Richard Dawkins
Richard Dawkins
Clinton Richard Dawkins FRS FRSLis an English ethologist, evolutionary biologist and author. He is an emeritus fellow of New College, Oxford, and was the University of Oxford's Professor for Public Understanding of Science from 1995 until 2008...
ProfessionNovelist
Date of Birth26 March 1941
CityNairobi, Kenya
Richard Dawkins quotes about
strong believe reading
If you are offended by reading views that disagree with yours, then yes, you will be offended. However, it is not gratuitously offensive, it simply puts an argument, and if your views are strong enough, as I believe they are, you will be able to defend your views. You will not say, "Oh, it's offensive, it's offensive." You will say "No, you are wrong here and you are wrong here," and that's what you should do.
argument ads
I shall not make an argument ad hominem. My argument is ad bullshitem.
humanity understanding alive
I am thrilled to be alive at time when humanity is pushing against the limits of understanding. Even better, we may eventually discover that there are no limits.
religious nice interesting
It is interesting to ask whether there's any general reason why being religious might make you do nice things or indeed nasty things. It's possible that people do nice things because they're religious. One reason might be they're hoping for a reward in Heaven, which is not a very noble reason.
atheist views design
Natural selection is the blind watchmaker, blind because it does not see ahead, does not plan consequences, has no purpose in view. Yet the living results of natural selection overwhelmingly impress us with the appearance of design as if by a master watchmaker, impress us with the illusion of design and planning.
cells brain mind
When you plant a fertile meme in my mind you literally parasitize my brain, turning it into a vehicle for the meme's propagation in just the way that a virus may parasitize the genetic mechanism of a host cell.
spring curiosity world
Isn't it sad to go to your grave without ever wondering why you were born? Who, with such a thought, would not spring from bed, eager to resume discovering the world and rejoicing to be part of it?
simple blind-belief curiosity
The meme for blind faith secures its own perpetuation by the simple unconscious expedient of discouraging rational inquiry.
comforting would-be morphine
There are all sorts of things that would be comforting. I expect an injection of morphine would be comforting... But to say that something is comforting is not to say that it's true.
crime blasphemy
Blasphemy is a Victimless Crime.
pigs abortion adults
With respect to those meanings of 'human' that are relevant to the morality of abortion, any fetus is less human than an adult pig,
afterlife ideas loved-ones
The idea of an afterlife where you can be reunited with loved ones can be immensely consoling - though not to me.
death children parent
...it is a telling fact that, the world over, the vast majority of children follow the religion of their parents rather than any of the other available religions.
natural natural-selection selection
Natural selection is anything but random.