A Devil's Chaplain

by Dawkins, Richard

• ISBN13: 9780618335404
• ISBN10: 0618335404
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-09-29
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Summary

One of the most renowned evolutionary biologists at work today, Richard Dawkins has written passionately for years on subjects that matter deeply to him - and matter urgently to all of us. A Devil's Chaplain brings together the best and most provocative of his essays, on subjects ranging from evolution to ethics, from travel to literature, from education to religion. The result is an intriguing portrait of one of the finest minds in science. With eloquence and vigor, these essays put forward Dawkins's most fundamental axiom: seek truth. He speaks out against pseudoscience and deftly dissects religion and mysticism. In a powerful letter to his ten-year-old daughter, he argues for the necessity of basing any belief on solid evidence. And he doesn't shy away from skewering the loftiest institutions, whether judicial or educational. "To hell with . . . your fact-stuffed syllabuses and your endless roster of exams," he proclaims with refreshing directness. He writes infectiously of his awe at the marvelous complexity of the universe, pays moving tribute to dear friends and worthy colleagues, and tenderly recalls his boyhood in Africa. Uncompromising, even ruthless as Dawkins famously is when defending scientific truth and reason, this collection also shows a gentler, more contemplative side which may surprise his many readers. Here we meet the essential Richard Dawkins: inspirational in both his unswerving attention to rationalism and his abiding passions.

Author Biography

Richard Dawkins taught zoology at the University of California at Berkeley and at Oxford University and is now the Charles Simonyi Professor of the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford, a position he has held since 1995. Among his previous books are The Ancestor’s Tale, The Selfish Gene, The Blind Watchmaker, Climbing Mount Improbable, Unweaving the Rainbow, and A Devil’s Chaplain. Dawkins lives in Oxford with his wife, the actress and artist Lalla Ward.

Table of Contents

Introduction to the American Edition	1	(4)
1 Science and Sensibility	5	(56)
1.1 A Devil's Chaplain	8	(6)
1.2 What is True?	14	(6)
1.3 Gaps in the Mind	20	(7)
1.4 Science, Genetics and Ethics: Memo for Tony Blair	27	(11)
1.5 Trial By Jury	38	(4)
1.6 Crystalline Truth and Crystal Balls	42	(5)
1.7 Postmodernism Disrobed	47	(7)
1.8 The Joy of Living Dangerously: Sanderson of Oundle	54	(7)
2 Light Will Be Thrown	61	(56)
2.1 Light Will Be Thrown	63	(15)
2.2 Darwin Triumphant	78	(13)
2.3 The 'Information Challenge'	91	(13)
2.4 Genes Aren't Us	104	(3)
2.5 Son of Moore's Law	107	(10)
3 The Infected Mind	117	(46)
3.1 Chinese Junk and Chinese Whispers	119	(9)
3.2 Viruses of the Mind	128	(18)
3.3 The Great Convergence	146	(6)
3.4 Dolly and the Cloth Heads	152	(4)
3.5 Time to Stand Up	156	(7)
4 They Told Me, Heraclitus	163	(24)
4.1 Lament for Douglas	165	(3)
4.2 Eulogy for Douglas Adams	168	(3)
4.3 Eulogy for W. D. Hamilton	171	(8)
4.4 Snake Oil	179	(8)
5 Even the Ranks of Tuscany	187	(36)
5.1 Rejoicing in Multifarious Nature	190	(4)
5.2 The Art of the Developable	194	(9)
5.3 Hallucigenia, Wiwaxia and Friends	203	(3)
5.4 Human Chauvinism and Evolutionary Progress	206	(12)
5.5 Unfinished Correspondence with a Darwinian Heavyweight	218	(5)
6 There is All Africa and her Prodigies in Us	223	(18)
6.1 Ecology of Genes	225	(3)
6.2 Out of the Soul of Africa	228	(3)
6.3 I Speak of Africa and Golden Joys	231	(3)
6.4 Heroes and Ancestors	234	(7)
7 A Prayer for My Daughter	241	(8)
7.1 Good and Bad Reasons for Believing	242	(7)
Endnotes	249	(7)
Index	256

Excerpts

AUTHOR'S NOTE This book constitutes a personal selection, made by the Editor Latha Menon, from among all the articles and lectures, reflections and polemics, book reviews and forewords, tributes and eulogies that I have published (or in a few cases not previously published) over 25 years. There are many themes here, some arising out of Darwinism or science in general, some concerned with morality, some with religion, education, justice, history of science, some just plain personal. Though I admit to occasional flames of (entirely justified) irritation in my writing, I like to think that the greater part of it is good-humoured, perhaps even humorous. Where there is passion, well, there is much to be passionate about. Where there is anger, I hope it is a controlled anger. Where there is sadness, I hope it never spills over into despair but still looks to the future. But mostly science is, for me, a source of living joy, and I hope it comes through in these pages. My contribution to the book itself has been to write the preambles to each of the seven sections, reflecting on the essays Latha has chosen and the connections between them. Hers was the difficult task, and I am filled with admiration for the patience with which she read through vastly more of my writings than are here reproduced, and for the skill with which she achieved a subtler balance of them than I thought they possessed. Her own Introduction gives the reasoning behind her choice, and behind her sorting of the essays into seven sections with a carefully crafted running-order within each section. But as for what she had to choose from, the responsibility is, of course, mine. It is not possible to list all the people who helped with the individual pieces, spread as they are over 25 years. Help with the book itself came from Yan Wong, Christine DeBlase-Ballstadt, Anthony Cheetham, Michael Dover, Laura van Dam and Catherine Bradley. My gratitude to Charles Simonyi is unabated. And my wife Lalla Ward continues to lend her encouragement, her advice and her fine-tuned ear for the music of language. -Richard Dawkins EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION It took quite a while for me to get round to reading The Selfish Gene. My love had been for the elegance, the philosophical profundity, the exquisite simplicity of the world as revealed by physics. Chemistry seemed messy, and as for biology well, my brief acquaintance with it from school had suggested a dry field, full of dull collections of facts, much learning by rote, and little in the way of organizational principles. How wrong I was. Like many, I had thought I understood evolution, but it was through the books of Richard Dawkins in particular that I was introduced to the astonishing depth and grandeur of Darwin's (and Wallace's) idea, to its astounding explanatory power and its profound implications for ourselves and our view of the world. The narrow domestic walls that habit, tradition and prejudice had erected between the fields of science in my mind fell away. I was delighted, therefore, to be able to repay the debt in some small measure when I was asked by the publishers to put together this collection of Richard's writings. Richard is an academic scientist, but this volume does not include his academic papers. Instead it brings together a number of his shorter articles and columns intended for a wider audience. The task was not an easy one. The composing of this volume has involved some difficult choices and has sadly entailed leaving behind much which must await a future collection. In selecting the pieces included here, I have sought to reflect the range of Richard's interests and concerns, and something of his life too; indeed, almost inevitably