and Myers announced he would cancel his plans to attend the Reason Rally, featuring Dawkins (among many others).<ref>[http://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2016/01/31/i-cant-take-no-more/ I can’t take no more]</ref> Material opposing types of feminism is a small part of what Dawkins writes but gets disproportionate attention, which isn't surprising due to how loudly Dawkins promotes them.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/sep/18/richard-dawkins-sexist-atheists-bad-name Richard Dawkins has lost it: ignorant sexism gives atheists a bad name], Adam Lee, ''The Guardian''</ref><ref>[http://www.wehuntedthemammoth.com/2016/01/28/richard-dawkins-lindy-west-and-the-cartoon-video-of-great-hatefulness/ Richard Dawkins, Lindy West, and the Cartoon Video of Great Hatefulness], David Futrelle</ref> <ref>[http://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2014/09/12/dear-richard-dawkins/ Dear Richard Dawkins], [[PZ Myers]]</ref><ref>[http://www.alternet.org/belief/richard-dawkins-destroying-his-reputation Is Richard Dawkins Destroying His Reputation?]</ref><ref>[http://religionnews.com/2014/11/18/richard-dawkins-stands-remarks-sexism-pedophilia-syndrome/ Richard Dawkins stands by remarks on sexism, pedophilia, Down syndrome], Kimberly Winston </ref> Anyway, Dawkins predictably responded by doubling down, in the process even promoting a [[meme]] which inadvertently featured [[Neo-Nazi]] propaganda embedded in a QR code.<ref>[http://www.salon.com/2016/02/01/never_tweet_richard_dawkins_famed_atheist_now_signal_boosting_nazi_propaganda/ Never tweet, Richard Dawkins: Famed atheist now signal-boosting Nazi propaganda]</ref><ref>[https://twitter.com/thelindywest/status/693181599647559680 Lindy West's Twitter]</ref> ===Gene-centered view of evolution=== {{main|Gene-centered view of evolution}} Dawkins has been an ardent defender of the gene-centred view of evolution. He has debated this issue with many other scientists and thinkers, perhaps most famously [[Stephen Jay Gould]]. Gould and Dawkins battled over a number of topics including the gene-centred view as well as [[punctuated equilibrium]] and approaches to cultural evolution such as [[evolutionary psychology]]. Gould penned a screed against Dawkins and a number of other thinkers accusing them of "Darwinian Fundamentalism."<ref>[http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/1997/jun/12/darwinian-fundamentalism/?pagination=false Darwinian Fundamentalism], Gould's article in the ''New York Review of Books''. See also replies to the original article in [http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/1997/aug/14/darwinian-fundamentalism-an-exchange/?pagination=false Darwinian Fundamentalism: An Exchange.]</ref><ref>See Kim Sterelny's {{wpl|Dawkins_vs._Gould | ''Dawkins vs. Gould''}} for a book-length account of their debates.</ref> Ernst Mayr has also argued in favor of the individual being the most important level of selection, calling the gene-centred view "non-Darwinian."<ref>[http://www.edge.org/3rd_culture/mayr/mayr_print.html Ernst Mayr: What Evolution Is], edge.org</ref> The gene-centered view has also come under fire from various proponents of multi-level selection theories, who often focus their criticisms on Dawkins. On one side are the group selectionists such as Elliott Sober and David Sloan Wilson, who propose a view of evolution that is still multi-level but puts more emphasis on groups as "superorganisms."<ref>David Sloan Wilson and Elliott Sober. [http://www.joelvelasco.net/teaching/167win10/wilson%20and%20sober%2089%20-%20reviving%20the%20superorganism.pdf Reviving the Superorganism.] ''Journal of Theoretical Biology'', (1989) 136, 337-356</ref> On the other side are niche constructionists and epigeneticists such as Philip Hunter, [[Eva Jablonka]], and Kevin Laland who criticise especially Dawkins' notion of the "extended phenotype" by invoking means of inheritance that don't involve changes to the underlying genetic structure (e.g., epigenetic inheritance) or more broadly defining inheritance (e.g., ecological inheritance).<ref>Kevin N. Laland. [http://lalandlab.st-andrews.ac.uk/niche/pdf/Publication84.pdf Extending the Extended Phenotype.] ''Biology and Philosophy'' 19: 313–325, 2004</ref><ref>Richard Dawkins. [http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/jksadegh/A%20Good%20Atheist%20Secularist%20Skeptical%20Book%20Collection/Extended%20Phenotype%20but%20not%20too%20extended%20-%20Dawkins.pdf Extended Phenotype – But Not ''Too'' Extended. A Reply to Laland, Turner and Jablonka.] ''Biology and Philosophy'' 19: 377–396, 2004</ref><ref>Philip Hunter. [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2658563/ Extended phenotype redux. How far can the reach of genes extend in manipulating the environment of an organism?] ''EMBO Rep.'' 2009 March; 10(3): 212–215.</ref> [[Moral]] [[philosopher]] Mary Midgley has criticized Dawkins' use of the "selfish gene" metaphor.<ref>{{wpl|Mary_Midgley#Midgley.E2.80.93Dawkins_debate | Midgley-Dawkins Debate}}, [[Wikipedia]]</ref> ==Books published== Richard Dawkins has published a {{wpl|Richard_Dawkins_bibliography|vast range of material}}. Books he authored: {{collist|3| *''The Selfish Gene'' (1976) *''The Extended Phenotype'' (1982) *''The Blind Watchmaker'' (1986) *''[[River Out of Eden]]'' (1995) *''Climbing Mount Improbable'' (1996)<ref group=note>''Climbing Mount Improbable'' (ISBN 0670850187) is a response to creationist claims about probability and evolution.</ref> *''Unweaving the Rainbow'' (1997)<ref group=note>In ''Unweaving the Rainbow'', Richard Dawkins tries to counter the viewpoint that a [[philosophical naturalism|scientific worldview]] is cold, bleak and depressing. In Dawkins' view, a scientific understanding of the natural world is poetic and uplifting. However, in public appearances, when asked Dawkins rightly points out that even if the universe is bleak or depressing, then that's tough. reality is what it is and has no obligation to make us comfortable. </ref> *''A Devil’s Chaplain'' (2003) *''The Ancestor’s Tale'' (2004) *''[[The God Delusion]]'' (2006) *''The Greatest Show on Earth'' (2009) *''The Magic of Reality'' (2011) *''An Appetite for Wonder: The Making of a Scientist'' (2013) *''Brief Candle in the Dark: My Life in Science'' (2015) *''Science in the Soul: Selected Writings of a Passionate Rationalist'' (2017) }} ==Quotes== *"We are all atheists about most of the gods that humanity has ever believed in. Some of us just go one god further." * Regarding telepathy: "If you are in possession of this revolutionary secret of science, why not prove it and be hailed as the new [[Isaac Newton|Newton]]? Of course, we know the answer. You can't do it. You are a fake." *"The universe is a strange and wondrous place. The truth is quite odd enough to need no help from pseudoscientific charlatans." *"[[Faith]] is the great cop-out, the great excuse to evade the need to think and evaluate [[evidence]]. Faith is belief in spite of, even perhaps because of, the lack of evidence." *"We are built as gene machines and cultured as meme machines, but we have the power to turn against our creators. [[Human exceptionalism|We, alone on earth]], can rebel against the tyranny of the selfish replicators." *"Nearly all peoples have developed their own [[creation myths]], and the [[Genesis]] story is just the one that happened to have been adopted by one particular tribe of Middle Eastern herders. It has no more special status than the belief of a particular West African tribe that the world was created from the excrement of ants." *"The God of the [[Old Testament]] is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty, ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully." *"A mind like that of a [[Young Earth creationism|Young Earth creationist]], it seems to me, is a disgrace to the [[human]] species." *"Gravity is not a version of the truth. It is the truth. Anyone who doubts it is invited to jump out a tenth-story window." ==See also== {{fun|Richard Dawkins' face found on tortilla}} *[[Answers in Genesis Dawkins interview controversy]] *[[Antitheism]] *[[Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed#PZ Myers "expelled" from screening of Expelled|Dawkins and the film ''Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed'']] *[[Dawkins weasel]] *[[Meme]] *[[Papal visit to the UK 2010]] *[[Sophisticated theology]] ==External links== *[http://www.RichardDawkins.net Official website] *Richard Dawkins [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X56Kmbgn6dE interviews] [[Derren Brown]] for the documentary "Enemies of Reason". The full hour-long interview is presented in several segments. *Richard Dawkins [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZuowNcuGsc&feature=player_embedded reads out some of the hate mail he receives]. *[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_t4Pksq7BI Little Richie Dawkins]. For those offended by this satire, [https://twitter.com/RichardDawkins/status/386628246541856769 Dawkins thinks you are a crybaby.] *[http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2016/06/09/heres-the-inspiring-speech-richard-dawkins-couldnt-give-in-person-at-the-reason-rally/ Here’s the Inspiring Speech Richard Dawkins Couldn’t Give in Person at the Reason Rally] This includes a full transcript of a speach recorded by Dawkins and played at the American, 'Reason Rally 2016'. ==Notes== {{reflist|group=note}} ==References== {{reflist|2|90%}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Dawkins, Richard}} [[ru:Ричард Докинз]] [[Category:Authors]] [[Category:Biologists]] [[Category:Criticism of Islam]] [[Category:Eugenics supporters]] [[Category:Islamophobia]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Popular science]] [[Category:Skeptics]] [[Category:Left of reason]]'
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'@@ -1,246 +1 @@ -{{silver}}[[Image:HappyDawkins.jpg|thumb|right|165px|Just a well-timed shot of Professor Richard Dawkins looking silly]]{{atheism|1}}{{evolution}} -{{cquote|[Science] works! Planes fly. Cars drive. Computers compute. If you [[evidence-based medicine|base medicine on science]], you cure people. If you base the design of planes on science, they fly. If you base the design of rockets on science, they reach the moon. It works... <small>bitches.</small>|||Richard Dawkins' thug life<ref>Full quote: https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/884804-science-works-planes-fly-cars-drive-computers-compute-if-you</ref><ref>Best viewed as a Thug Life clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iELs0xMDhxE</ref>}} - -'''Richard Dawkins''' (b. 1941 as Clinton Richard Dawkins in [[Kenya]]) is a [[British]] [[evolutionary biologist]] (or [[biologist]] in common terms), ethologist and [[author]]. Due to his passionate defense of the [[theory of evolution]] and his attacks on [[religion]] and [[superstition]] in general, he has become known as ''[[Darwin]]'s Rottweiler'' and also as one of the "Four Horsemen" in the [[New Atheism|New Atheist]] movement (along with [[Christopher Hitchens|Hitchens]], [[Daniel Dennett|Dennett]], and [[Sam Harris|Harris]]). He held the Charles Simonyi Chair for the Public Understanding of [[Science]] at the University of Oxford from 1995 to 2008 (after his retirement from this post the Oxford [[mathematician]] Marcus du Sautoy succeeded him). - -The general public came to know Dawkins' name after he published his first book, ''The Selfish Gene'', in 1976. This book made a [[Gene-centered view of evolution|gene-centric view of evolution]] popular and that view later became an influential approach to evolutionary theory. ''The Selfish Gene'' also introduced the idea of [[meme]]s, and the concept went on to become a meme itself. Other best-selling books Dawkins has written include ''The Extended Phenotype'' (1982), which discussed the way that [[Phenotype|phenotypic]] effects can extend beyond an organism's body and affect the surrounding environment, and ''The Blind Watchmaker'' (1986) which explains how [[natural selection]] works by small, incremental and cumulative steps, keeping what "works" (in terms of the usefulness for survival and reproduction of the [[gene]]s comprising an organism) and discarding what does not. The title, ''The Blind Watchmaker'' obviously plays on the concept of [[unguided evolution]] and on {{wpl | William Paley}}'s "watch" [[argument from design]] (Paley also receives extended attention in Dawkin's later book ''[[The God Delusion]]''). Dawkins is well respected in some circles and a genus of [[fish]] was named after him.<ref> -[http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hEvNbHt8O7e3jB5HlC2uwNrSQvpQ?docId=CNG.2417bf61f21b75ec00dacc78e05295ae.341 Sri Lankans name new fish genus after atheist Dawkins] A genus of fish was named ''"Dawkinsia"'' after Richard Dawkins. -</ref><ref> -[http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2012/07/16/new-genus-of-south-asian-fish-named-after-richard-dawkins/ "New Genus of South Asian Fish Named After Richard Dawkins"]. ''Friendly Atheist''. Retrieved on 8 October 2015. -</ref><ref> -[http://www.christianpost.com/news/richard-dawkins-gets-fish-named-after-him-for-rational-explanations-of-universe-78291/ "Richard Dawkins Gets Fish Named After Him for 'Rational Explanations' of Universe"]. ''Christian Post''. Retrieved on 8 October 2015. -</ref> - -In 1992 Dawkins married the former actress and [[Fun:Dalek|Time Lady]] Lalla Ward; he has collaborated with his wife on several books. She contributed artwork, and also read audiobook versions of Dawkins' work. He has one daughter from a previous marriage. - -Dawkins is an [[#Dawkins and atheism|outspoken atheist]] and critic of [[religion]] (see below). - -==Career and qualifications - highlights== -Dawkins was an Assistant [[Professor]] of [[Zoology]] at the University of [[California]], Berkeley from 1967 to 1969. In 1970 he was appointed a Lecturer, and 10 years later he was appointed a Reader in Zoology at Oxford University. (For readers outside the UK, a "Reader" in a British university is approximately equivalent to an "Associate Professor" or "Full Professor" in the [[US]].) - -In 1995, he was appointed Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science at the University of Oxford. This position was endowed by Charles Simonyi with an express intention that Dawkins be its first holder. He has been a fellow of New College, Oxford since 1970. (A fellow is part of the governing body of the university.) - -===Education, positions and degrees=== -For completeness, his full academic career is shown below. - -*1954-1959 Oundle School -*1959-1962 Balliol College, Oxford University -*1962-1966 Research Student, Oxford University (D.Phil., 1966) -*1965-1967 Research Assistant to Professor N.Tinbergen FRS -*1967-1969 Assistant Professor of Zoology, University of California, Berkeley -*1969-1970 Senior Research Officer, Department of Zoology, Oxford -*1970-1990 University Lecturer in Zoology, and Fellow of New College, Oxford -*1989 D.Sc. (Oxford) -*1990-1995 Reader in Zoology, Oxford University -*1995-2008 Charles Simonyi Professor of the Public Understanding of Science, University of Oxford, and Professorial Fellow of New College<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20070225195322/http://www.simonyi.ox.ac.uk/dawkins/CV.pdf 2007 version of CV]</ref> - -==Dawkins and religion== -[[File:Richard dawkins lecture.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Dawkins lecturing]] - -Dawkins' treatment of [[evolution]] is his forte, for he is, by credentials, an evolutionary biologist. He has frequently been the target of less than [[education|literate]] Christian [[fundamentalist]]s. In his book ''The God Delusion,'' (2006) he outraged the Christian right by counterattacking in their own back yard. - -Dawkins takes exception to [[Stephen Jay Gould]]'s ideas of [[Non-Overlapping Magisteria]]. He points out that [[God]] either exists or he does not, and that statements about his existence or non-existence can be [[Experiment|tested]] by the [[scientific method]] in the same way as any other statement. [[Agnostic]]s, tremble at the mighty Dawkins! - -While many have praised the book, some [[Theology|theological]] [[academic]]s have criticized the book because he has not mastered their [[Term of art|terms of art]] and have poked at his work as being "deeply ignorant". Dawkins, admittedly, has no formal theological or philosophical education. However, he has responded by saying: "Most of us happily disavow fairies, [[astrology]], and the [[Flying Spaghetti Monster]] without first immersing ourselves in books of Pastafarian theology etc."<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBaAJcv7Vxg "'I'm an atheist, BUT...' by Richard Dawkins (1 of 6)"]. ''YouTube''. 1 July 2007. Retrieved on 8 October 2015.</ref> This mockery and denial of theology is not wholly unlike the [[fundamentalist]] tendency to ridicule and forbid the teaching of [[evolution]]. - -While never explicitly declaring God not to exist, it's rather difficult to say he is non-partisan. Given his views on theology, religion, the existence of God, and the utter superiority of science, it's not really all that difficult to see he considers the evidence to be against the existence of God. No, he won't explicitly deny God exists. But, he contends, if we don't have evidence for God, it's probably not worth believing in a God. - -===''The God Delusion''=== -{{main|The God Delusion}} -There has been quite a bit of controversy surrounding ''The God Delusion''. Most criticism has come from Christians - both [[fundamentalist]]s and more [[Anglican|moderate]] [[Roman Catholic|varieties]]. More cogent points have involved two particular issues: The [[Tone argument| form of the message]], and the content of the message. - -In form, Dawkins' message on [[atheism]] is quite abrasive to many - despite insistence by both him and his supporters that he's actually quite mild-mannered ("shrill" gets mentioned a lot, but no video evidence of Dawkins making odd noises has yet been uncovered). This aggression is not necessarily a bad thing. It does echo the passion of fundamentalists, but his [[New Atheism|direct and uncompromising approach]] has alienated many others who fight unreason, especially those who are not atheists, and those who approve of the concept of NOMA. In content, many have argued that he is not the finest philosopher of atheism, and that his work contains many inconsistencies and poor examples, as well as fundamental ignorance of the things he attacks. Specifically, he's often accused of over-simplifying [[the Troubles]] in [[Northern Ireland]], which he reduces to a simple religious feud between [[Roman Catholic]]s and [[Protestant]]s. However, to his credit, the book in general is accessible to the public at large, which cannot be said of many of the great philosophical atheist works (or most [[philosophy]] in general). - -Dawkins' religious critics were brilliantly parodied in an article which pretended to criticize the non-existent book ''The Fascism Delusion''.<ref>[http://www.thevalve.org/go/valve/article/more_on_dawkins/ The Valve - Review of ''The Fascism Delusion'']</ref> - -===''Root of All Evil?''=== -{{main|Root of All Evil?}} -''Root of All Evil?'' is a television documentary by Dawkins, and is essentially the [[film]] version of his book ''The God Delusion''. The title was forced upon the show by its producers at Channel 4 and the question mark at the end was a concession to Dawkins. - -The first part, titled "The God Delusion", explored the beliefs of religion and their conflicts with [[science]], while in the second part, "The Virus Of Faith", he brought in the theory of the meme to explain religions, making them akin to [[virus]]es, and explored the moral implications of religious belief. The programme also included an interview with [[Ted Haggard]] where Haggard's [[wingnut|wingnuttery]] is shown off quite nicely, threatening Dawkins for "calling his children animals," i.e., mentioning evolution. - -The program received predictably mixed reviews. Religious proponents accused Dawkins of everything from [[Journalism|journalistic]] [[Deceit|dishonesty]] to concentrating on the bad aspects of religion, whilst ignoring the potential good. On the other hand, Dawkins' fans and anyone happy to see potshots taken at the [[church]] on mainstream TV loved it. - -===Religion as child abuse=== -Dawkins also went out of his way to suggest that religious teaching could be considered as a form of [[child abuse]]. -{{cquote|I do disapprove very strongly of labelling children, especially young children, as something like 'Catholic children' or 'Protestant children' or 'Islamic children'. That does seem to me to be very wicked because what you're in effect doing is making the assumption that the beliefs, the cosmology, the beliefs about the world, about life, are automatically going to be inherited in a way that you don't assume for anything else. (...) But society simply assumes, without even asking, that there is such a thing as a Catholic 4-year-old, or a Muslim 4-year-old. And that I do think is wicked.<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/atheism/people/dawkins.shtml "BBC - Religions - Atheism: Richard Dawkins"]. ''bbc.co.uk''. Retrieved on 8 October 2015.</ref>}} -Dawkins has also written a great deal about how [[children]] are frightened that they themselves will go to [[Hell]] and that children are upset that people they care about will end up there, which he thinks is a form of child abuse. He cites the example of a woman brought up as a Roman Catholic: when this woman was 7, a childhood friend died tragically in a car accident. The 7-year-old girl lay awake at night thinking about her little friend being tortured in Hell because she had died a Protestant. Dawkins argues that in many cases frightening children over Hell causes more lasting damage than physical abuse or [[Child sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church|sexual abuse]] by religious authorities. - -===Theology=== -Richard Dawkins believes that theology is not a suitable subject for a university because he believes theology is not scientific.<ref>To which the gap-toothed [[Fundamentalist Christianity|fundamentalist]] would reply, no doubt, "[[Fun:Scientific evidence of evolution being a hoax|Evolution isn't scientific]]! Keep it out of our schools!"</ref> -{{cquote|But as for theology itself, defined as "the organised body of knowledge dealing with the nature, attributes, and governance of God", a positive case now needs to be made that it has any real content at all, and that it has any place in today's universities.<ref>whyevolutionistrue. [http://richarddawkins.net/articles/1698 "Articles: odds and ends"]. ''Richard Dawkins Foundation''. Retrieved on 8 October 2015.</ref> }} -Dawkins denies that theology is a subject to be studied at any level. -{{cquote|What has 'theology' ever said that is of the smallest use to anybody? When has 'theology' ever said anything that is demonstrably true and is not obvious? What makes you think that 'theology' is a subject at all?<ref>[http://www.age-of-the-sage.org/quotations/quotes/richard_dawkins_god.html Richard Dawkins quotations, quotes on God, Religion, Religious Beliefs]</ref> }} - -Dawkins further draws attention to serious shortcomings in the theology department of Oxford University where he teaches. - -===The former Pope=== -Dawkins spoke at the Protest the Pope Rally in [[London]] during the visit of (now retired) [[Pope]] [[Benedict XVI]] in 2010: -{{Cquote|He is an enemy of truth, promoting barefaced lies about condoms not protecting against [[AIDS]], especially in Africa. He is an enemy of the poorest people on the planet, condemning them to inflated families that they cannot feed, and so keeping them in the bondage of perpetual [[poverty]]. A poverty that sits ill with the obscene riches of the [[Vatican]].|||[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_0kFU7IfPM&feature=player_embedded#! Richard Dawkins' speech at Protest the Pope march] [http://richarddawkins.net/articles/521113-ratzinger-is-an-enemy-of-humanity transcribed here.]}} - -===The God helmet=== - -In 2003, Richard Dawkins had the allegedly religiosity-inducing device known as the [[God helmet]] tested on him; appearing in the [[BBC]] science documentary series ''Horizon''. He did not have a "sensed presence" [[hallucination|experience]], but instead felt at times "slightly dizzy", "quite strange", and had sensations in his limbs and changes in his breathing. Persinger explained Dawkins's limited results in terms of his low score on a psychological scale measuring temporal lobe sensitivity.<ref>From BBC Two: [http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/horizon/2003/godonbrain.shtml God on the Brain] </ref> - -==Dawkins and atheism== -Dawkins has denied that atheism is a religion, or that atheism is violent; he wrote: -{{cquote|There is no atheist religion. (...) Oh yes, I was forgetting. All those atheists beheading people, setting fire to them, cutting off their hands, cutting off their clitorises. If you think atheists are violent you don't know what violence means.|||Richard Dawkins<ref name=Independent/>}} - -Dawkins is a patron of the [[British Humanist Association]]; he helped get the [[Atheist bus campaign]] going.<ref>[https://humanism.org.uk/campaigns/successful-campaigns/atheist-bus-campaign/ Atheist Bus Campaign]</ref> Dawkins is also an enthusiastic [[The Brights Movement|Bright]], and he expounded his reasons for this in an article in ''[[The Guardian]].''<ref>[http://books.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,12084,981412,00.html "The future looks bright"]. ''the Guardian''. Retrieved on 8 October 2015.</ref> He hopes the term 'Brights' will help reduce negative [[stereotyping]] of atheists in the United States.<ref>[http://www.the-brights.net/vision/essays/let_there_be_brights.html Let There Be Brights: by Richard Dawkins]</ref> - -Dawkins sees atheists as ordinary people, typically thoughtful people who work things out for themselves and do not accept automatically what they learnt from their parents or in primary school. Dawkins wants atheists to stand up and be counted.<ref>Dawkins sees religion as a childish idea he overcame when he came to think in a more adult way. Discovering evolution removed the [[Teleology|last argument for God he had]]. See [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwcIq42WpjI Richard Dawkins - We Are Atheism]</ref> - -==Dawkins and pseudoscience== -Dawkins is no less critical of [[pseudoscience]] than he is of religion. He recently made his views known about [[Faith healing|faith healers]], [[psychic]] [[medium]]s, [[angel]] therapists, "[[aura]] photographers", [[Astrology|astrologers]], [[Tarot cards|tarot card]] readers and water [[Divination|diviners]], and claimed that Britain is gripped by "an epidemic of superstitious thinking."<ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/08/05/newage105.xml "News"]. ''Telegraph.co.uk''. Retrieved on 8 October 2015.</ref> - -==Dawkins and eugenics== - -Dawkins has come under fire for statements made in 2006 and 2014 on [[eugenics]]. In 2006 he supported the scientific validity of eugenics asking, "If you can breed cattle for milk yield, horses for running speed, and dogs for herding skill, why on Earth should it be impossible to breed humans for mathematical, musical or athletic ability?" He also asked, "I wonder whether, some 60 years after Hitler's death, we might at least venture to ask what the moral difference is between breeding for musical ability and forcing a child to take music lessons." - -In 2014 he said "Intelligently designed morality would have no problem with negative eugenics", further arguing that the problem with positive eugenics comes about when it is state directed and government sponsored.<ref>Giles Fraser. [http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2014/aug/29/nobody-better-at-being-human-richard-dawkins "Nobody is better at being human, Professor Dawkins, least of all you"]. ''the Guardian''. Retrieved on 8 October 2015.</ref> - -==Baseless attacks on Dawkins== -Dawkins' outspoken views on religion have earned him many knee-jerk criticisms from religious [[apologist]]s. With the high regard in which religious [[belief]] is held,<ref>[http://www.smbc-comics.com/comics/20070514.gif And I ''respect'' that.]</ref> openly and directly attacking religion has seen Dawkins break one of the greatest taboos still in existence in the [[Western world]]. Most critics concentrate on his divisive approach to the subject: he is generally seen to reject all [[theist]]ic views, even when they support his own on evolution or [[secular]]ism, and his dismissal of all the claimed good aspects of religion, which Dawkins either believes are non-existent or completely irrelevant. In ''The God Delusion'', Dawkins spends most of the introduction of the book addressing potential critics, predicting their arguments quite accurately and putting forward his own counter-arguments. - -The criticism of Dawkins and general anti-Dawkins attitudes manifest in many ways, from homemade [[YouTube]] videos to criticism by well-known theists. In September 2008, a Turkish court banned [[internet]] users from viewing the official Richard Dawkins website after [[Harun Yahya]], a [[Muslim]] [[creationist]], claimed its contents were defamatory and [[blasphemy | blasphemous]].<ref>Riazat Butt. [http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/sep/19/religion.turkey "Missing link: creationist campaigner has Richard Dawkins' official website banned in Turkey"]. ''the Guardian''. Retrieved on 8 October 2015.</ref> - -[[Rabbi]] Shmuley Boteach accused Dawkins of [[Godwin's Law|comparing him to Hitler]].<ref>[http://www.beliefnet.com/Faiths/Judaism/2008/05/Richard-Dawkins-Shameful-Attack.aspx "Beliefnet Presents: Richard Dawkins' Shameful Attack, Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, Atheism, Science, Religion, Evolution - Beliefnet.com"]. ''Beliefnet''. Retrieved on 8 October 2015.</ref><ref>Dawkins' response can be found [http://www.beliefnet.com/News/Science-Religion/2008/05/Richard-Dawkins-Responds-To-Rabbi-Shmuley-Boteach.aspx here].</ref> - -===The "11 second pause"=== -One of the more famous incidents that Dawkins has been involved in was during an interview in 1997 where he paused for 11 seconds after being asked to answer the question "can you give one example of a [[mutation]] that increases information in the genome?" Creationists happily seized on the video as a "smoking gun" proving evolution was a [[hoax]]: one of its key proponents stumped on a simple question!<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_MN_O9ICzY "11 second Pause Dawkins 'stumped' hoax videos exposed again!"]. ''YouTube''. 12 June 2007. Retrieved on 8 October 2015.</ref> Dawkins has since gone on record explaining that this pause was because he suddenly realised he had been tricked into an interview with creationists — something he doesn't do as policy as such interviews can be used to give [[crank]]s credibility. - -Most creationists take the pause to be genuine proof that Dawkins doesn't know what he is talking about and evolution is false and that his reasonings for not interviewing creationists are just any old excuse to dodge their questions. [[CreationWiki]] claims that he ''still'' hasn't answered the initial question. Anyone familiar with [[information theory]] and the average creationist tactics and [[straw man]] based arguments should be able to figure out this answer; it's certainly not the simple soundbite they were looking for. Of course Dawkins ''has'' answered, and the entire response can be found on Australian Skeptics.<ref>[http://www.skeptics.com.au/publications/articles/the-information-challenge/ "The Information Challenge"]. ''Australian Skeptics Inc''. Retrieved on 8 October 2015.</ref> - -==Legitimate criticisms of Dawkins== -{{cquote|Every one of us has lots of things we don't understand. The trick is to realise it.|||Dawkins, Twitter, 2015<ref>[https://twitter.com/RichardDawkins/status/613986184080064512 "Richard Dawkins on Twitter"]. ''Twitter''. Retrieved on 8 October 2015.</ref><br/>(level of perceived [[irony]] depends on the reader)}} - -=== Researchers' views on Dawkins === - -Despite promoting the virtues of science and scientific research, Dawkins is no longer involved in conducting original scientific research but is in effect a science popularizer. Within the scientific community Dawkins is generally regarded as a very good communicator of science, but certain public [[hagiography]] of him as "the greatest scientist since Darwin" is misplaced. Most of his ideas are based on those of others (see "standing on the shoulders of giants"), in particular the likes of {{wpl|Ronald Fisher|R.A. Fisher,}} {{wpl|W. D. Hamilton|W. D. Hamilton,}} {{wpl|John Maynard Smith|John Maynard Smith,}} {{wpl|Robert Trivers|Robert Trivers,}} and {{wpl|George C. Williams|George C. Williams.}} To be fair to Dawkins, he always cites and defers to his sources, but some Dawkins fanboys don't catch onto historical and social context in which he has written, despite his stating them in his writing! Similarities between his books also leads to the criticism that he's written "the same book" again and again. - -Dawkins is not, however, immune to criticism from within the scientific community. Theoretical [[physicist]] Peter Higgs ([[Higgs boson|that Higgs]]) criticized him in December 2012 for his [[Atheist thumper|anti-religious "fundamentalism",]] asserting that Dawkins focuses too much of his attacks on religious fundamentalism despite there being many non-fundamentalists out there and that his belief that religion and science cannot co-exist ''at all'' is wrong.<ref>''The Guardian'': [http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2012/dec/26/peter-higgs-richard-dawkins-fundamentalism Peter Higgs criticises Richard Dawkins over anti-religious 'fundamentalism']. Alok Jha, 26 December 2012</ref> Dawkins has countered assertions that he is an anti-religious [[extremist]].<ref>[http://old.richarddawkins.net/articles/1071-how-dare-you-call-me-a-fundamentalist here.]</ref> - -Dawkins and fellow evolutionary biologist David Sloan Wilson have also debated over ''The God Delusion'' and studying religion scientifically in the pages of ''Skeptic'' magazine.<ref>[http://www.skeptic.com/eskeptic/07-07-04/ Beyond Demonic Memes: Why Dawkins is Wrong About Religion], David Sloan Wilson, eSkeptic</ref><ref>[http://richarddawkins.net/articles/1403 Richard Dawkins Replies to David Sloan Wilson], Richard Dawkins, eSkeptic</ref> Dawkins also denies his own meme theory is pseudoscience, despite not being based on [[experiment]]al data. - -===Islamophobia=== -{{cquote|For years we've been calling attention to the deafening silence from moderate Muslims, [[Guilt by association|their reluctance to condemn 9/11, suicide bombings and other atrocities]]. For years we have challenged moderate Muslims to disown the death penalty for apostasy, and officially sanctioned Islamic mistreatment of women. With a few honourabe {{sic}} exceptions like {{wpl|Yasmin Alibhai Brown|Yasmin Alibhai Brown,}} our appeals have met with lamentably little response.|||Dawkins, demanding collective punishment for the Islamic community everywhere. Notice how he doesn't say all Catholics to condemn the [[Irish Republican Army|IRA]], or all Jews to condemn [[Israel]]'s actions in the Middle East.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Dawkins|first1=Richard|title=Muslim peace conference condemns terrorism (Comment 77 by Richard Dawkins)|url=http://old.richarddawkins.net/articles/643224-muslim-peace-conference-condemns-terrorism/comments?page=3|website=RichardDawkins.net|accessdate=20 October 2015|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20130507174441/http://old.richarddawkins.net/articles/643224-muslim-peace-conference-condemns-terrorism/comments?page=3|archivedate=7 May 2013|deadurl=y}}</ref>}} -In 2013, Dawkins came under fire for a series of statements regarding [[Islam]] that seemed to blur the line between reason-based resistance to [[dogma]] and [[xenophobic]] prejudice. He views Islam as the "greatest force for evil in the world today"<ref>{{cite news|last1=Brown|first1=Andrew|title=[http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/apr/22/richard-dawkins-islamophobic Richard Dawkins' latest anti-Muslim Twitter spat lays bare his hypocrisy]|url=|accessdate=20 October 2015|work=Comment is Free|agency=The Guardian|date=22 April 2013|quote=[paraphrasing [https://twitter.com/RichardDawkins/status/307369895031603200 Dawkins' Twitter post] dated 28 Feb 2013] "I have often said that Islam is the greatest force for evil in the world today."}}</ref> and stated that "All the world's Muslims have fewer [[Nobel Prize]]s than Trinity College, Cambridge,"<ref>[https://twitter.com/RichardDawkins/statuses/365473573768400896 "Richard Dawkins on Twitter"]. ''Twitter''. Retrieved on 8 October 2015.</ref>. He's generally called Islam "an unmitigated evil," which is in line with his opinion on religion in general, but also calls himself a "[[cultural Christian]]"<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_politics/7136682.stm "BBC NEWS | UK | UK Politics | Dawkins: I'm a cultural Christian"]. ''bbc.co.uk''. Retrieved on 8 October 2015.</ref>, which smells of a [[double standard]]. - -On the other hand, Dawkins recently wrote: -{{cquote|Anyone who believes that what is written in a holy book is true even if the evidence is against it is dangerous. Christianity used to be the most dangerous religion. Now Islam is. Of course that doesn't mean more than a small minority of the world's Muslims. But it only takes a few if their beliefs are sufficiently strong, fanatical and unshakeable.|||Richard Dawkins<ref name=Independent>[http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/richard-dawkins-responds-to-the-suggestion-atheists-are-violent-a7056301.html Richard Dawkins responds to the suggestion atheists are violent]</ref>}} - -This appears to mitigate the charge of Islamophobia somewhat. And, if clarified that one is not referring to all Muslims but only to extremists and governments, the claim that Islam is currently the world's most dangerous religion doesn't seem unreasonable.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/06/13/here-are-the-10-countries-where-homosexuality-may-be-punished-by-death-2/ Here are the 10 countries where homosexuality may be punished by death.] ''[[The Washington Post]].'' 16 June 2016.</ref><ref>[https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Apostasy_laws_in_2013.SVG Apostasy laws in 2013.] Wikipedia commons.</ref> - -He also wrote of proto-[[fascist]] [[Geert Wilders]]: "if it [[Irony meter|should turn out that you are a racist or a gratuitous stirrer and provocateur]] I withdraw my respect, but [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDms-nP2E90&feature=youtu.be&t=43s on the strength of ''Fitna'' alone I salute you as a man of courage], who has the balls to stand up to a monstrous enemy,"<ref>[http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/not-in-our-name-dawkins-dresses-up-bigotry-as-non-belief-he-cannot-be-left-to-represent-atheists-8754183.html Not in our name: Dawkins dresses up bigotry as non-belief - he cannot be left to represent atheists], Independent, 9 August 2013</ref> described the [[burka]] as being like a "full bin-liner thing", and spoken of his "visceral revulsion" when he sees it being worn.<ref>http://old.richarddawkins.net/articles/498234-fury-over-richard-dawkins-s-burka-jibe-as-atheist-tells-of-his-visceral-revulsion-at-muslim-dress</ref> He also seems to think that being a Muslim makes a person unsuitable for hiring as a journalist, saying of ''[[The Guardian]]'' and ''New Statesman'' contributor and [[Al Jazeera|Al Jazeera journalist, Mehdi Hasan,]] "Mehdi Hasan admits to believing Muhamed {{sic}} flew to heaven on a winged horse. And ''New Statesman'' sees fit to print him."<ref>[https://twitter.com/RichardDawkins/status/325957740835004416 "Richard Dawkins on Twitter"]. ''Twitter''. Retrieved on 8 October 2015.</ref> (So what about those millions of Christian newswriters, then?) - -Dawkins has become a critic of [[multiculturalism]] which he views as "code for Islam" in Europe.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Robbins|first1=Martin|title=[http://www.theguardian.com/science/the-lay-scientist/2013/may/03/atheism-dawkins Richard Dawkins, 'Islamophobia' and the atheist movement]|url=|accessdate=20 October 2015|work=The Guardian|date=3 May 2013}}</ref> He has described {{wpl|First Cameron ministry|the coalition government}} as "fanatical about multiculturalism and the need to respect the different traditions from which these children come",<ref>{{cite news|last1=Gardham|first1=Duncan|title=[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/2494397/Richard-Dawkins-Muslim-parents-import-creationism-into-schools.html Richard Dawkins: Muslim parents 'import creationism' into schools]|url=|accessdate=20 October 2015|work=The Telegraph|date=8 August 2008}}</ref> and claims that "the compromised values of multicultural Britain mean that teachers hesitate to offend the religious beliefs of their pupils, even when these directly contradict scientific fact."<ref>{{cite web|title=[http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xh0cf8_multiculturalism-against-darwinian-s-science-of-evolution_tech Multiculturalism against Darwinian's science of evolution]|url=|website=DailyMotion|accessdate=20 October 2015}} Cited by Dawkins [https://twitter.com/richarddawkins/status/463620788546203649 on his Twitter] (6 May 2014).</ref> Of course, respecting different cultural traditions is not mutually exclusive with pointing out when those traditions include scientifically false beliefs, so the problem would seem to be not multiculturalism but some teachers' flawed interpretation of it. - -Following his 'cutural Christian' theme, he has also tweeted such things as "Listening to the lovely bells of Winchester, one of our great mediaeval cathedrals. So much nicer than the aggressive-sounding 'Allahu Akhbar.' Or is that just my cultural upbringing?"<ref>Dawkins, R. [RichardDawkins]. (2018, Jul 16). [https://twitter.com/RichardDawkins/status/1018933359978909696 Tweet].</ref> As some people have noticed, this argument just so happens to mirror that of [[alt-right]] figures such as [[Tommy Robinson]], making Dawkins a [[useful idiot]] for these tools at best. - -On [[Stopped clock|a more positive note, despite his Islamophobia]], Dawkins condemned the murder of three Muslims by a fundamentalist atheist<ref>[http://www.liberation.fr/planete/2015/02/11/trois-musulmans-abattus-aux-etats-unis-le-silence-mediatique-denonce_1200138 Trois musulmans abattus aux Etats-Unis, le silence médiatique dénoncé - Libération]</ref><ref>https://twitter.com/RichardDawkins/status/565439089038852097?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.liberation.fr%2Fplanete%2F2015%2F02%2F11%2Ftrois-musulmans-abattus-aux-etats-unis-le-silence-mediatique-denonce_1200138&tfw_creator=libe&tfw_site=libe</ref>. - -====Ahmed Mohamed aka "Clock Boy"==== -{{cquote|Don't call him "clock boy" since he never made a clock. Hoax Boy, having hoaxed his way into the White House, now wants $15M in addition!|||Dawkins, introducing his theory of how a child fooled millions of adult people<ref>https://twitter.com/RichardDawkins/status/669098728662409216</ref>}} - -Dawkins was heavily criticized after he joined [[Bill Maher]] in attacking Islam as a whole, and on one kid in particular. Said kid was briefly arrested for playing with electronics that looked like a bomb to some, while also being Muslim. On Twitter Dawkins also accused Ahmed Mohammed of being comparable to an [[ISIS]] child soldier.<ref>http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/nov/25/richard-dawkins-links-isis-child-who-beheaded-man-and-clock-boy-ahmed-mohamed</ref> [[PZ Myers]] has called Dawkins' and Maher's team-up as "a combination to bring out the worst in both"<ref>http://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2015/11/28/atheists-should-not-condemn-any-culture/#more-26211</ref> and described their talk as follows: - -{{quotebox| -* "Oh, that’s their culture, you have to respect it," Dawkins said mockingly. -* "That’s right! That’s what they say. It’s just insane," Maher said, swooning. -* "Liberal about everything else, but then this one exception, ‘It’s their culture.’ Well, to hell with their culture," Dawkins concluded, to a storm of applause and a passionate yelp of approval from Maher. -}} - -Myers went on to describe Dawkins' hypocrisy in how he likes many things about his culture, specifically his "Anglican tradition" which, according to Dawkins, gave birth to "evensong and cricket matches", despite his culture being just as guilty of horrible acts, from [[colonialism]] to wars of mass destruction. Myers went on to denounce people who claim that "unlike Islam, Christianity has mellowed" and pointed at racist police, [[Planned Parenthood]] killings, murders of [[transgender]] people, [[Scott Lively]], the [[Westboro Baptist Church]], the American prison system, the drone war, unfettered [[capitalism#Criticisms of capitalism|capitalism]], and predatory attitude towards the [[environment]]. Myers concluded by praising Islamic gifts to literature, poetry, music, mathematics, and science, and stressed that he wants to embrace Islamic culture as a significant part of the human experience even as he rejects the barbarisms within it, just as he rejects the barbarism in Western culture. - -==="Mild pedophilia"=== -[[Image:UpdatedDawkins.png|thumb|The timeline so far, updated for 2016.|right]] -{{cquote|Mild [[paedophilia]] is bad. Violent paedophilia is worse. If you think that's an endorsement of mild paedophilia, go away and learn how to think. Date [[rape]] is bad. Stranger rape at knifepoint is worse. If you think that's an endorsement of date rape, go away and learn how to think.|||Someone restrain him from anything with an Internet connection<ref>[http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/richard-dawkins-says-date-rape-is-bad-stranger-rape-is-worse-on-twitter-9634572.html Richard Dawkins tweets: 'Date rape is bad, stranger rape is worse'], ''The Independent''</ref>}} -Dawkins has been criticized for comments he made in his books<ref>[http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2013/09/10/richard-dawkins-isnt-defending-mild-pedophilia-but-that-doesnt-make-his-comments-okay/ "Richard Dawkins Isn’t Defending ‘Mild Pedophilia’… but That Doesn’t Make His Comments Okay"]. ''Friendly Atheist''. Retrieved on 8 October 2015.</ref> and interviews<ref>AbOhlheiser. [http://www.thewire.com/global/2013/09/richard-dawkins-defends-mild-pedophilia-again-and-again/69269/ "Richard Dawkins Defends 'Mild' Pedophilia, Again and Again"]. ''The Wire''. Retrieved on 8 October 2015.</ref> regarding "mild paedophilia" he experienced as a child. He says a prep school teacher "pulled me on his knee and put his hand inside my shorts".<ref>[http://www.news.com.au/world/he-was-a-victim-of-child-sexual-abuse-but-richard-dawkins-refuses-to-condemn-the-behaviour/story-fndir2ev-1226717774514 He was a victim of child sexual abuse but Richard Dawkins refuses to condemn the behaviour]</ref> Dawkins downplays the effects of the crime because he said it did not have a big effect on him but may on others.<ref>[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/09/richard-dawkins-pedophilia_n_3895514.html "Richard Dawkins Pedophilia Remarks Provoke Outrage"]. ''The Huffington Post''. Retrieved on 8 October 2015.</ref> Dawkins commented saying:<ref>https://richarddawkins.net/2013/09/child-abuse-a-misunderstanding-w-polish-translation/</ref> -{{quotebox|Should I have lied and said it was the worst thing that ever happened to me? Should I have mendaciously sought the sympathy due to a victim who had truly been damaged for the rest of his life? Should I have named the offending teacher and called down posthumous disgrace upon his head? No, no and no. To have done so would have been to belittle and insult those many people whose lives really were blighted and cursed, perhaps by year-upon-year of abuse by a father or other person who was deeply important in their life. ... To excuse pedophiliac assaults in general, or to make light of the horrific experiences of others, was a thousand miles from my intention.}} -Dawkins made many well publicised attacks on the [[Catholic Church]] over the [[Child sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church|priest molestation scandal]] which includes numerous cases of severe child sexual abuse. - -===Feminism=== - -===="Elevatorgate," or how the fallacy of relative privation went into overdrive==== -{{main|Elevatorgate}} -If you found the above abhorrent, it's not particularly new. The 2011 conference incident known as "Elevatorgate" showed that even we "enlightened" atheists (a lot of us male) can be easily prone to [[Not as bad as|logical fallacies]] and appalling nastiness. - -====Ranting about "radical feminists" on Twitter==== -Between Dawkins' rushing to the aid of poor beleaguered [[Sam Harris]] and propping [[Christina Hoff Sommers]], it started to dawn on everyone that Dawkins might have an amateur understanding of feminism. This has led [[PZ Myers]] to write an open letter on [[Freethought Blogs|FtB]] to Dawkins<ref>[http://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2014/09/12/dear-richard-dawkins/ Dear Richard Dawkins] PZ Myers</ref>, where he tried to explain to him what feminism is about and his own journey to understanding it. It fell on deaf ears, as Dawkins instead went on Twitter to rant about "'''F'''eedingfrenzy '''T'''houghtpolice '''B'''ullies"<ref>[http://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2014/09/16/richard-dawkins-the-wrongering/ Richard Dawkins: The Wrongering] PZ Myers</ref> and "clickbait"<ref>[http://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2014/09/16/clickbait-abuse/ Clickbait abuse] PZ Myers</ref>. - -Things backfired on Dawkins after he [http://web.archive.org/web/20160127095804/https:/twitter.com/richarddawkins/status/692033018970705920 retweeted a link to a video] by noted antifeminist [[Sargon of Akkad]]. He later [https://twitter.com/RichardDawkins/status/692468079184449536 deleted his tweet] but the damage was already done, as he was swiftly [http://us12.campaign-archive1.com/?u=1fe062c83a0e3b45fcbc0e2de&id=95aeb913c6&e=393d12151e uninvited from the NECSS 2016 conference by majority vote of the leading panel]. Since then, however, the NECSS panel had both publicly and privately apologized to Dawkins for acting unilaterally rather than first expressing their concerns, and he has been [http://necss.org/2016/02/14/statement-from-the-executive-committee/ re-invited to NECSS to discuss both his prior planned talk, as well as being part of a panel discussion about feminism/diversity and free speech within the skeptical community]. Unfortunately, this was just prior to his stroke, and cancellation of this and other talks due to his health. - -In early 2016, Dawkins re-tweeted a meme juxtaposing a picture of {{wpl|Matt_Taylor_(scientist)#Shirt_controversy|Matt Taylor's shirt}} and a still frame of a fully-veiled Muslim woman about to be executed that, instead of making a point about the lack of Western media reporting on the latter or calling for more humanitarian aid/intervention, tried to suggest that Western feminists don't care enough about the fate of oppressed Muslim women, while also appearing so unseasoned on feminism as to conflate [[fringe]] ''radical'' feminists with the broader movement of [[feminism]]. This prompted PZ Myers to strongly criticize him — as he did in the "Dear Muslima" situation years ago — and Myers announced he would cancel his plans to attend the Reason Rally, featuring Dawkins (among many others).<ref>[http://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2016/01/31/i-cant-take-no-more/ I can’t take no more]</ref> Material opposing types of feminism is a small part of what Dawkins writes but gets disproportionate attention, which isn't surprising due to how loudly Dawkins promotes them.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/sep/18/richard-dawkins-sexist-atheists-bad-name Richard Dawkins has lost it: ignorant sexism gives atheists a bad name], Adam Lee, ''The Guardian''</ref><ref>[http://www.wehuntedthemammoth.com/2016/01/28/richard-dawkins-lindy-west-and-the-cartoon-video-of-great-hatefulness/ Richard Dawkins, Lindy West, and the Cartoon Video of Great Hatefulness], David Futrelle</ref> -<ref>[http://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2014/09/12/dear-richard-dawkins/ Dear Richard Dawkins], [[PZ Myers]]</ref><ref>[http://www.alternet.org/belief/richard-dawkins-destroying-his-reputation Is Richard Dawkins Destroying His Reputation?]</ref><ref>[http://religionnews.com/2014/11/18/richard-dawkins-stands-remarks-sexism-pedophilia-syndrome/ Richard Dawkins stands by remarks on sexism, pedophilia, Down syndrome], Kimberly Winston </ref> - -Anyway, Dawkins predictably responded by doubling down, in the process even promoting a [[meme]] which inadvertently featured [[Neo-Nazi]] propaganda embedded in a QR code.<ref>[http://www.salon.com/2016/02/01/never_tweet_richard_dawkins_famed_atheist_now_signal_boosting_nazi_propaganda/ Never tweet, Richard Dawkins: Famed atheist now signal-boosting Nazi propaganda]</ref><ref>[https://twitter.com/thelindywest/status/693181599647559680 Lindy West's Twitter]</ref> - -===Gene-centered view of evolution=== -{{main|Gene-centered view of evolution}} - -Dawkins has been an ardent defender of the gene-centred view of evolution. He has debated this issue with many other scientists and thinkers, perhaps most famously [[Stephen Jay Gould]]. Gould and Dawkins battled over a number of topics including the gene-centred view as well as [[punctuated equilibrium]] and approaches to cultural evolution such as [[evolutionary psychology]]. Gould penned a screed against Dawkins and a number of other thinkers accusing them of "Darwinian Fundamentalism."<ref>[http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/1997/jun/12/darwinian-fundamentalism/?pagination=false Darwinian Fundamentalism], Gould's article in the ''New York Review of Books''. See also replies to the original article in [http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/1997/aug/14/darwinian-fundamentalism-an-exchange/?pagination=false Darwinian Fundamentalism: An Exchange.]</ref><ref>See Kim Sterelny's {{wpl|Dawkins_vs._Gould | ''Dawkins vs. Gould''}} for a book-length account of their debates.</ref> Ernst Mayr has also argued in favor of the individual being the most important level of selection, calling the gene-centred view "non-Darwinian."<ref>[http://www.edge.org/3rd_culture/mayr/mayr_print.html Ernst Mayr: What Evolution Is], edge.org</ref> The gene-centered view has also come under fire from various proponents of multi-level selection theories, who often focus their criticisms on Dawkins. On one side are the group selectionists such as Elliott Sober and David Sloan Wilson, who propose a view of evolution that is still multi-level but puts more emphasis on groups as "superorganisms."<ref>David Sloan Wilson and Elliott Sober. [http://www.joelvelasco.net/teaching/167win10/wilson%20and%20sober%2089%20-%20reviving%20the%20superorganism.pdf Reviving the Superorganism.] ''Journal of Theoretical Biology'', (1989) 136, 337-356</ref> On the other side are niche constructionists and epigeneticists such as Philip Hunter, [[Eva Jablonka]], and Kevin Laland who criticise especially Dawkins' notion of the "extended phenotype" by invoking means of inheritance that don't involve changes to the underlying genetic structure (e.g., epigenetic inheritance) or more broadly defining inheritance (e.g., ecological inheritance).<ref>Kevin N. Laland. [http://lalandlab.st-andrews.ac.uk/niche/pdf/Publication84.pdf Extending the Extended Phenotype.] ''Biology and Philosophy'' 19: 313–325, 2004</ref><ref>Richard Dawkins. [http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/jksadegh/A%20Good%20Atheist%20Secularist%20Skeptical%20Book%20Collection/Extended%20Phenotype%20but%20not%20too%20extended%20-%20Dawkins.pdf Extended Phenotype – But Not ''Too'' Extended. A Reply to Laland, Turner and Jablonka.] ''Biology and Philosophy'' 19: 377–396, 2004</ref><ref>Philip Hunter. [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2658563/ Extended phenotype redux. How far can the reach of genes extend in manipulating the environment of an organism?] ''EMBO Rep.'' 2009 March; 10(3): 212–215.</ref> [[Moral]] [[philosopher]] Mary Midgley has criticized Dawkins' use of the "selfish gene" metaphor.<ref>{{wpl|Mary_Midgley#Midgley.E2.80.93Dawkins_debate | Midgley-Dawkins Debate}}, [[Wikipedia]]</ref> - -==Books published== -Richard Dawkins has published a {{wpl|Richard_Dawkins_bibliography|vast range of material}}. Books he authored: -{{collist|3| -*''The Selfish Gene'' (1976) -*''The Extended Phenotype'' (1982) -*''The Blind Watchmaker'' (1986) -*''[[River Out of Eden]]'' (1995) -*''Climbing Mount Improbable'' (1996)<ref group=note>''Climbing Mount Improbable'' (ISBN 0670850187) is a response to creationist claims about probability and evolution.</ref> -*''Unweaving the Rainbow'' (1997)<ref group=note>In ''Unweaving the Rainbow'', Richard Dawkins tries to counter the viewpoint that a [[philosophical naturalism|scientific worldview]] is cold, bleak and depressing. In Dawkins' view, a scientific understanding of the natural world is poetic and uplifting. However, in public appearances, when asked Dawkins rightly points out that even if the universe is bleak or depressing, then that's tough. reality is what it is and has no obligation to make us comfortable. </ref> -*''A Devil’s Chaplain'' (2003) -*''The Ancestor’s Tale'' (2004) -*''[[The God Delusion]]'' (2006) -*''The Greatest Show on Earth'' (2009) -*''The Magic of Reality'' (2011) -*''An Appetite for Wonder: The Making of a Scientist'' (2013) -*''Brief Candle in the Dark: My Life in Science'' (2015) -*''Science in the Soul: Selected Writings of a Passionate Rationalist'' (2017) -}} - -==Quotes== -*"We are all atheists about most of the gods that humanity has ever believed in. Some of us just go one god further." -* Regarding telepathy: "If you are in possession of this revolutionary secret of science, why not prove it and be hailed as the new [[Isaac Newton|Newton]]? Of course, we know the answer. You can't do it. You are a fake." -*"The universe is a strange and wondrous place. The truth is quite odd enough to need no help from pseudoscientific charlatans." -*"[[Faith]] is the great cop-out, the great excuse to evade the need to think and evaluate [[evidence]]. Faith is belief in spite of, even perhaps because of, the lack of evidence." -*"We are built as gene machines and cultured as meme machines, but we have the power to turn against our creators. [[Human exceptionalism|We, alone on earth]], can rebel against the tyranny of the selfish replicators." -*"Nearly all peoples have developed their own [[creation myths]], and the [[Genesis]] story is just the one that happened to have been adopted by one particular tribe of Middle Eastern herders. It has no more special status than the belief of a particular West African tribe that the world was created from the excrement of ants." -*"The God of the [[Old Testament]] is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty, ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully." -*"A mind like that of a [[Young Earth creationism|Young Earth creationist]], it seems to me, is a disgrace to the [[human]] species." -*"Gravity is not a version of the truth. It is the truth. Anyone who doubts it is invited to jump out a tenth-story window." - -==See also== -{{fun|Richard Dawkins' face found on tortilla}} -*[[Answers in Genesis Dawkins interview controversy]] -*[[Antitheism]] -*[[Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed#PZ Myers "expelled" from screening of Expelled|Dawkins and the film ''Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed'']] -*[[Dawkins weasel]] -*[[Meme]] -*[[Papal visit to the UK 2010]] -*[[Sophisticated theology]] - -==External links== -*[http://www.RichardDawkins.net Official website] -*Richard Dawkins [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X56Kmbgn6dE interviews] [[Derren Brown]] for the documentary "Enemies of Reason". The full hour-long interview is presented in several segments. -*Richard Dawkins [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZuowNcuGsc&feature=player_embedded reads out some of the hate mail he receives]. -*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_t4Pksq7BI Little Richie Dawkins]. For those offended by this satire, [https://twitter.com/RichardDawkins/status/386628246541856769 Dawkins thinks you are a crybaby.] -*[http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2016/06/09/heres-the-inspiring-speech-richard-dawkins-couldnt-give-in-person-at-the-reason-rally/ Here’s the Inspiring Speech Richard Dawkins Couldn’t Give in Person at the Reason Rally] This includes a full transcript of a speach recorded by Dawkins and played at the American, 'Reason Rally 2016'. - -==Notes== -{{reflist|group=note}} - -==References== -{{reflist|2|90%}} - -{{DEFAULTSORT:Dawkins, Richard}} -[[ru:Ричард Докинз]] -[[Category:Authors]] -[[Category:Biologists]] -[[Category:Criticism of Islam]] -[[Category:Eugenics supporters]] -[[Category:Islamophobia]] -[[Category:Living people]] -[[Category:Popular science]] -[[Category:Skeptics]] -[[Category:Left of reason]] +Rationalwiki is shit, and deserves to die '
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