Science in the Soul: Selected Writings of a Passionate Rationalist
by Richard Dawkins
On This Page
Description
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The legendary biologist and bestselling author mounts a timely and passionate defense of science and clear thinking with this career-spanning collection of essays, including twenty pieces published in the United States for the first time.For decades, Richard Dawkins has been a brilliant scientific communicator, consistently illuminating the wonders of nature and attacking faulty logic. Science in the Soul brings together forty-two essays, polemics, and show more paeans—all written with Dawkins’s characteristic erudition, remorseless wit, and unjaded awe of the natural world.
Though it spans three decades, this book couldn’t be more timely or more urgent. Elected officials have opened the floodgates to prejudices that have for half a century been unacceptable or at least undercover. In a passionate introduction, Dawkins calls on us to insist that reason take center stage and that gut feelings, even when they don’t represent the stirred dark waters of xenophobia, misogyny, or other blind prejudice, should stay out of the voting booth. And in the essays themselves, newly annotated by the author, he investigates a number of issues, including the importance of empirical evidence, and decries bad science, religion in the schools, and climate-change deniers.
Dawkins has equal ardor for “the sacred truth of nature” and renders here with typical virtuosity the glories and complexities of the natural world. Woven into an exploration of the vastness of geological time, for instance, is the peculiar history of the giant tortoises and the sea turtles—whose journeys between water and land tell us a deeper story about evolution. At this moment, when so many highly placed people still question the fact of evolution, Dawkins asks what Darwin would make of his own legacy—“a mixture of exhilaration and exasperation”—and celebrates science as possessing many of religion’s virtues—“explanation, consolation, and uplift”—without its detriments of superstition and prejudice.
In a world grown irrational and hostile to facts, Science in the Soul is an essential collection by an indispensable author.
Praise for Science in the Soul
“Compelling . . . rendered in gloriously spiky and opinionated prose . . . [Dawkins is] one of the great science popularizers of the last half-century.”—The Christian Science Monitor
“Dawkins is a ferocious polemicist, a defender of reason and enemy of superstition.”—John Horgan, Scientific American. show less
Tags
Recommendations
Member Reviews
Quite stunning. I have never read any of Dawkins work before, and spent a life flirting (willingly and unwillingly) with Christianity / Catholicisim, until more recently - free of the shackles of believers influence - discovering a more personal and secular based approach through meditation. The writings in this book on evolution, humanity, values and other topics strike many chords with me and, frankly, provide me with succour that I am not 'wrong' in my life's journey of discovery to date; that said a rate of discovery that is really of some paucity, now much richer for having read this. Now, to get our government to govern on the basis of evidence and rationality...
I agree with a lot of what is said, I also disagree almost equally as much, and most of it is so blatantly obvious that I wonder why he even bothered to put it down.
I'm also slightly taken aback by the fact that he doesn't practice what he preaches. One example is how important it is that nothing is fully one thing or another, but he will multiple times tell you of other things he doesn't approve of, and how incredibly bad these things are, belittling people associated with said things.
Some of these pieces should also have just stayed as tweets, there were no need to elaborate them in order to get to publish them somewhere. This book is also littered with weird flexes, but okay..
In conclusion, sadly he is too much a product of his show more time and culture for the message he is trying to deliver to come all the way across. show less
I'm also slightly taken aback by the fact that he doesn't practice what he preaches. One example is how important it is that nothing is fully one thing or another, but he will multiple times tell you of other things he doesn't approve of, and how incredibly bad these things are, belittling people associated with said things.
Some of these pieces should also have just stayed as tweets, there were no need to elaborate them in order to get to publish them somewhere. This book is also littered with weird flexes, but okay..
In conclusion, sadly he is too much a product of his show more time and culture for the message he is trying to deliver to come all the way across. show less
My copy of this is signed by the author. This is the first book by Dawkins that I've read, even though I have several of his on my To-Read list.
A rather enjoyable collection of some of the essays and transcriptions of talks written or presented by the author over the past 25 years (or more). Ranging from observations on the authors original field of biology and ethology, to politics an sociology, with a smattering of humor and, yes, religious critique.
A rather enjoyable collection of some of the essays and transcriptions of talks written or presented by the author over the past 25 years (or more). Ranging from observations on the authors original field of biology and ethology, to politics an sociology, with a smattering of humor and, yes, religious critique.
A collection of various different writings of Dawkins taken from different sources and on different topics, so if you're interested in getting a feel for who he is and what he has to say, this might be a good choice. I personally find his style a little dry and a little dense, however.
This is a compilation of short writings by Richard Dawkins on a wide variety of topics. There are several problems with such a book including that Dawkins is not qualified to have expertise in many of the topics. So basically we have someone's opinion, who is presumably taking a rationale approach to these topics. I am disappointed with the book as it is disjoint and while I agree with Dawkins on many points, especially on science, I think he has overstepped his bounds. I cannot recommend this book.
An eclectic mix of Dawkins' shorter writings. Some are essays, some are pastiches, some are epistles to specific persons. Detailed reviews of individual works:
I. The Values of Science
Dolittle and Darwin: Discusses the Dr. Dolittle series which fired his scientific imagination when he was a child. When he, later, encountered Darwin, the two seemed similar, which makes sense to me. I think I read the books when I was a kid, but I remember them not at all. I really want to give them another go.
I. The Values of Science
Dolittle and Darwin: Discusses the Dr. Dolittle series which fired his scientific imagination when he was a child. When he, later, encountered Darwin, the two seemed similar, which makes sense to me. I think I read the books when I was a kid, but I remember them not at all. I really want to give them another go.
Dawkins is a hero
Members
- Recently Added By
Author Information
76+ Works 63,907 Members
Richard Dawkins was educated at Oxford University and taught zoology at the University of California and Oxford University, holding the position of the Charles Simonyi Professor of the Public Understanding of Science. He writes about such topics as DNA and genetic engineering, virtual reality, astronomy, and evolution. His books include The show more Selfish Gene, The Extended Phenotype, The Blind Watchmaker, River Out of Eden, Climbing Mount Improbable, The God Delusion, and An Appetite for Wonder: The Making of a Scientist. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Common Knowledge
- Original title
- Science in the Soul: Selected Writings of a Passionate Rationalist
- Original publication date
- 2017
- Original language
- English
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 357
- Popularity
- 87,759
- Reviews
- 7
- Rating
- (3.83)
- Languages
- 5 — English, German, Portuguese (Portugal), Spanish, Swedish
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 21
- ASINs
- 6
