Richard Dawkins

From SkepticWiki

1 Definition
2 Discussion
3 Selected Quotes
- 3.1 Atheism
- 3.2 Skepticism
4 Major Works
5 External Links
6 Comments

[edit] Definition

Richard Dawkins is a British author and ethologist. He is particularly well known for his work The Selfish Gene. Dawkins is an atheist and a humanist.

[edit] Discussion

[edit] Selected Quotes

[edit] Atheism

"The meme for blind faith secures its own perpetuation by the simple unconscious expedient of discouraging rational inquiry."

"Most people, I believe, think that you need a God to explain the existence of the world, and especially the existence of life. They are wrong, but our education system is such that many people don't know it."

"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."

[edit] Skepticism

"It's been suggested that if the super-naturalists really had the powers they claim, they'd win the lottery every week. I prefer to point out that they could also win a Nobel Prize for discovering fundamental physical forces hitherto unknown to science."

"If you are in possession of this revolutionary secret of science, why not prove it and be hailed as the new Newton? Of course, we know the answer. You can't do it. You are a fake."