Dawkins on New Threats to Science—From Religion to Relativism

Few living thinkers have been as influential—or controversial—as Richard Dawkins. An evolutionary biologist by training, Dawkins rose to prominence with his 1976 book The Selfish Gene, which revolutionized the public understanding of evolution by shifting the focus from organisms to the genes that shape them (as well as surfacing the now-ubiquitous concept of the meme, which Dawkins defined as units of cultural transmission or imitation). In the decades since, he has become almost as well known for his critiques of religion as for his scientific work, with 2006's The God Delusion establishing him as one of the world's most outspoken atheists. Dawkins' work shows why free inquiry and the scientific method are essential for human progress, especially when they are under threat from religious dogma or new forms of ideological orthodoxy.