http://www.equaltimeforfreethought.org/2010/03/07/shows-336337-whats-all-the-fuss-about-darwinism-and-its-discontents/ Tune in, Pay it Forward, and Question Everything! Sat, 04 Feb 2012 19:15:02 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 http://www.equaltimeforfreethought.org/2010/03/07/shows-336337-whats-all-the-fuss-about-darwinism-and-its-discontents/comment-page-1/#comment-1309 Helen Katon Mon, 29 Mar 2010 04:08:11 +0000 http://www.equaltimeforfreethought.org/?p=210#comment-1309 Thank you very much for your reply. I've always felt that it is rather unfortunate for Dawkins to call his theory "the selfish gene," because it stops many people from learning more about it. He talked a lot about genes ending up cooperating with one another even across species in his book, and the theory definitely does not hinder ideas about altruism. Even failing that, he has warned against taking what is as what ought to be. Looking at organisms as a product of cellular structures doesn't preclude one from looking at it as a species or group. The two approaches should be complementary, not antagonistic, if either one is correct. The reason we don't design cars as though they are made of atoms isn't because they aren't, but only because it would be ridiculously laborious without adding anything to the process. Thank you very much for your reply. I’ve always felt that it is rather unfortunate for Dawkins to call his theory “the selfish gene,” because it stops many people from learning more about it. He talked a lot about genes ending up cooperating with one another even across species in his book, and the theory definitely does not hinder ideas about altruism. Even failing that, he has warned against taking what is as what ought to be. Looking at organisms as a product of cellular structures doesn’t preclude one from looking at it as a species or group. The two approaches should be complementary, not antagonistic, if either one is correct. The reason we don’t design cars as though they are made of atoms isn’t because they aren’t, but only because it would be ridiculously laborious without adding anything to the process.

]]> http://www.equaltimeforfreethought.org/2010/03/07/shows-336337-whats-all-the-fuss-about-darwinism-and-its-discontents/comment-page-1/#comment-1307 Helen Katon Fri, 19 Mar 2010 20:41:18 +0000 http://www.equaltimeforfreethought.org/?p=210#comment-1307 I greatly enjoyed the show; thanks for another great episode. The only blemish was the caricature of the selfish gene theory as an extremist viewpoint. Dawkins went to great pains to reject any simplistic reductionist view of life, and it's unfortunate that people dismiss such a meticulously composed explanation so out of hand. I greatly enjoyed the show; thanks for another great episode. The only blemish was the caricature of the selfish gene theory as an extremist viewpoint. Dawkins went to great pains to reject any simplistic reductionist view of life, and it’s unfortunate that people dismiss such a meticulously composed explanation so out of hand.

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