The Design Of Life Lecture By Richard Dawkins

Atheist Experience episode #571 - Dominionism and Reconstructionism

The design of life lecture by Richard Dawkins - Feb 2002 TED conference

Posted On Sep 25, 2008 at 6:41 pm

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The session was titled "The Design of Life," and the TED audience was probably expecting remarks about evolution's role in our history from biologist Richard Dawkins. Instead, he launched into a full-on appeal for atheists to make public their beliefs and to aggressively fight the incursion of religion into politics and education (quoting Douglas Adams in the bargain). Scientists and intellectuals hold very different beliefs about God from the American public, he says, yet they are cowed by the overall political environment. Dawkins' scornful tone drew strongly mixed reactions from the audience; some stood and applauded his courage. Others wondered whether his strident approach could do more harm than good. Dawkins went on to publish The God Delusion and become perhaps the world's best-known atheist.

Quote Excerpts

Here are a few quotes I especially liked from the man with many great words.

"In practice, what is an atheist? and atheist is just somebody who feels about Yahweh, the way any decent Christian feels about Thor, or Baal, or the golden calf. as its been said before, we are all atheists about most of the gods that humanity has ever believed in. some of us just go one god further."

"we've reached a truly remarkable situation. A grotesque mismatch between the American intelligentsia and the American electorate. A philosophical opinion about the nature of the universe, which is held by the vast majority of top American scientists and probably the majority of the top American intelligentsia generally is so abhorrent to the American electorate that no candidate for popular election dare affirm it in public. If I'm right, this means that high office in the greatest country in the world is barred to the very people best qualified to hold it, the intelligentsia. Unless they're prepared to lie about their beliefs. To put it bluntly, American political opportunities are heavily loaded against those who are simultaneously intelligent and honest."

"People are always going on about how did 9/11 change you? well heres how it changed me: lets all stop being so damned respectful [to religion]"

The Out Campaign

In this speech, Dawkins brings up the concept of an "out compaign", for which a website has since then been put together to promote: OutCampaign.org

Thanks to TEDtalksDirector for making this video available on youtube.

Scott Klarr Jr