User:NBeale/Richard Dawkins

[user:KaptKos] suggested we create this. For now I have put the latest text of Notable Supporters and Critics in it. I'll try to post the "moving forward" ideas later NBeale 12:33, 2 November 2006 (UTC)

Notable Academic Supporters and Critics
Dawkins' views provoke much debate. . The philosopher Daniel Dennett has a worldview very close to Dawkins and they often cite each other. A. C. Grayling is another supportive philosopher. Steven Pinker, John Krebs, Martin Daly and Randolph M. Nesse are publicly supportive scientists - all of these contributed to Richard Dawkins: How a Scientist Changed the Way We Think. Critics in this book included Patrick Bateson offering 'affectionate disagreements' and Michael Ruse. Other publicly supportive scientists include Peter Atkins. By contrast there are strong disagreements between Dawkins's views and those of Stephen Jay Gould and Martin Rees  who suggest that questions of religion should be left to philosophers and theologians. Dawkins lampoons Freeman Dyson. John Polkinghorne, Russell Stannard , Simon Conway Morris and Denis Noble suggest that science does not support Dawkins' conclusions, indeed the first three all argue that mainstream Christianity is entirely compatible with modern science. Mary Midgley, Terry Eagleton , Alvin Plantinga , Richard Swinburne and Alister McGrath criticise Dawkins mainly on philosophical and historical grounds.

Suggested para to insert into the article
Unless/until we have a wider consensus on the above I suggest that we insert something like the following (constructive edits please)NBeale 13:36, 2 November 2006 (UTC)

Dawkins believes that "the existence of God is a scientific hypothesis like any other". He disagrees with Stephen Jay Gould's idea of NonOverlapping MAgisteria (NOMA) and with similar ideas expressed by Martin Rees Of "good scientists who are sincerely religious" he mentions Arthur Peacocke, Russell Stannard, John Polkinghorne and Francis Collins and says "I remain baffled ... by their belief in the details of the Christian religion"

Merged with previous para
Oxford theologian Alister McGrath, author of Dawkins' God: Genes, Memes, and the Meaning of Life, has accused Dawkins of being ignorant of Christian theology and mischaracterising religious people generally. McGrath asserts that Dawkins has become better known for his rhetoric than for his reasoning, and that there is no clear basis for Dawkins' hostility towards religion. In response Dawkins states that his position is that Christian theology is vacuous, and that the only area of theology which might command his attention would be the claim to be able to demonstrate God's existence. Dawkins criticises McGrath for providing no argument to support his beliefs, other than the fact that they cannot be falsified. Dawkins' campaign against religion continued with the publication of The God Delusion in September 2006 in which he argues "the existence of God is a scientific hypothesis like any other", and outlines his disagreements with other scientists, such as Stephen Jay Gould and Martin Rees, who regard questions of religion beyond the scope of science.