2007-10-01

Richard Dawkins discusses The God Delusion and other things

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

by Neil Godfrey

Last month Richard Dawkins was interviewed on The Science Show as part of the Sydney Writer’s Festival and transcript is now available — also the podcast and streaming audio for a short while longer.

The radio blurb:

The author of The God Delusion answers questions about his dismissal of God in front of an audience at the Sydney Writers’ Festival. Where does religion come from? Why should children be spared religious labels? Can we have ethical systems without God? And what if evidence was found that God does, indeed exist, would Professor Dawkins chuck a U-turn? This satellite discussion with Richard Dawkins in Oxford is chaired by Robyn Williams in Sydney.

Some issues that come up in the interview:

comments on his argument that “soft religion” makes extremists possible
why so many books on atheism recently
the evolution of religion in human culture
the “nature of theology” and the divide between science and religion
origins of moral codes
his film “The Root of All Evil” — Dawkins hates the title the BBC gave it — does not believe religion is the root of all evil
various other authors and prominent clerics (Jewish, Christian, Muslim)
Stephen Jay Gould

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