Interview with Richard Dawkins on fairy tales and retirement

http://RichardDawkins.net

(Channel 4) Richard Dawkins says he will spend his retirement writing a book for children.

The former Professor of the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford University wants to find out if fantasy stories affect their readers' abilities to think rationally.


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Category:

Education

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• richard
• dawkins
• interview
• channel4
• c4
• fairy
• tales
• retirement
• book
• atheist
• atheism
• atheistmedia

[thinghurlos]

Once again the media is forcing this kind of controversial image of Dawkins. Not once in this interview did he "tackle Harry Potter", he merely said he would like to write a children's book promoting science and critical thinking. Nor did he say that fiction is wrong, which some posters here somehow seem to have heard..

Furthermore, he is neither a geneticist nor an "evangelical atheist". I don´t want to seem like a fanboy, but the damn dude just always says things I happen to agree with.

[barthburger]

Ok Richard, I would push you out of the way of a bus and allow myself to get hit, but if you go after my happy fictional books like harry potter your touching a nerve sir. I grew up watching Looney tunes cartoons yet it has never occurred to me that I could drop an anvil on someone or float in mid air if I walked off a cliff until I noticed..Remember many things in science and technology today came from science fiction writers that sparked the imagination of people to become scientists.

[petestrat07]

You were the key player in provoking me to view the world through different eyes Richard. I hope you live to a ripe old age.

[MuonRay]

Wow. they interview drunken footballers who cheat on their wives and drug-addicted pop stars with reverence and patience and yet the first thing they ask him, Richard Dawkins, professor at Oxford for 12 years, is: "Do you think you've failed in any sense?"-well if he has failed I don't think he would be being interviewed- his ability to communicate science is the reason the scientifically-illiterate crowd at channel 4 IS interviewing him; by teaching science in baby-talk to the public.

[oBLACKIECHANoo]

this guy owns religion like chuck norris owns evrything else !!

[Hermoor]

Fantasy shouldn't be mixed with religious belief. Religion is dangerous, fantasy as in religion that isn't taken seriously is a very inspirering thing. Archetypes for different human emotions fighting each other in fictional worlds that doesn't depend on reality. You can achieve beautiful things with fantasy, religion is fantasy...but fantasy isn't religion. Dawkins should seperate the two, even though I agree about everything else he sais. He is a bit wrong in this interview...

[nicksynnz]

Dawkins is arrogant like PZ Myers. Both claim to listen to dissenting views but neither do, even from other atheists (like me). If they reject other atheists and defragment christians going onto their blogs and forums, then it make me wonder what their agenda is. I think the agenda of both of these men is not the goodness of mankind but themselves.

[hipp6y]

@brj0207 just as long as concepts as emotions stay in their realm, no one has any objections. but when some try to explain physical world was made by those 'mental concepts', that's a different story. either you keep them separate, or accept inquiry and scepticism.

[masala505]

@Haroldbeavis1969 Well said!

[masala505]

@PaleHearse You make a good point.