My Pal Richard Dawkins

The New York Times ran a profile of evolutionary biologist and uber-atheist Richard Dawkins in this morning's Science Times section. Prof. Dawkins, an Oxford don, knows a lot about biology and is a brilliant scientist, but knows squat about religion; his rants against God show an understanding of religion and theology that are as simplistic (and, dare I say, simple-minded) as the approach to science shown by a number of religious and political figures on the right.

None of this is news, really. But it is puzzling. Why does somebody like Dawkins abandon any sense of intellectual nuance when discussing something of which he disapproves? Surely he can do better than his standard "religion is the source of all evil" schtick (especially since it was religion, of the Roman Catholic variety to be exact, that invented the enterprise of which he is currently a part).

Today's story makes me wish there were compelling religious figures who could command the same level of press and respect (although I'd like it to be warranted) when discussing topics beyond their area of expertise. You know, a Martin Luther King or Bishop Tutu. Just sayin' ...

Comments

  1. J.WingateSeptember 20, 2011 at 12:13 PM

    Another great post, Steve. There are several pieces of the New York Times profile that I found puzzling as well.

    Dawkins' latent efforts to project that the study of theology is not worthy of his mental energy is inconsistent with his actions. There are many instances in the press, not to mention, the authorship of his book titled, "The God Delusion," where this seems contradictory to what he claims in this profile.

    If we water down his public actions and get down to the proverbial "brass tacks," Dawkins is suggesting that those believers and faithful types are, perhaps, intellectually deprived. As a result, he plans to write a children's book? Open a school and call it the "Think for Yourself Academy"? What?

    His fervor and seemingly passive-aggressive public actions that focus on dismantling the belief systems of others suggests that he spends probably much more time on "matters of faith" than he would be willing to admit. In essence, and in accordance with other "angry athiests" or "fallen intellectuals," humanists like Dawkins (perhaps unknowingly) seek to establish a similar mindset en masse. They seek to electrify, edify, and unify a group of persons with a shared belief system; the core of this system wrought with disbelief and an inability to rationalize what is unknown.

    Many, like Dawkins, who repudiate faith and claim that "religion is the root of all evil," are oblivious to the fact that they are creating a "religion" or shared belief system themselves. One of the varying roots of "religion" is "religare" meaning to "bind together." Could he negate the fact that in publicly orchestrating individuals to join together in disbelief is a religion in itself?

    I do not advocate for not examining one's beliefs, but I take issue with those that do so pugnaciously in a hope to discredit the beliefs of others.

    My question for Dawkins would be: Does your supposition regarding the existence of God comfort you in times of weakness? And for those that espouse a similar mindset: "why are you arguing with one another about not having bread?"

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  2. Steve SilverSeptember 21, 2011 at 9:38 AM

    Jesse - These are all excellent points. It is interesting that Dawkins isn't satisfied with promoting his own views; he seems driven to crush those of others. I always wonder about those who can only validate their own positions through the negation of other perspectives.

    One thing that intrigues me about Dawkins is the passion he brings to his critique. He, like the author Philip Pullman, protests with such vehemence, that I suspect there's a more conflicted relationship with religion and God than he'd like to admit.

    ReplyDelete
  3. J.WingateSeptember 21, 2011 at 10:32 AM

    Steve,

    I agree 100%. I often wonder about these folks. They ask many questions, yet render themselves incapable or unwilling to surrender their worldly understandings of matters far beyond their experiences.

    I recently read a chapter that a friend had written and in it he mentions a phenomenon Gregory of Nyssa called "epektasis." I am not familiar with Ancient Greek, yet it was defined by this friend as being a "straining forward" experience towards something much greater than an experience on earth. I sometimes get the sense the folks who lash out against God and religion are allowing this phenomenon to manifest itself in public denial; an unwillingness to accept that there is something greater than their life here on earth, perhaps because it is inexplicable, unfamiliar, unclear, and/or mystical.

    I believe that many of those vocal atheists (Richard Dawkins, Philip Pullman, Christopher Hitchens, Bill Maher) are spiritual seekers and experience the aforementioned phenomenon, yet lack the willingness and/or humility to surrender to something far beyond their a priori notions of human experience.

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