The Poetry of Reality is hosted by world renowned evolutionary biologist and best-selling author, Professor Richard Dawkins. He has been celebrated globally for his honest critique of religion and tradition and his push for critical thinking. His books include The Selfish Gene, Climbing Mount Improbable, The God Delusion and Outgrowing God: A Beginner’s Guide. Dawkins has long been known for his uncompromising passion for science, calling out for the pressing need in modern societies for scientific literacy and rational thinking, especially in the education of young minds. His relentless pursuit of truth, and his recognition of the beauty of life on earth, will feature in this podcast, as he charts his way through scientific and existential inquiries like ‘What are we doing here?’ and ‘When did life begin?’
Did I miss something or did he contradict himself when he first said that wokeism seems to decline but then later, he brings examples for it from his own current environment. I guess there can be an overall decline but still a few incidents. But also... with the right wing being on the rise this year, I suspect that the left will go even more nuts.
Its sad that McWhorter's book will be used by racist white people to support their refusal to change anything within society because "these woke progressives are the real racists!"
Why does neither address the horrors of congenital birth defects? Violent raping of women and children? Millions of people gassed to death and put in a crematorium? Children slaughtered at their school by a shooter with an AR-15? Is god NOT omnipotent? Is god NOT benevolent? The idea of god should be dismissed and recognized for the dangers it has created in humanity.
The scientific method will never replace the love of God... Humans have killed one another on a far greater scale than God ever did. And the "nasty" Old Testament as you call it, Mr. Dawkins, argues that all of the destruction that God caused was an attempt to save us from all the things that are happening in the world today.
Great conversation. It sparked so many related topics. I have always had great respect for Richard and his endorsement of John McWhorter was clearly justified. Two intellectuals traversing an extremely interesting topic. Fantastic video!! Thank you
@37:25 "What's inconceivable to me is that anybody could walk around the world with eyes open and see living things, see the complexity of them, the design of them, and not think that needs an explanation". I wonder if Dawkins realizes that this teleological kind of argument is just as likely to come out of the mouth of a Christian or a Muslim. Were he to realize it, Dawkins may argue that religions don't sufficiently explain the complexity of living things, however I'm not sure evolution is as obvious an answer as Dawkins claims, after all it only takes place through millions of imperceptibly tiny mutations over thousands of years.
To see further decline in her thinking , read the conspiracy theory-riddled nonsense she wrote for The Free Press, “We Have Been Subverted”, released June 6, 2024. She seams to be in some sort of intellectual tailspin.
Woke ideology is incompatible with egalitarianism for several reasons: It promotes a hierarchical view of identity groups, ranking them based on perceived oppression rather than treating all people as equals. This contradicts the egalitarian principle of equal rights and opportunities for all individuals regardless of identity. It emphasizes group identities over individual rights and merit, often advocating for differential treatment based on race, gender, etc. rather than judging people as individuals. Egalitarianism holds that individuals should be treated as such, not primarily through the lens of group identity. It can lead to intolerance and authoritarianism by seeking to curtail free speech and open debate in the name of preventing perceived harm to marginalized groups. True egalitarianism requires freedom of expression for all. Its focus on linguistic policing and superficial changes neglects substantive material concerns and economic inequalities that affect people across identity groups. Egalitarianism is fundamentally about equality of opportunity and outcomes. It embraces a binary view of oppressors vs. oppressed, perpetrators vs. victims, which is antithetical to the notion of human equality at the core of egalitarianism. In essence, woke ideology entrenches a hierarchical, identity-based worldview that contradicts the egalitarian principles of individual rights, equal treatment under the law, and a shared humanity transcending group categorizations. Its methods and premises undermine true equality.
summary-He exists.He does not exist.You have a genetic condition that makes you unacceptable to your creator which required a bloody,agonising death for G-d to forgive all those who are fortunate enough to find this postulate credible.
I noticed that whatever she was asked a question about the literal nature of Christianity, she never truly responded. What she did is actually very common to what leftists do when talking about transness and things where they redefine concepts biologically and socially to sort of make room for a different understanding. I don't quite care about that. What I do care about is that I think that because she's such a significant political figure and scientist, I can't help but think this is a disingenuous grift to the Christian Right to sort of scoff at left-wing politics.
I wonder, if she had married someone who wasn’t a right wing American Christian, or went to a competent therapist, would she have found a different new “plane of perception”? Had she married a New York Jew and gone to a Freudian psychoanalysis for example. Or, what the hell, let’s be honest, had she gone to live in almost any other western nation other than hyper-god-obsessed, dysfunctional America, would she have needed this new nonsense?
I admire Ayann very much to be able to verbalize so eloquently. I’m an atheist and I understand what she is saying that people need something to believe in. I’m still an atheist who just doesn’t believe in religion, but it doesn’t mean I haven’t had mystical experiences. I think she has valid points and I also agree with Dawkins that religion is fake. Religion is here to make us feel better about death.
It's really sad that we lost Ayaan. I also lost my dear friend to religion. She was also suffering from depression and chose the stories of Jesus and other bullshit over me. Apparently, it helped her with her depression. Richard is awesome, as always. And no,he is not on team Christianity
Spiritual bankruptcy? So you traded it for Intellectual bankruptcy? I am heartbroken that someone I had so admired for their intelligence and strength has fallen so low. After a childhood of horror that was born from religious ignorance and violence, to return, shall we say, as a dog to its vomit, or in this case, a different puddle of vomit, is just beyond comprehension.
Im just a dumb convictvfrom oz i was a bigger school truant then Greta Thunberg ! The basics seem to be non existent in our supposed smartest most elite people. Studying islam in gaol makes things clear who is wrong . Quran is worse then Mein Kampf 😐
My intuition is that language developed because we have a half pipe length throat. It makes it possible to make these different noises that other animals can’t. Now the down side is that we can choke on our food and drink. If there were no other advantage to this weird throat construction it would not have propagated. Grammar is just the the disambiguation layer on top of a bundle of words. We can do without it but everything would be vague. Like a pidgeon language (or english to a high degree) built for transactions. The more written a language is the less complicated the grammar layer.
Intelligent Individuals tend to think rationally while the mass is being lead by emotions. Coming from an Islamic household which dictated every aspect of her life, atheism which is simply a negation of a claim, could in no way fill this void. Many people can't deal with that much freedom and search for substitute religions like e.g. a political ideology. It's not surprising that she chose christianity as her new religion and identity because it's the polar opposite of Islam.
@1:02:30 Ayaan, "Atheism is not the answer [to the wokeism and Islamicism on campuses.]" --So Christianity is?? No one is claiming atheism is the answer to the problems. This is a silly Straw Man because Ayaan wants to be sure her charge against atheism is fresh when this talk concludes. IF she wanted to address what Richard said, she would speak against secular moral philosophy, but even she knows that Christianity is what it is today BECAUSE of secular moral philosophy.
And if anyone thinks Christianity is the answer, it seems strange then that a Christian-majority nation was not "Christian enough" to stop the decades-long devolution of liberalism on our campuses.
I think every young person in the West should be embarrassed that people like these think they are not able to deal with the dangers of Islam by rational thinking. I think they should feel insulted that they need a fictional crutch to know what is actually true or not. Why are they infantilising the youth in the West? This is insane and stupid.
@50:36 After Ayaan charges "New Atheism" for improperly dismantling religion, including Christianity, and claims this is why today's youth are ill-equipped to take on the various mind viruses we see manifesting on campuses and social media, Richard reminds us how it has always been moral philosophy, modern secular philosophy that has guided us in the right direction, that has allowed Christianity to bend towards the moral arc of humanity. Atheism ("new" or whatever) is not the cause of a confused generation, much less "the coddling of the American mind" and "wokification" of higher learning. Our better angels ride on the winds of a secular, moral, philosophical approach to our problems, not a Christian one (whichever version of "Christian" that might mean).
@7:50 "Perhaps it's spiritual bankruptcy." To anyone reading, you do not have to be a Christian or any other believer to have (so-called) spiritual experiences. I would argue that "being spiritual" is a misused word by traditional religions that implies the acceptance of supernatural ideas when we can have "spiritual" moments in settings that have nothing to do with the supernatural. It's an awkward word, and unfortunately, Ms. Ali was taken in at an extremely low point by an idea grounded on bad thinking. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-zLKNvBdUtZY.html
@11:00 When Ayaan says she doesn't mock religion anymore and "that's where the humility comes in," I have to just say it is precisely the opposite. Epistemic humility is being able to point out the fact that saying "millennia of wisdom" is nonsensical by today's standards when such wisdom doles out prescriptive and proscriptive ideas that run against human flourishing.
@18:00 Ayaan goes into the differences between being raised a Muslim and her recent rebirth as a Christian. She said the message of Christianity is one of love, while Islam was more about fear, or "naked fear," as she put it. As a former Christian, I can assure anyone that "naked fear" is certainly part of Christian upbringing, more for some and less for others. The simple theological fact remains: if you do not accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you will spend eternity being burnt alive. This fundamental teaching is never lost on children.
You can think of God as insurance, you don’t need it till you do, So Don’t speak his name before you hit that huge tree in your car. I personally believe in God, and when my time comes and there is a God I’m golden. If not I’m going where you’re going where ever that may be, I have that insurance just in case.
Pascal’s Wager may seem like a logical insurance policy. But, any all-powerful god worth her/his salt would know you were just disingenuously hedging your bets by playing it safe and your goose would be cooked anyway.
@@ga6589 Sure but He knows I’ve been following him for 60 years. If I have to make a statement that makes me look not totally convinced to get someone else to think, I’ve done my job. I’m sure God is smart enough to know the difference.
@@FireRescue884 And I unfollowed any god 60+ years ago, because I came to the realization that there's no credible or verifiable evidence to prove one exists. And in all that time, no one has been able to provide it. Instead, what's invariably offered up by theists is, "Better to be safe, than sorry!!"
