Dawkins' God

A fully updated new edition of a critically acclaimed examination of the theories and writings of Richard Dawkins by a world-renowned expert on the relation of science and religion Includes in-depth analysis of Dawkins’ landmark treatise The God Delusion (2006), as well as coverage of his later popular works The Magic of Reality (2011) and The Greatest Show on Earth (2011),and a new chapter on Dawkins as a popularizer of science Tackles Dawkins’ hostile and controversial views on religion, and examine the religious implications of his scientific ideas including a comprehensive investigation of the ‘selfish gene’ Written in an accessible and engaging style that will appeal to anyone interested in better understanding the interplay between science and religion

Acknowledgments ix Introduction 1 1 Darwinism: The Rise of a Scientific Theory 7 Natural Selection: Charles Darwin 9 The Mechanics of Inheritance: Gregor Mendel 18 The Discovery of the Gene: Thomas Hunt Morgan 21 The Role of DNA in Genetics 24 What’s in a Name? “Darwinism” or “Evolutionary Theory”? 26 2 The Selfish Gene: A Darwinian View of the World 32 Introducing Dawkins 33 Dawkins’ Approach: The Selfish Gene 38 The Place of Humanity in a Darwinian Universe 44 Are Genes Really Selfish? 47 What Remains of the “Selfish Gene” Approach? 51 3 Blind Faith?: Evidence, Proof, and Rationality in Science and Religion 57 Faith as Blind Trust? 60 Is Atheism Itself a Faith? 68 Is Christian Faith Irrational? 71 The Problem of Radical Theory Change in Science 77 The Limits of Science 80 Mystery, Insanity, and Nonsense 82 4 The Blind Watchmaker: Evolution and the Elimination of God? 86 The Contours of a Darwinian Worldview 86 Is Darwinism a Complete Explanation? 91 God as an Explanatory Hypothesis? 93 The Elimination of Purpose: Dawkins on Teleology in Nature 96 The Divine Watchmaker: Paley’s Grand (but Correctable) Mistake 98 Dynamic Conceptions of Creation: Augustine of Hippo 107 Natural Selection and Religious Beliefs: Darwin’s Views 111 The Christian Reaction to Darwin 116 5 Cultural Darwinism?: The Invention of the Meme 120 Universal Darwinism: The Evolution of Culture 120 Introducing the Meme 122 Introducing the “God-Meme” 125 Is Cultural Development Darwinian? 128 Do Memes Actually Exist? 131 The Flawed Analogy between Gene and Meme 133 The Redundancy of the Meme 136 God as a Virus of the Mind? 139 Moving On … 143 6 The God Delusion: Dawkins on Atheism, Science, and Religion 144 The Cultural Location of The God Delusion 145 The “Warfare” of Science and Religion 149 Natural Science Leads to Neither Atheism Nor Christianity 155 Science, Faith, and Evidence 157 A Darwinian Explanation of Belief in God? 162 Awe, Wonder, and Religion 166 Conclusion 170 Select Bibliography 173 Index 184