On the network expanses used meme "British scientists." On their behalf, statistics are published on the number of Chinese who can reach their noses with their tongues, or the results of studies on the influence of Saturn on the visual acuity of Australian cockatoo.
The surname of the author of the term “meme” is Dawkins. Richard is a prominent British evolutionary biologist, philosopher, writer, famous science popularizer and atheist. His affiliation with this type of scientific community is rightly questioned.
Childhood and youth
He was born March 26, 1941 in the capital of Kenya, Nairobi, and grew up in Nyasaland - British possession in South Africa. He recalls that at first he was no more interested in zoology and botany than in other sciences. An amateur biologist was his father, Colonial official Clinton John Dawkins. Richard and his younger sister were more interested in astronomy and the general structure of the human environment. The inquisitive boy was struck by the complexity of the universe, and for the time being, the explanation of him by the presence of the Creator’s intention suited him, because the Dawkins family was considered to be typically Anglican.
Dawkins was to be educated in England, where they moved in 1949. On the recommendation of his father, he entered the biological class of elementary school, and the goal was Oxford. It was in him that he really became interested in the science of wildlife. His teacher was an outstanding biologist, Nobel laureate Nikolaas Tinbergen (1907-1988). Under his leadership, graduate student Richard Dawkins began to study the science of animal behavior - ethology, where he achieved remarkable success. Including, he was one of the first to use a computer in his work, even having mastered programming skills for this.
Break with religion
A detailed acquaintance with evolutionary theory has become an important milestone in the life of a scientist. In it, he found the answer to the question about the causes of the diversity of nature, about the origin of the animal and human world, and its inextricable link. As Richard Dawkins later wrote, the books of the great Darwin seemed to him more significant in completeness and logic than those that were offered by supporters of divine providence.
Until now, he considers the greatest value of his first edition of “The Origin of Species through Natural Selection” by Charles Darwin with copyright inscriptions. He considers the great reformer in natural science to be one of his life and scientific idols, and he has made the struggle against opponents of the theory of evolution the most important goal of his educational work. Richard Dawkins, whose books provoke a fierce reaction from creationists, from his youth became a staunch atheist and a fighter against superstitions in modern society.
Loud start
The first book that immediately brought the scientist fame among experts and the general public was the Selfish Gene published in 1976. Richard Dawkins proclaimed in this work the vitality of Darwinian ideas of evolution. It complements and develops them with achievements from the most progressive areas of biology - genetics and ethology. With a name that is slightly provocative, the author also emphasized the role of the gene as the main object of evolution, and not of the individual or the entire population. The radicality of the new vision was that organisms seemed only a vehicle for genes seeking to preserve themselves in new generations.
He takes evolutionary theory further beyond genetics. It introduces the concept of the behavioral equivalent of a gene called a meme. The book “The Selfish Gene” by Richard Dawkins drew the attention of scientists to the problems of cultural evolution in different areas of wildlife. The object of a new science - memetics - he proposed to consider categories that are not related to pure zoology or botany. It can be ideas, technologies, new trends in fashion and culture. The example given in the book concerned song motifs passed down from generation to generation by some species of songbirds.
The development of ideas in a new book
Time has confirmed the great importance of the first book of Dawkins. The ideas set forth by beautiful prose looked clear and significant, although they aroused fierce debate, sometimes of a political nature. Dawkins was turned into an apologist for selfishness, denying the importance of any social organizations. He tried to clarify his position in more detail in the work "Advanced Phenotype" (1982), which was more scientific in nature.
The main idea was that the traits inherent in a particular species and subject to evolutionary changes do not have clear boundaries that coincide with the outer shell of organisms. They apply to everything related to life. So, beavers can have their dams, affecting the area of several hectares, and spacecraft created by man can cross the borders of our Galaxy.
The struggle for the freedom of science
Back in the sixties, Dawkins showed social activity, participating in anti-war actions. In the eighties, he felt a threat to his freedom as an evolutionary scientist and a restriction on the access of a new generation to progressive scientific knowledge. Creationists received government support, and the teaching of Darwinian theory met with serious obstacles in the most "enlightened" countries. "Rottweiler of Darwin" - this is the nickname Richard Dawkins received for his activity. “The Blind Watchmaker” was the name of the book and its television version, released in 1987. In them, the scientist expressed his attitude to the supporters of the Intelligent Design.
Critics of evolution said that the complexity of nature is explained only by the activities of the Creator, and the origin of man through the gradual transformation of primitive organisms is just as impossible as the emergence of a complex mechanism without a well-thought-out project. Dawkins tirelessly argued that only natural selection could lead to the emergence of complex organisms with unique properties.
Richard Dawkins, whose “Blind Watchmaker” has been awarded numerous awards and prizes, has become the recognized leader of militant atheism. The next book, devoted to the issues of the interaction of religion and society, became the best-selling and provoked outright hatred towards him from adherents of different faiths and faiths.
On screen and on book pages
Very quickly, Dawkins became a recognizable media character in England, Europe and the USA. His erudition, the skill of the narrator and polemicist made him a welcome guest of enlightening and educational television channels. A series of television lectures for children and adolescents on the BBB-4 channel, on the basis of which the book "Climbing the Incredible Peak" (1996) was written, remains relevant today. In them, he talks about the origin of life, about evolutionary theory, about the role of Darwin in the formation of modern science, about the failure of the "hypothesis of God."
The tremendous significance of his books is not in dispute. Biologists from different countries agree that in many fields of science related to natural science, one of the most influential scientists of our time is Richard Dawkins. “The Story of the Ancestor” (2004), “The Greatest Show on Earth” (2009), “The Magic of Reality” (2011) are only the latest in time. In them, the evolution of wildlife is a fascinating and majestic process, the admiration of which Dawkins conveys with amazing skill.
“I am a scientist, not a philosopher”
Take everything critical and seek evidence without relying on faith — this is what Richard Dawkins calls for. “God as an Illusion” (2006) is a book expressing this appeal particularly clearly. It contained many other arguments against creationists, against the negative manifestations of religious fundamentalism:
- The comforting role of religion, its educational value was recognized even by some atheists, and underestimation of this was blamed on Dawkins. And he argued that you can be a happy, emotionally and morally full-fledged person without submission to a higher power.
- Evolutionary theory and the teachings based on it describe this world more fully and more accurately. They make it possible to especially admire its beauty and diversity, which appeared not by a single will, but during a gradual and most interesting process.
- It is impossible to subordinate a person’s way of thinking and behavior to dogmas, proceeding only from the place of his birth and the environment where he is brought up. The concepts of a Muslim child or a Protestant child cannot but be absurd, just like a Marxist child or a Nietzschean child.
- Religious teachings are a source of intransigence and aggression, especially dangerous now. Instead of counteracting them, concessions and concessions to fundamentalists and fanatics are imposed.
Caring for the future of the planet
Books and programs for children are an important part of educational work. led by Richard Dawkins. “God as an illusion” is a book and a television film, especially indicative of the scientist’s concern about the future of science and the planet as a whole. The state openly supports the opening of Christian and Muslim schools and universities in the 21st century, and everything related to the Darwinian theory of the origin of life is removed from the curriculum.
The lack of a habit of thinking freely, without outside influence, blind faith in truths invented by someone and once - this is what the scientist sees as a danger to the emerging personality. Independence and freedom, independence in the discovery of new heights, the ability to appreciate the appearance of the Earth as a rare success, the desire for a joyful perception of life - this is the main thing that a child should take with him into adulthood.
Intellectual property
His name is given to the small asteroid planet number 8331 in far space and the genus of freshwater fish from the cyprinids that live in South India and Sri Lanka. He is the winner of hundreds of prestigious prizes and awards. Influential publications - Prospect, Time, The Daily Telegraph add his name to the lists of the most prominent thinkers of our time.
The person whose email is filled with letters with obscene insults and threats of scary cars in the present and afterlife is Richard Dawkins. “Religion destroys everything”, “Enemies of the mind” - those who believe in a higher mind are not ready to forgive him even the names of publications.
He writes books, makes films, himself acts in films and cartoons, participates in shows and rock concerts. He lives in full accordance with the phrase from the posters that pasted the London buses as part of a campaign conducted with the participation of Dawkins: “In all probability, there is no god. Stop worrying, enjoy life. ”