“We humans are an extremely important manifestation of the replication bomb, because it is through us - through our brains, our symbolic culture and our technology - that the explosion may proceed to the next stage and reverberate through deep space.”
Technology
“One of the things that is wrong with religion is that it teaches us to be satisfied with answers which are not really answers at all.”
ReligionAll Quotes by Richard Dawkins
“We are all atheists about most of the gods that societies have ever believed in. Some of us just go one god further.”
God“At least the fundamentalists haven't tried to dilute their message. Their faith is exposed for what it is for all to see.”
Faith“I'm not one of those who wants to purge our society of our Christian history.”
History“I am against religion because it teaches us to be satisfied with not understanding the world.”
Religion“If children understand that beliefs should be substantiated with evidence, as opposed to tradition, authority, revelation or faith, they will automatically work out for themselves that they are atheists.”
Faith“Evolution never looks to the future.”
Future“A universe with a God would look quite different from a universe without one. A physics, a biology where there is a God is bound to look different. So the most basic claims of religion are scientific. Religion is a scientific theory.”
God“One of the things that is wrong with religion is that it teaches us to be satisfied with answers which are not really answers at all.”
Religion“Design can never be an ultimate explanation for anything. It can only be a proximate explanation. A plane or a car is explained by a designer but that's because the designer himself, the engineer, is explained by natural selection.”
Car“I love romantic poetry.”
Poetry“For the first half of geological time our ancestors were bacteria. Most creatures still are bacteria, and each one of our trillions of cells is a colony of bacteria.”
Time“Religion is about turning untested belief into unshakable truth through the power of institutions and the passage of time.”
Power“Isn't it sad to go to your grave without ever wondering why you were born? Who, with such a thought, would not spring from bed, eager to resume discovering the world and rejoicing to be part of it?”
Sad“The Bible should be taught, but emphatically not as reality. It is fiction, myth, poetry, anything but reality. As such it needs to be taught because it underlies so much of our literature and our culture.”
Poetry“The enlightenment is under threat. So is reason. So is truth. So is science, especially in the schools of America.”
Science“When I say that human beings are just gene machines, one shouldn't put too much emphasis on the word 'just.' There is a very great deal of complication, and indeed beauty in being a gene machine.”
Beauty“By all means let's be open-minded, but not so open-minded that our brains drop out.”
Funny“It has become almost a cliche to remark that nobody boasts of ignorance of literature, but it is socially acceptable to boast ignorance of science and proudly claim incompetence in mathematics.”
Science“Of course in science there are things that are open to doubt and things need to be discussed. But among the things that science does know, evolution is about as certain as anything we know.”
Science