Richard Dawkins – Secular Saint?

[dropcap]I[/dropcap]t has recently become fashionable among former admirers to dislike and dismiss Richard Dawkins. Not all of this new found hatred is misplaced. One tweet in July had him proclaim that, “Date rape is bad. Stranger rape at knifepoint is worse. If you think that’s an endorsement of date rape, go away and learn how to think.” He has also shown himself to be adept at the non sequitur, when he wrote, “All the world’s Muslims have fewer Nobel Prizes than Trinity College, Cambridge. They did great things in the Middle Ages, though.”

These are not the only examples of confusions (or, at times, idiocies) to spring from his mouth. In addition, though I happen to agree with much of what he has written about the evils of organised religion, and am happy to see him sternly defend his beloved field of Biology from clerical intrusions, there are many who accuse him of being too liberal with his ad hominem attacks on the faithful.

We should not be surprised that the names of pioneers in art and science often hold morally questionable views.

Albert Einstein presented his wife with a disgusting letter of ‘conditions’ in which, among other things, he loftily informed her that, “1. You will not expect any intimacy from me, nor will you reproach me in any way. 2. You will stop talking to me if I request it”. Charles Dickens had a woman arrested on the street for swearing. But my love of Great Expectations and my fascination with the theory of relativity is in no way diminished as a result.

In 1976, Dawkins published The Selfish Gene. The most remarkable fact about this book was that not only was it accessible to any layman, but it also revolutionised the field of evolutionary biology. The books promotion of a gene-centred view of evolution helped reorient the perspective of many people who had an interest in these matters.

His popular science books in general have inspired and educated a generation of life scientists, many of whom are medical researchers who are working tirelessly to improve and extend the lives of others (including the lives of Dawkins’ critics, might I add).

Also, his recent book The Magic of Reality introduced many young children to the awe-inspiring discoveries of science.

We may all find it difficult to stomach him advising mothers on Twitter whose unborn children have Down’s syndrome to, “Abort it and try again. It would be immoral to bring it into the world if you have the choice”. But I implore you not to let this deprive you of such gems as this, from Unweaving the Rainbow: “The feeling of awed wonder that science can give us is one of the highest experiences of which the human psyche is capable. It is a deep aesthetic passion to rank with the finest that music and poetry can deliver.”