A Devil's Chaplain

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A Devil's Chaplain: Reflections on Hope, Lies, Science, and Love is a collection of essays and lectures by the British evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins published by Houghton Mifflin in 2003 . In the book, Dawkins deals with topics such as pseudoscience , religion , Darwinism , creationism and memetics . The title refers to a letter written by Charles Darwin in 1856 in which he writes:

"What a book the devil's chaplain could write about the clumsy, wasteful, flawed, vile and cruel works of nature!"

- Charles Darwin

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Science and Sensibility

Dawkins makes it clear that the truthfulness of Darwinism does not depend on the consequences it has for human ethics . He also sees no contradiction between the acceptance of Darwinism on the one hand and the simultaneous strict rejection of social Darwinism on the other. He also criticizes relativism and speciesism, and in this context calls for human rights to be extended to apes .

In an essay for the former British Prime Minister Tony Blair , Dawkins expects him to have a better understanding of topics such as the human genome project , genetic fingerprints and homeopathy .

He also reports on his experiences as a jury member in a jury , which made him doubt the effectiveness of this system.

Finally, Dawkins strongly criticizes postmodern philosophy . For example, certain humanities scholars , whose field is rather simple compared to the natural sciences , use completely meaningless and meaningless statements in order to appear as profound as possible.

He also criticizes an education system that is only performance-oriented and neglects the "joy of true education".

Light Will Be Thrown

Some aspects of the theory of evolution are dealt with here, in particular human ancestry . Dawkins wants to convey to the reader that this theory is a scientific fact. The chapter also contains articles on Lamarckism and creationism.

Dawkins discusses the relationship between genetics and sexual orientation . He is very skeptical of the idea that a certain gene is the cause of a person's homosexuality.

In another essay he considers the extent to which Moore's law can be applied to genetics .

The Infected Mind

The chapter begins with a foreword by Dawkins to Susan Blackmore's book The Meme Machine (1999), which deals with the meme theory. In the next section, the memes are compared to viruses that invade the mind. One such virus is religion. Dawkins explains why science is n't a virus. For him science and religion are fundamentally incompatible. In addition, Dawkins has no understanding when people are shown excessive respect because of their religiosity. The following section was written shortly after the September 11, 2001 attacks . Dawkins blames religions for the vast majority of hostilities on earth, so he believes that they can no longer be tacitly tolerated.

They told me, Heraclitus

In addition to funeral speeches for the biologist William D. Hamilton and the writer Douglas Adams , this chapter contains the foreword to the book Snake Oil and Other Preoccupations (2001) by the British journalist and skeptic John Diamond . There Dawkins is primarily directed against alternative medicine .

Even the Ranks of Tuscany

This section contains reviews of several books by American paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould , as well as an exchange of letters between Gould and Dawkins. The aim of this discussion is to persuade scientists to stop engaging in arguments with creationists.

There Is All Africa and Her Prodigies in Us

After compiling various forewords from books on Africa , Dawkins tells of a trip to Africa. He feels connected to this continent in a special way, as he was born there and mankind also originated there.

A Prayer for My Daughter

How do you decide what to believe in and what not to believe in? Dawkins believes that information can be trusted if it is based on evidence. If, on the other hand, a belief has its roots exclusively in tradition , authority or revelation , he rejects it.

book

  • Richard Dawkins: A Devil's Chaplain: Reflections on Hope, Lies, Science, and Love . Houghton Mifflin 2003, ISBN 0-618-33540-4

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ In the original: "What a book a Devil's chaplain might write on the clumsy, wasteful, blundering low & horridly cruel works of nature!"; darwinproject.ac.uk