Dawkins is fuckin' awesome
What was radical for Dawkins to discuss in the 70s is just part of most people's assumptions today. He's had a huge positive influence on society as a whole, and raised everyone's consciousness about the implications of Darwinism, whether they know it or not.

Also, I think we're in a golden age of popular science writing at the moment (Dennett, Pinker, Haidt to name the most prominent), and Dawkins is the godfather.

I really despise the public backlash against Dawkins. He's survived a 30 year shit-storm from people who'd sling anything at him and hope it would stick, but he's still standing because he was right and the evidence continues to mount on his side. But now everyone thinks of him as this rude, aggressive atheist who acts all condescending and haughty when he talks to believers. It's such a common stock opinion his name is now a shorthand for aggressive hectoring of religion, even though I've never seen anything to back this up.

Got to disagree about the Bible though - you can't read the thing without being very impressed by some of it. Some passages in the King James are the best lines in the English language ever. I'd recommend Ecclesiastes to anyone as a genuinely great book. Much better than Dan 'punctuation' Brown.
(leviticus no longer likes the cut of your gib on, Fri 6 Jan 2012, 10:37, 1 reply)

I agree on Dawkins
But have to admit he sounds a bit of a smug git when you hear him talking now
(Smale is stuffed, Fri 6 Jan 2012, 12:15, closed)