Rating: 
Summary: The Theological Insult of Limited Perception
Review: A cogent mind will find evolution a more divine, holy, miraculous and compelling idea than any non-evidentiary fairy tales, however fetching they might be as literature. Bravo Dawkins, again.
Rating:
Summary: Startling Sermons
Review: Charles Darwin said that there was grandeur in his view of life produced by natural selection, but it was not all a pretty picture. He wrote his friend Joseph Hooker in 1856: "What a book a Devil's Chaplain might write on the clumsy, wasteful, blundering low and horridly cruel works of nature." Richard Dawkins has taken the quotation for the title of a collection of his writings, A Devil's Chaplain: Reflections on Hope, Lies, Science, and Love (Houghton Mifflin). Darwin also wrote of a particular wasp: "I cannot persuade myself that a beneficent and omnipotent God would have designedly created the Ichneumonidae with the express intention of their feeding within the living body of caterpillars." But as Darwin (and Dawkins) would remind us, the evolutionary process has produced wonderfully designed creatures, and a wasp who cares for its young by letting them hatch within a hapless caterpillar is simply doing a competent job of getting the young off to a good start. It might be distasteful to us (and should have been to a supreme being), but nature just doesn't care. It isn't kindness of the mother wasp, or cruelty to the caterpillar, but simply amoral nature.But as chaplain, Dawkins notes that while wasps and caterpillars can do nothing about such amorality, we can. "At the same time as I support Darwinism as a scientist, I am a passionate anti-Darwinian when it comes to politics and how we should conduct our human affairs." There is no inconsistency here any more than in the physician who studies cancer, but is bent on eliminating it. And as devil's chaplain, Dawkins urges us to use our evolution-given brains, reject the pacifiers of faith in immortality, and rejoice in our short lives because they are all we have. Dawkins, you see, besides being an eminent Darwinian whose books like The Blind Watchmaker have wonderfully well laid out what evolution means, is also possibly the world's most famous atheist. You will find here his views on religious beliefs and creationists (or their newest incarnation as advocates of Intelligent Design), of course, but on "alternative medicine," crystal healing, homeopathy, and so on. Besides the rants, there is good humor and some warm tributes to friendship, especially in his memorials to his friends Douglas Adams and Stephen Jay Gould. The final chapter, "A Prayer for My Daughter," is a letter he wrote to her when she turned ten, to let her know how he thought she should select what to believe. The great question to ask in all disputes: "What kind of evidence is there for that?" Readers will be reminded of the belligerence of Thomas Henry Huxley, "Darwin's Bulldog," but evolution is only one theme here. Included is his hilarious review of the book by the hoaxer Alan Sokal who submitted a nonsense paper to a postmodern journal and had it accepted. He rages against postmodernism, with its "all views are equal" stance making his scientific view equivalent to a voodoo view. He expresses his doubts about the jury system, and in a wonderful chapter ("Genes Aren't Us") discounts just how important genes are for personality. Another chapter makes us wonder at just how close we are to our ape cousins. Throughout, he is witty, and above all informative on a wide-range of subjects, not just on his refusal to accept what he sees as the diverse delusions of most of the world. Anyone who has admired his previous writings of science popularization will find these personal essays to be very appealing sermons from an accomplished chaplain.
Rating:
Summary: A MANUAL TO THE TRUTH REVEALED BY SCIENCE
Review: Dawkins is a well known biologist whose "The Selfish Gene" revolutionized the way we think (or ought to think) about evolution. In this book, he puts together a collection of essays which, in the essence, is a guidebook to non-scientists to debunking pseudo-science. He does so in a variety of ways:
1. He demonstrates how complex physics concepts are used in literature to seem more scientific.
2. He shows how creationists seek legitimacy in the public eye with scientific sounding ideas like "intelligent design" and others which are nothing more than pseudo-science. He also offers ideas on how to deal with them.
3. He points out, in an open letter to his daughter, how to know what is truth and what isn't, what are good and bad reasons to believe something.
4. He recommends a number of follow up readings in his book reviews. These are mainly on Stephen Jay Gould and Peter Medawar, two other famed biologists who write for the general public. The essence of the book is reflected, I believe, in the last essay, in which he makes the point that evidence is the only way to truth and knowledge, and the basis of science. He shows that evidence is a better reason to believe something than its three foes: authority, revelation and tradition. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for intelligent arguments and thoughts on a wide variety of subjects, all related to science, its importance and its usage (or lack thereof) in society.
Rating:
Summary: A MANUAL TO THE TRUTH REVEALED BY SCIENCE
Review: Dawkins is a well known biologist whose "The Selfish Gene" revolutionized the way we think (or ought to think) about evolution. In this book, he puts together a collection of essays which, in the essence, is a guidebook to non-scientists to debunking pseudo-science. He does so in a variety of ways:
1. He demonstrates how complex physics concepts are used in literature to seem more scientific.
2. He shows how creationists seek legitimacy in the public eye with scientific sounding ideas like "intelligent design" and others which are nothing more than pseudo-science. He also offers ideas on how to deal with them.
3. He points out, in an open letter to his daughter, how to know what is truth and what isn't, what are good and bad reasons to believe something.
4. He recommends a number of follow up readings in his book reviews. These are mainly on Stephen Jay Gould and Peter Medawar, two other famed biologists who write for the general public. The essence of the book is reflected, I believe, in the last essay, in which he makes the point that evidence is the only way to truth and knowledge, and the basis of science. He shows that evidence is a better reason to believe something than its three foes: authority, revelation and tradition. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for intelligent arguments and thoughts on a wide variety of subjects, all related to science, its importance and its usage (or lack thereof) in society.
Rating:
Summary: Why do creationists cheat?
Review: I am a big fan of Dawkins, and I enjoyed this book very much indeed as "fun" reading as opposed the the more serious reading that The Selfish Gene, and especially his masterpiece, the Phenotype requires.
So I read these reviews and find that one person has entered at least 3 reviews that I have read in this chain of reviews. He is clearly a creationist and simply makes the same points over and over again -- using the same words even many times, such as "sinners (we all are)".
What's the point? To average down the rating given to this book? Is it a form of preaching? Why is it that these people find it so necessary to shrilly drum their message into the rest of us? Is their salvation dependent on how many of the rest of us they can get to agree with them? And worse, and the reason for this review, is why oh why, with God on their side, do they feel compelled to cheat and post multiple reviews?
Rating: 
Summary: An attack on religion
Review: In his opening essay, Richard Dawkins offers what he calls "a call to arms" against the reality of evolution: "I prefer to fight against...natural selection...as a human being...We, alone on earth, can rebel against the tyranny of the selfish replicators [i.e., our genes]."
This is surely an odd affirmation of faith for the man who made famous the concept of "the selfish gene," the title of Dawkins' first book. In that book, Dawkins demonstrated convincingly that what natural selection selects for is not the good of the biosphere, the ecosystem, the species, or even the individual organism, but only the reproductive advantage of individual genes. In the words Dawkins used in "The Selfish Gene," our genes "created us, body and mind; and their preservation is the ultimate rationale for our existence...we are their survival machines."
In "A Devil's Chaplain," Dawkins argues that his call to struggle against the force of natural selection does not contradict his intellectual belief in the selfish gene: "There is no inconsistency in favoring Darwinism as an academic scientist while opposing it as a human being; any more than there is inconsistency in explaining cancer as an academic doctor while fighting it as a practising one."
This analogy with cancer fails: a theory of oncogenesis is not all-encompassing -- it only explains cancer, it does not explain all of biology, including all of human action. But Dawkins' selfish gene concept is all-encompassing. It claims to explain all of biological life, including humans. There is no exit offered.
In concrete terms, if Dawkins devotes some of his time and energy to struggling against the more nasty consequences of natural selection and if I passively accept the consequences of natural selection and instead focus on advancing my children's reproductive success, my genes will tend to be more successful replicators than Dawkins'.
Natural selection, by Dawkins' own analysis, will reward those of us who do not waste our time struggling against natural selection.
There is a conceivable way out. Suppose our oversized brain gives us direct contact with some "higher realm," a Platonic realm of moral ideals, a religious realm of Divine inspiration, etc. If such non-physical powers can influence our behavior, then perhaps we can respond to Dawkins' "call to arms" after all.
However, in one of the essays in the book, "Viruses of the Mind," Dawkins makes clear he will have none of that. He argues that religious belief is a sign of an "infected mind," claims that the explanation of religion is "epidemiological," and gives a list of symptoms of this particular mental disease.
Indeed, the book simply reeks of hostility to religion.
Why?
Casual observation suggests that religious believers tend to have more kids than skeptics: whatever the innate character traits that incline one towards belief in religion, these traits seem to be favored by natural selection.
It is easy to come up with a possible explanation. The anthropologist Bronislaw Malinowski noted long ago that, even in primitive societies, religion is used only in situations where one does not understand or cannot control events. Religion allows people to concentrate on those matters they can actually affect and leave the rest to the gods. Religion lets people direct their attention and channel their anxiety efficiently.
Dawkins does not consider this. Instead, he focuses on the -- very real -- conflict and destruction wrought by the Judaic religions -- Judaism, Islam, and Christianity (he ignores the less aggressive East Asian religions, such as Buddhism).
Much of Dawkins' animus against religion seems to be based on the fact that the argument for God based on the intricate "design" of biological organisms is refuted by the fact of evolution. He's right -- but there are other serious arguments for the existence of God: philosophical arguments on the nature of consciousness, logical necessity, and causation; scientific arguments concerning the existence of the universe, the "fine-tuning" of the constants of nature; etc. (see, e.g., the fascinating debate between Smart and Haldane in their "Atheism and Theism.")
Taking all the arguments into account, I myself doubt that God exists. But it is not a simple question.
Dawkins does argue passionately that we must at least stop lying. Adults routinely lie to their children about everything from Santa Claus to God to the actions of government and the realities of war. Dawkins argues that children are uniquely susceptible to propaganda and often find it difficult to escape from the lies they were fed as children even when they are well into adulthood.
He's right. But perhaps his focus is slightly off: at least in the last century, it is the child-like belief in nationalism, militarism, socialism, democracy, and imperialism which has produced far more suffering than blind religious faith. It is worship of government, not worship of God, which nearly destroyed civilization during the twentieth century.
In concrete terms, who is the greater monster, Joseph Stalin or Pope John Paul II?
Dawkins' anti-religious animus leads him to an uncharacteristic intolerance in dealing with the evolution/creationist controversy -- on one occasion, he explains, he nearly threw an interviewer out of his home when he found out that the interviewer was a creationist (the interviewer had travelled all the way from Australia based on Dawkins' agreeing to be interviewed). Dawkins explains that he refuses ever to debate creationists "because...just to appear on the platform with them is to lend them the respectability they crave."
That's a shame. Evolution is true. The evidence for evolution comes not only from biology and paleontology but also geology and nuclear physics (so-called radiometric dating of the fossil record). Creationists are attacking all of science, but it is hard for members of the general public to understand this if scientists of Dawkins stature refuse to refute the creationists.
"A Devil's Chaplain" is eloquent, readable, and interesting. If it occasionally slips into contradictions, these are contradictions that should provoke the reader to rethink his or her own beliefs and intellectual preconceptions.
Rating:
Summary: Great book
Review: Isn't much to add to the other reviews, other than repeat that this book is certainly worth the read and thought-provoking, especially for Dawkins admirers!
Rating:
Summary: The cornerstone of every essay is truth.
Review: Richard Dawkins, a powerhouse of evolution known for the influential, "The Blind Watchmaker," and coining the term "meme," has now compiled a collection of essays. Written over the past twenty-plus years, they are often brilliantly interesting and a pleasure for those who thirst for a deeper understanding of science. However, it can be difficult at times to comprehend, especially for the non-scientist, when the text is heavily laden with scientific jargon.
The range of topics vary considerably -Africa, genes, evolution, trial by jury and a couple of eulogies. The cornerstone of every essay is truth; his love for the truth is insatiable and infectious. But his diatribe on religion quickly becomes counter-effective due to his angry tone and the empty reasoning offered for refusing to debate creationists. Dawkins is most accessible and honest within a letter to his ten-year old daughter entitled, "Good and Bad Reasons for Believing." It begins, "Have you ever wondered how we know the things that we know?" The next six pages are as good as an entire scientific textbook espousing the scientific method. The simple, yet effective word choices in the letter, if used more often throughout "A Devil's Chaplain" would of made the book a stellar hit for the common reader and not just the scientific one.
Rating:
Summary: The New Darwininan paradigm: science, ethics, philosophy
Review: Since I started my studies of biology about ten years ago, Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection has been always present and seemed to me an easy, unmysterious one. Only recently, have I realized that I was missing much of the point and I begun to understand the real dimension of this theory, the importance of its implications to understand our nature and our nowadays life. I had never felt that there was anything else to be understood, even though the meaning of Dobzhansky's sentence: "Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution" always resulted a bit unclear for me.
Maybe it is because I am a bit stupid, but maybe not. Maybe my case is not an exception and many professionals of the biological sciences are still missing much of this point. But still worse, most of our society, most of societies are still missing it. Among academics and professionals, this is particularly true when talking about the people from social sciences: philosophers, psychologists, cultural anthropologists, historians, and so many others. Thus, the full implications of the Darwinian Theory are yet to be discovered by our society, and many good things are to come when it happens.
Richard Dawkins' Devil's Chaplain is a wonderful gate to the Darwinian perspective both for the expert on the matter as for the not. It is a strong book, full of intelligent and rational thinking, always in the light of evolution.
The book is composed by a series of essays written by Professor Dawkins during the last 25 years and initially thought to be published in a variety of media, such as newspapers, book chapters, book reviews, obituaries, and others. This diversity in origin and objective of the essays, instead of being a handicap for the book results into a fresh and easy to read combination.
Texts are grouped in seven sections according to their character. I found all the essays interesting and worthy reading, but naturally some of them more than others. I particularly enjoyed reading the first three sections, perhaps the most important of the book.
In Science and sensibility (first section) we find eight essays where Dawkins links science with ethics and philosophy. In What is true? he strikes against the double standards, and defends the existence of trustable truths; Gaps in the mind, also discusses again the double standards, in this cases for ethic considerations. He discusses the unnatural nature of our human-centered ethics, and the lack of consistency between the human/animal frontier, so natural for all us. Dawkins is brave and provocative, and is not afraid to declare his interest in seeing a hybrid of human and chimpanzee. It was delightful; Genetics, risk and ethics, is a text specifically written for Tony Blair, where he brightly exposes the "risks and ethics" of the present fast development of genetics. Some of the most interesting lines that I have read about genetics for lay people. Finally Postmodernism disrobed is a really funny review of Intellectual impostures, a book deconstructing the bases of the postmodernism. I really laughed reading Lacan's equations about the men's organ. Please read it!
In Light will be thrown, the second section, Dawkins mainly discusses topics about the natural selection as motor of evolution, the figure of Darwin, and the power of his theory. Especially I liked The "information challenge" and Son of Moore's law, because he imaginatively introduces interesting topics as the theory of information, and its parallelism with current genetics, and the expected development of this field in the next 50 years.
The infected mind, third section, is dedicated to the memes, and to one of Dawkins' favorite type: religions and their role in our societies. They told me, Heraclitus contains several obituaries where I really enjoyed reading the one for WD Hamilton and snake oil a text against the supposed miracles of alternative medicines, particularly homeopathy; Even the ranks of Tuscany, which also has something of obituary, is in fact composed by reviews to several books of SJ Gould, with a tender text coauthored by these two confronted heavyweights of Darwinian evolutionism; the last two sections are by far more personal. From There is all Africa and her prodigies in us, I will mention Heroes and ancestors, where some Herculean Africa researchers, as the Leakey and the Douglas-Hamilton families, pioneers of the conservation ecology in Eve's continent. A prayer for my daughter is an open letter written to his daughter at her age of 10, talking about what kind of things are worthy to be believed and which things not (tradition, authority and revelation). It resulted a bit harsh for a 10 years old kid but a coherent end for the book.
Rating:
Summary: Common sense can be beautiful.
Review: There are certain books which everyone in a country that considers itself "enlightened" should be required to read, at least before (s)he's out of school. The Demon-Haunted World by Carl Sagan comes to mind immediately, as does this book by the brilliant Richard Dawkins, a man who thankfully continues to turn people away from superstition and ignorance and assists them in focusing on WHAT IS, rather than WHAT SOME PEOPLE WISH COULD BE (to further their own agendas). Common sense, beautiful prose, striking contrasts between science and other so-called belief systems, and sterling examples of weighty evidence favoring clear-cut science and critical thinking over pseudo-sciences like astrology (as science is the only general school of thought that actually delivers) all serve to make this, like all of Dawkins's other books, brilliant and inspiring from cover to cover. In a culture in which it hasn't been "okay" to be SMART in many decades (this is no coincidence, folks), Dawkins tries to get the reader to remember that (s)he has a brain, and that that brain is more than capable of perceiving hoaxes and ulterior motives. It becomes obvious after reading Dawkins's prose that one's natural sense of wonder can be fulfilled quite well by science
-- better than all other disciplines, in fact -- because scientific discoveries far outweigh any creation myth or new-age con job in regards to having the ability to strike the reader with eye-popping awe (and make one feel "special" as a living being on this planet). BUY THIS BOOK. Buy one for your best friend. It's quite necessary, in this world of ever-shrinking sensibilities. It's a good thing we still have a few good guys left. Dawkins is one of them. Let's hope he inspires enough people to champion the individual brain over the mass hallucination -- before there ARE no good guys left.
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