The magic of reality

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Magic of Reality: The Fascinating Truth Behind Nature's Riddles is a non-fiction book by the British evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins published in German by Ullstein Verlag in 2012 . It was published in the English original under the title The Magic of Reality: How We Know What's Really True in 2011 by Bantam Press. In his work, illustrated by Dave McKean , Dawkins deals with how people explained processes in their environment with myths and what science can contribute to the explanation. According to his own statement, his book is aimed at readers aged 12 and over.

content

Sketch of an evolutionary family tree by Charles Darwin , as it is used as an illustration in the book:
To make the emergence of new species clear, Dawkins compares them with the development of European languages ​​from an Indo-European original language .

Dawkins begins in the first chapter by defining the terms of the book title. According to this, reality is everything that we can experience with our five senses - possibly supported by instruments. He considers emotions to be just as real , as these are inseparably linked to the existence of brains, which in turn are real structures. He uses the magic in the sense of “something deeply moving or exhilarating”, whereby one feels “deeply touched”. At the same time he explains why he considers the magic in its magical meaning to be useless as an explanation for reality: A characteristic of magic is it to create things from nothing or to transform them suddenly. Using the example of evolution , he wants to show that complex shapes always result from gradual processes and do not arise suddenly or by chance.

In the following, Dawkins deals with a number of questions and tries to answer them with verifiable scientific knowledge from various fields. Most of his explanations are preceded by various myths from human history that also deal with the subject of the questions. Each question opens a new chapter. In detail these are:

  • Who was the first person?
  • Why are there so many species of animals?
  • What are things made of?
  • Why is there day and night, summer and winter?
  • What is the sun
  • What is a rainbow
  • When and how did it all start?
  • Are we alone?
  • What is an earthquake?
  • Why do bad things happen?
  • What is a miracle

The myths presented in the book include, for example, Aboriginal dreamtime myths, the Gilgamesh epic , African creation myths, the biblical stories of Adam and Eve , the Tower of Babel or Noah's Ark . It also covers outdated medical practices, such as bloodletting based on humoral pathology , as well as modern myths that Dawkins believed include alien abductions . The fact that Dawkins did not find the appropriate ancient myths to answer every question is explained by the fact that in the past certain areas were beyond human observation and therefore they did not need an explanation. This applies in particular to the microcosm and in the macrocosm the question of extraterrestrial life .

The topics that Dawkins uses to answer the questions scientifically include: human development in the course of evolution, geographical isolation , atomic models , gravitation , development of stars , big bang , light spectrum , Doppler effect , exoplanets and continental drift . Dawkins answers the question about the bad things in the world by saying that the universe is without feelings and does not care about our sensitivities. Whether an event is good or bad for us has no bearing on the probability of that event.

Finally, it is about miracles in the sense of supernatural occurrences. For Dawkins, these are stories that are distributed on the silent post principle ; about coincidences that are only passed on because they are extraordinary; or simply charlatanism . In dealing with such stories he agrees with David Hume's recommendations that all possible alternatives should be weighed against one another; for example, whether it is more likely that the witness is mistaken or that the miraculous story is true.

Myths, sorcery, and miracles, according to Dawkins, cannot explain anything. He describes the reference to the supernatural as "lazy and dishonest":

"When you say that something strange must be 'supernatural', you are not only saying that you do not understand it at the moment, but you are also giving up and saying that it can never be understood."

- p. 261

In contrast, science possesses the magic of reality .

Reviews

Michael Lange from Deutschlandradio Kultur is of the opinion that the "wonderfully varied illustrated book for young people" lacks the "biting polemics" from Dawkins' work Der Gotteswahn , but that he "cannot resist one or the other mocking remark about the myths". "Almost as if he lacked respect for the convictions of our ancestors, which are still effective today." The book is nevertheless "thoroughly recommended" and offers the opportunity to "dust off old school knowledge."

Even Frank Patalong by Spiegel Online , the work describes as "entertaining and educational." However, it does not quite live up to its claim, as it would overwhelm readers without knowledge of scientific principles. Instead, it “tends to open up to an audience with inexperienced basic knowledge.” But this is not a bad thing; there are "enormously strong passages, for example [about] the often misunderstood mechanisms of evolution". Patalong calls this "education in the best sense."

Andy Coghlan praises in New Scientist Dawkins' writing style and presentation of the book, especially McKean illustrations. The tone is softer than usual for Dawkins, but he continues to reject religious declarations uncompromisingly. The work is partly provocative, which is especially true for the last two chapters. In Coghlan's view, the book lacks a chapter entitled "Why Do People Do Bad Things to Each Other?" As this question played a key role in the development of religions. Nevertheless, the book is "a triumph" and would "undoubtedly become a bestseller."

Colin Tudge accuses Dawkins in the Independent of advocating his nineteenth-century materialism with the same zeal that creationists do . Dawkins condemns the ideological indoctrination of religions in children, but would do just that with the book. He also criticizes Dawkins' claim that feelings only arise from our brain, as this is just one of several different points of view. He describes Dawkins as an "unimproved logical positivist " who adheres to an outdated philosophy that says that anything that is intangible and mathematically measurable is meaningless. Furthermore, religion is not dependent on myths and miracles, since these can only be understood as images. He agrees with Dawkins that science has its own magic; therefore, the revelations of science would not contradict religion.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Interview with Richard Dawkins on BBC Two Newsnight, September 13, 2011, recorded on YouTube
  2. ↑ Time travel to the ancestors of man. In: dradio.de. November 6, 2012, accessed May 2, 2015 .
  3. ↑ Frank Patalong: Book tip: The magic of reality. In: Spiegel Online . December 20, 2012, accessed May 2, 2015 .
  4. ↑ Andy Coghlan: CultureLab: Bringing Dawkins home to the kids. In: newscientist.com. September 19, 2011, accessed May 2, 2015 .
  5. ^ Colin Tudge: The Magic of Reality by Richard Dawkins (illustrated by Dave McKean). In: independent.co.uk. September 23, 2011, accessed May 2, 2015 .