Richard Dawkins Interviews and Comments

Dec 8, 2006 by Gnorb.

Topic(s): Theology and Philosophy, Videos.

As if on queue, last night I happened accross a copy of The God Delusion by evolutionary biologist and outspoken critic of religion Richard Dawkins. Having first heard of him during some conversations at BetterHumans, and having first heard him speak at the TED conference, I have since then began to grow curious regarding this man’s work. Regardless of whether I agree with him or not is inconsequential to the fact that his arguments are exceedingly well thought out, and should be considered by any serious thinkers.

In any case what follows is a BBC profile of Dr. Dawkins and an interview by Stephen Colbert. Enjoy.

BBC Profile: Richard Dawkins, parts 1, 2, and 3

Stephen Colbert Interviews Dawkins

Read the Previous Article: What Would an Atheist Die For?
Read the Next Article: The Spirit of Giving (or The Best Intentions Are Often Subject to Old Habits)

4 Comments, Leave a Comment or Ping

Junior

I’ll be honest. I only watched the steven colbert one, so i have a few questions.
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Is Dawkins trying to establish that there is definitly no god, or that there just might not be a god and that everything we think is gods work is just the workings of something else.
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Also…if he believes there is no god, does he give proof there is no god? Can he? Isnt it the same lack fo proof of the existance of god that makes him question gods existance?
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And finally….What do you think Richard Dawkins would give his life for? Maybe to prove his point?

Dec 12th, 2006
Gnorb

You may want to watch the others, given the kinds of questions you have. There is also a fair amount of YouTube video available where he reads large passages of The God Delusion. Examples:
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xe7yf9GJUfU
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyKqhvF-6tI
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Regarding God, Dawkins is trying to establish that the existence of God is very very unlikely (and yes, he is an atheist). Furthermore, he attempts to establish that unquestioned faith is a very dangerious thing, and should be refuted. He even goes so far as saying that indoctrinating kids into a certain faith is a form of child abuse, since it is convincing kids against their wills to believe something which in all likelyhood isn’t true.
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To paraphrase him regarding proof of there being no God, the inability to disprove something does not in anyway make it so. You can’t disprove God anymore than you can disprove that the Flying Spaghetti Monster created the universe, or that Thor or Zeus exist. (As he puts it, most people are atheist about Thor and Zeus. Dawkins just takes it one god further.) Arguing that somehting exists because it cannot be disproven is stupid, since you can’t really disprove anything.
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As for what he would give his life for, I’m guessing his kids are one, but you’d have to ask him, since in the end it is his life he’s giving up.

Dec 12th, 2006
Junior

You mean i cant make other people give up thier lives for my own reasons anymore?

*sigh* where is the fun in that!?

Dec 15th, 2006
Gnorb

Sure you can. Just convice them that your reasons are really their reasons. Politicians do it all the time.

Dec 15th, 2006

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