Evolution/Creationism Debate
robin
much in his rhetorical defense into excessive passion, how can his
opponents debunk everything that Dawkins has brought to light.
I do not think Dawkins is as closed minded as some of his intellectual
enemies (who may at times be closed minded themselves) seem to imply,
occasionally outright accuse him of.
Dawkins, professing himself to be not only a Darwinian but an atheist
as well, astutely observed:
"When we die we can leave behind us only two things, genes and memes.
... Our genes may be immortal but the collection of genes that is any
of us is bound to crumble away."
"But if you contribute to the world's culture, if you have a good idea,
compose a tune, invent a sparking plug, write a poem, it may live on,
intact, long after your genes have dissolved in the common pool."
And Dawkins offers these examples: "The meme-complexes of Socrates,
Leonardo, Copernicus and Marconi are still going strong." [The Selfish
Gene, p199]
And yet Dawkins noted that the most potent meme of all times, in terms
of its spread and survivability, is the God-meme. Belief in God is
prevalent in every clime and every time.
As humans, we honor those who contribute to human culture, and so
"light the way" for future generations of the human species. Darwin is
said to have contributed much to human knowledge. The human species, in
some ways unique among the species of animal life on this planet, is
joined to past knowledge through the phenomenon of an enduring culture.
Knowledge itself is power, said the ancient sages. ipsa scientia
potestas est.
Richard Dawkins suggests we should ask why it is that certain cultural
innovations survive, proliferate, and (in some sense) triumph among so
many innovations that died out, sinking into oblivion. Dawkins coined
the word memes, which he used to represent within culture inheritance
(the pool of human knowledge) what genes are within the pool of
biological inheritance.
If the God meme is the most successful meme of all time, others must
have noticed as well.
Charles Darwin thought that the belief in ONE god who rewarded good and
punished evil was only found in the higher humanids. But that the
belief in spiritual agency, in ghostly or spirit phenomena, THAT is
universal (Descent).
Edward O. Wilson said: The predisposition to religious belief is the
most complex and powerful force in the human mind and in all
probability an ineradicable part of human nature. (On human nature)
Ivar Lissner said: All the civilizations of mankind that have existed
have been rooted in religion and a quest for God. (Man, God and Magic)
Edward O. Wilson also wrote: Religious belief is one of the universals
of human behavior, taking recognizable form in every society from
hunter gatherer bands to socialist republics. Its rudiments go back, at
least, to the bone altars and funerary rites of Neanderthal man.
(quoted by Matthew Alper)
Herbert Benson (physician) wrote: There is not a civilization known to
us that did not have faith in God or Gods. (quoted by Matthew Alper)
Man's sickness -- is there a cure?