The disenchanted rainbow

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The disenchanted rainbow: Science, superstition and the power of the imagination is a nonfiction book by the English evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins , who teaches at Oxford University , and was published in 1998 in the original English under the title Unweaving the Rainbow and in 2002 in German . Dawkins discusses the relationship between science and art from the perspective of the scientist in his book .

content

Dawkins is aimed at a wide audience and tries to convey his fascination with science . He advocates the thesis that science is by no means boring and monotonous, but rather oozes strength, wit and spirit. The title of the book refers to the accusation of the romantic poet John Keats that Isaac Newton disenchanted the rainbow with the physical explanation of it . Dawkins, on the other hand, advocates the thesis that a scientific explanation does not diminish the world in terms of beauty, but rather adds new dimensions in terms of beauty and elegance. At the same time, Dawkins opposes any form of pseudoscience and superstition such as astrology , which he regards as being in direct contrast to science.

Reviews

“ The disenchanted rainbow is the product of a beguiling and fascinating thought. Dawkins tries to share his excellently informed enthusiasm with all readers. "

- Melvyn Bragg in The Observer

“Dawkins may be right that our need for miracles is much better satisfied by real science than by all the paranormal chatter. But it is also not an easy task to ensure that the real science we revere really deserves our appreciation. "

- Robert Proctor in American Scientist

expenditure

  • Richard Dawkins: The Disenchanted Rainbow : Science, Superstition and the Power of Imagination (Original title: Unweaving the Rainbow . Science, Delusion and the Appetite for Wonder. Houghton & Mifflin, Boston, MA 1998, ISBN 0-395-88382-2 , translated by Sebastian Vogel ). In: rororo science . rororo 61337 , Reinbek near Hamburg 2002, ISBN 3-499-61337-9 .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Melvyn Bragg: There is poetry in science. It's just that most poets are deaf to its rhythm. In: guardian.co.uk. October 18, 1998, accessed May 2, 2015 .
  2. ^ Robert Proctor: Dawkins' Rainbow Reduces Science to Truth, Beauty - and Fantasy. In: americanscientist.org. Accessed May 2, 2015 .