“I am one of those scientists who feels that it is no longer enough just to get on and do science. We have to devote a significant proportion of our time and resources to defending it from deliberate attack from organised ignorance.”
Science
“The universe we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil, no good, nothing but blind, pitiless indifference.”
DesignAll Quotes by Richard Dawkins
“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“Intelligent life on a planet comes of age when it first works out the reason for its own existence.”
Age“The enlightenment is under threat. So is reason. So is truth. So is science, especially in the schools of America.”
Science“God exists, if only in the form of a meme with high survival value, or infective power, in the environment provided by human culture.”
God“I am against religion because it teaches us to be satisfied with not understanding the world.”
Religion“Segregation has no place in the education system.”
Education“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“I'm not one of those who wants to purge our society of our Christian history.”
History“We are all atheists about most of the gods that societies have ever believed in. Some of us just go one god further.”
God“By all means let's be open-minded, but not so open-minded that our brains drop out.”
Funny“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“Complex, statistically improbable things are by their nature more difficult to explain than simple, statistically probable things.”
Nature“I was confirmed at my prep school at the age of 13.”
Age“I love romantic poetry.”
Poetry“The question of whether there exists a supernatural creator, a God, is one of the most important that we have to answer. I think that it is a scientific question. My answer is no.”
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“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“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“The meme for blind faith secures its own perpetuation by the simple unconscious expedient of discouraging rational inquiry.”
Faith