Questions tagged [dawkins]

Richard Dawkins is an English ethologist, evolutionary biologist and author, and is well known for his criticism of creationism and intelligent design.

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Is Dawkins right to reject the idea that we should respect all opinions?

Richard Dawkins once said: “There is an attitude in the culture that says that everybody is entitled to their opinion. You got to respect their opinion. No, you damn well haven’t got to respect their ...
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Isn't there a very obvious flaw in the Ultimate Boeing 747 gambit?

I have read the Wikipedia article on the Ultimate Boeing 747 gambit, first published by Richard Dawkins, and it seems to me that there is a very obvious problem with the argument that isn't mentioned ...
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Dawkins on God: What are the strongest counters to his argument?

But the candidate solutions to the riddle of improbability are not, as is falsely implied, design and chance. They are design and natural selection. Chance is not a solution, given the high levels of ...
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Causality, Universal and Particulars, Evolution, and Theology

In a Socratic dialogue I wrote published in issue 122 of "Philosophy Now", I have Socrates conversing with a scientist (Moe), on a park bench. Socrates has come down from the clouds to take ...
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Can you be omnipotent and still change your mind?

Have been reading discussions about omnipotence and omniscience and got lost in the arguments. To me it seems there is no consistent definition of omniscience or omnipotence. But one thing struck me. ...
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Is reductionism in conflict with our sense of awe and wonder?

To accuse science of robbing life of the warmth that makes it worth living is so preposterously mistaken, so diametrically opposite to my own feelings and those of most working scientists, I am almost ...
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Dawkins' gene-centered view on personal identity

Looking at the following quote by Richard Dawkins: We are going to die, and that makes us the lucky ones. Most people are never going to die because they are never going to be born. The potential ...
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What point is Richard Dawkins trying to make here? Is it a fallacy?

Richard Dawkins said It is often said, mainly by the 'no-contests', that although there is no positive evidence for the existence of God, nor is there evidence against his existence. So it is best ...
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Hierarchical Reductionism vs Emergentism [closed]

How does Hierarchical Reductionism (as coined by Richard Dawkins) differ from Emergentism exactly? Edit: Dawkins' definition of hierarchical reductionism: https://books.google.fr/books?id=-...
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What would Dawkins say about other minds?

If asked questions about other minds, how would/does he respond, and does/would he nest his response in physical science and reductionist/determinist models? Does he say that their existence is easily ...
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What does Dawkins suggest is the main flaw in these three arguments from Aquinas?

Source: p 100-101, The God Delusion, By Richard Dawkins 1. The Unmoved Mover. Nothing moves without a prior mover. This leads us to an infinite regress, from which the only escape is God. ...
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Is for God (or religion) meme to survive it is bound to turn evil?

I am somewhat sceptical about Dawkins memes (see 'The Selfish Gene'). But let's consider for the sake of argument that he is right. Now considering all the wars and other suffering caused by 'our ...
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Is Dawkins arguing that a cause must be greater than its effect?

On the one hand, Dawkins is a rather vocal exponent of evolution. Evolution, to me, appears to hold that greater complexity can arise form lesser complexity (unless we want to argue that the causes ...
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Are omniscience and omnipotence mutually inconsistent?

I see this in The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins: If God is omniscient, he must already know how he is going to intervene to change the course of history using his omnipotence. But that means ...
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Is there any rigorous philosophical basis for atheism?

Definition/Update In what follows I use the term God to refer to an entity that has at least one of the following properties: Has created the universe Is omnipotent Is omniscient Approaches to ...
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