Just wanted to highlight an excellent article on Neuroanthropology about Richard Dawkins.
Neuroanthropology: Richard Dawkins on ‘Elders’
I saw Dawkins speak in October and was very non-plussed by the whole experience, since then I’ve wanted to write a very similar article. The article captures what I wanted to say with eloquence. This piece is not just reflective of Dawkins but a larger cultural trend. When he was at IU, he answered a barrage of pretty terrible questions from a mostly groveling audience. (“I am an atheist, but you are my God” was said and is admittedly the most ridiculous exemplar, but the general tone was maintained.)
One of the key problems is that Dawkins seems to rail against a very particular kind of theism – that of the omnipotent, omnipresent “guy in the sky” which can rail down thunder and lightning in a feverish outbreak of fury. I don’t think that’s what the majority of people conceptualize when they see the divine. When Dawkins answered a question about life’s purpose, he got at what a lot of people agree with – a general sense of wonder and marvel at the infinite complexity of life, and the immense grandiosity of the universe.
Also, he asserted that the Pope, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and other religious leaders have no problem with evolution and their faith coexisting. You cannot study biology without evolution, and to accept creationism as scientific fact is raw ignorance. Instead of focusing arguments on polarization like theism vs. atheism, why not just strike at the core? Ignorance and bigotry are terrible in any incarnation, but are not a direct result of having any theistic conviction.
If Dawkins (and other new atheists) aim to make the world more “scientific” the emphasis should not be on any epistemological claim that replaces religious belief with scientific “belief”. Rather, they should teach people to engage the world, to challenge their beliefs, wrestle with them and question them. By teaching people to accept science as something “to believe in”, we gain nothing except struggles when scientific “doctrine” is found to be a misunderstanding – as has happened at countless junctures in the history of science. By teaching engagement we can challenge our assumptions boldly and discover the next step on the long path to truth. Carl Sagan puts this desire eloquently on the first pages of Cosmos
, which I had never properly listened to before. The entire album seethes with a beautiful driving anxiety, which re-emerges in later songs such as Bodysnatchers
and Jigsaw Falling Into Place
. Of course, Wilco is still first, but largely due to the strength of their old catalog. 
was released this year but was generally unimpressive. 
before breaking for a set of old favorites. I find it hard to listen to the album now, as the piece has aged well with practice and performance. The Avett Brothers released 
in September, which is now one of my favorite albums – from the opening meditation on “three words that became hard to say” to the final resignation of being “Incomplete and Insecure”.
was released in March and last year’s 
was an incredible turn for the band. I also discovered Nada Surf, which rose an impressive 63 places to make it to the top 10. Particularly, I’ve enjoyed the albums 
and 
(especially the song 
).
grows more distant, the Counting Crows have been declining. On the other hand, Third Eye Blind has made a huge jump – their 
has to be one of the best albums of all time, particularly Motorcycle Drive-by. They released a new album this year, 
, which has a few good songs, but doesn’t have the same luster as the original or 
.
is an amazing testament to folk music that belies his age – just listen to the lyrics of 
. Scroobius Pip is a British MC with an awesome beard with some amazing diction – check out 
.
T-Rex is Lonely