Richard Dawkins
Former Professor for Public Understanding of Science, Oxford University
Richard Dawkins is an evolutionary biologist and the former Charles Simonyi Professor of the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford University. He is the author of several of modern science's essential texts, including The Selfish Gene (1976) and The God Delusion (2006). Born in Nairobi, Kenya, Dawkins eventually graduated with a degree in zoology from Balliol College, Oxford, and then earned a masters degree and the doctorate from Oxford University. He has recently left his teaching duties to write and manage his foundation, The Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science, full-time.
The famed author and public intellectual has a bone to pick with the American legal system.
▸
3 min
—
with
Author, speaker, and public intellectual Richard Dawkins is a first-class debater on subjects as grand and reaching as the very existence (or lack thereof) of a master creator. But he's got a simple yet highly effective technique to win people over to see his point of view. Find out what it is right here.
▸
3 min
—
with
Does religion help us survive? No more than moths thrive in flame, says Richard Dawkins.
▸
4 min
—
with
Will A.I. take us over, and one day look back on this time period as the dawn of their civilization? Richard Dawkins posits an interesting idea, or at the very least a premise to a good science-fiction novel.
▸
3 min
—
with
All science begins with a leap of intuition, says Richard Dawkins, but we can only ever find objective truths by knowing when to let evidence take over from emotion.
▸
4 min
—
with
Do animals feel pain? Well, yes. Obviously. They may even feel pain a lot stronger than humans do.
▸
5 min
—
with
Elitism has come under fire since the recent wave of populist politics. But when we don't listen to experts, we end up listening to politicians' lies, says Richard Dawkins.
▸
6 min
—
with
Humans already know how to manipulate animal genomes through selective breeding, but there has been no appetite to try on humans what is the norm for dogs. That's a good thing, says Dawkins.
▸
4 min
—
with
Richard Dawkins responds to the Alt-Right, Trump's policies, and discusses the evil potential of ideology.
▸
5 min
—
with
Big Think sits down with the former Oxford professor and author of The Selfish Gene and The God Delusion.
▸
34 min
—
with
Richard Dawkins sees the career of a scientist as a colorful and incredibly creative enterprise—akin, in many ways, to the highest poetry and most imaginative art.
▸
2 min
—
with
Aside from Darwin, the famed biologist is also an admirer of Carl Sagan, Alfred Russell Wallace, and Shakespeare.
▸
1 min
—
with
The challenges of running multiple foundations as well as a looming sense of inefficiency troubles the legendary scientist’s sleep.
▸
1 min
—
with
Though Richard Dawkins has earned fame for explicating the human past, what currently excites him most in science is the prospect of a future where accessing one’s genetic information is […]
▸
4 min
—
with
While many in the scientific community are excited at the prospect of battling aging, Richard Dawkins considers the idea foolish and a little presumptuous asking, are we really prepared to […]
▸
2 min
—
with
From poetry and ballet to mathematics and being clever, life is laden with frivolous pursuits that hold no bearing on our ability to survive. Yet, insists Richard Dawkins, if it […]
▸
2 min
—
with
The famed evolutionary biologist describes a world freed from the values of classical religion, highlighting the fundamental changes that would come about in morality, education, and scientific progress.
▸
2 min
—
with
If we want to enhance our public debates and earnestly confront the looming issues of our day, the famed biologist believes that the first step is getting rid of unqualified […]
▸
1 min
—
with
While science is indelibly distinct from the field of ethics, Richard Dawkins believes that there are a number of ways in which its facts and reasoning could greatly benefit our […]
▸
5 min
—
with
While Richard Dawkins has gone on to lead one of the more prolific scientific careers in modern times, one of his earlier projects remains lost and incomplete. Here, he recounts […]
▸
3 min
—
with
After spending the first years of his life in an Anglican household in Nairobi, the path was in no way clear for Richard Dawkins to become a scientist. Here the […]
▸
6 min
—
with
Evolutionary biologists have learned the basis of a variety of human activities, yet when it comes to understanding human consciousness, the field is as helpless as any other.
▸
2 min
—
with
Richard Dawkins remembers when he broke with this pattern and became an atheist, outlining his vision of the acceptable, evidence-based faith.
▸
3 min
—
with
The famed evolutionary biologist summarizes his research into the genetic basis of evolution.
▸
1 min
—
with
As the legendary evolutionary biologist explains, human intercourse is far from a basic fact of life as the act throws away half of our genes and is therefore entirely irrational […]
▸
2 min
—
with
Richard Dawkins corrects what he sees as the specious use of the term “theory” and argues that evolution is indeed as close to a ‘fact’ as anything we’ll ever know.
▸
1 min
—
with