Human vanity cherishes the absurd notion that our species is the final goal of evolution. Richard Dawkins More Quotes by Richard Dawkins More Quotes From Richard Dawkins I do not believe there is an atheist in the world who would bulldoze Mecca-or Chartres, York Minster or Notre Dame, the Shwe Dagon, the temples of Kyoto or, of course, the Buddhas of Bamiyan. Richard Dawkins kyoto atheist believe Evolution has no long-term goal. There is no long-distance target, no final perfection to serve as a criterion for selection, although human vanity cherishes the absurd notion that our species is the final goal of evolution. Richard Dawkins vanity distance science Evolution is fundamentally hostile to religion. Richard Dawkins hostile evolution Human beings are just gene machines. Richard Dawkins genes machines humans Religious faith, is a state of mind, that leads people to believe in something, it doesn't matter what, without a whisper of doubt, or a whiff of evidence, and believe so strongly in some cases, that they are prepare to kill and die for it, without the need for further justification. Richard Dawkins religious believe people Isaac Asimov's remark about the infantilism of pseudoscience is just as applicable to religion: 'Inspect every piece of pseudoscience and you will find a security blanket, a thumb to suck, a skirt to hold.' It is astonishing, moreover, how many people are unable to understand that 'X is comforting' does not imply 'X is true'. Richard Dawkins doe comforting people My love of truth and honesty forces me to notice that the liberal intelligentsia of Western countries is betraying itself where Islam is concerned. Richard Dawkins islam honesty country Myths are fun, as long as you don't confuse them with the truth. Richard Dawkins mythology fun long Leaders who forbid their followers to use effective contraceptive methods express a preference for "natural" methods of population limitation, and a natural method is exactly what they are going to get. It is called starvation. Richard Dawkins population followers leader You don't believe that the Earth is round only if you're an astronaut. You don't believe Napoleon existed only if you're a historian. You believe these things because they're facts, proved by evidence. Richard Dawkins earth believe facts What are all of us but self-reproducing robots? We have been put together by our genes and what we do is roam the world looking for a way to sustain ourselves and ultimately produce another robot child. Richard Dawkins self life children It is absolutely safe to say that if you meet somebody who claims not to believe in evolution, that person is ignorant, stupid or insane (or wicked, but I'd rather not consider that). Richard Dawkins ignorant stupid believe Faith is an evil precisely because it requires no justification and brooks no argument. Richard Dawkins atheism evil religion The time has come for people of reason to say: Enough is Enough! Religious faith discourages independent thought, it's divisive and it's dangerous. Richard Dawkins independent religious people Organizing atheists is a bit like herding cats; They are on the whole too intelligent and independent minded to lend themselves to being herded. Richard Dawkins independent cat atheist Sometimes in life it is a good idea to stop,sometimes it is a good idea to go on. The trick is to decide when to stop Richard Dawkins goes-on sometimes ideas Scientific and technological progress themselves are value-neutral. They are just very good at doing what they do. If you want to do selfish, greedy, intolerant and violent things, scientific technology will provide you with by far the most efficient way of doing so. But if you want to do good, to solve the world's problems, to progress in the best value-laden sense, once again, there is no better means to those ends than the scientific way. Richard Dawkins selfish science mean The whole point of religious faith, its strength and chief glory, is that it does not depend on rational justification. The rest of us are expected to defend our prejudices. But ask a religious person to justify their faith and you infringe 'religious liberty'. Richard Dawkins liberty religious faith To an honest judge, the alleged convergence between religion and science is a shallow, empty, hollow, spin-doctored sham. Richard Dawkins atheism judging religion Any belief in miracles is flat contradictory not just to the facts of science but to the spirit of science. Richard Dawkins miracle spirit facts
