The Life Scientific – Richard Dawkins

Jim Al-Khalili interviewed evolutionary biologist and author Prof Richard Dawkins on BBC Radio 4 (broadcast on Mon 3rd Sept) It ran for 28 mins and is worth listening to. Richard Dawkins’ first book on evolutionary biology “The Selfish Gene” was published to much acclaim and some controversy in 1976. In this interview with Jim Al-Khalili, Professor … Read more

Essay: Is Science a Religion? – Richard Dawkins

Is Science a Religion? – Richard Dawkins The following article was first published in the Humanist, January/February 1997. It is fashionable to wax apocalyptic about the threat to humanity posed by the AIDS virus, “mad cow” disease, and many others, but I think a case can be made that faith is one of the world’s … Read more

Essay: Religion Is Absurd – Christopher Hitchens

Religion Is Absurd – Christopher Hitchens Religion will always retain a certain tattered prestige because it was our first attempt as a species to make sense of the cosmos and of our own nature, and because it continues to ask “why”. Its incurable disability, however, lies in its insistence that the answer to that question … Read more

evolutionary science = ‘the new classics’ – A proposal by Richard Dawkins

I first heard Richard talk about this two years ago. At the time, I listened, watched the slides and thought, “Nice Talk”, but did not really get it. Well, I’ve changed my mind, there is an article by Carole Jahme in yesterday’s Guardian that clearly explains it all, and so now I think I’m beginning … Read more

Richard Dawkins interviews Daniel Dennett – Oxford, 9 May 2012

Now this is really worth watching, it is an hour long interview of Daniel Dennett by Richard Dawkins. Least you wonder “Who?”, I’ll explain. Daniel Dennett  is an American philosopher, writer and cognitive scientist whose research centers on the philosophy of mind, philosophy of science and philosophy of biology, particularly as those fields relate to evolutionary biology and cognitive science. He is currently the Co-director of the Center for Cognitive … Read more

Richard Dawkins wants you to read the bible

Richard Dawkins would like all children to read the bible … no really, he seriously does, and has an article in the UK’s Guardian today all about it. OK, so what is the story here? The context is that the UK’s Education Secretary, Michael Gove, cooked up a plan last year to send one copy of the King James … Read more