The Poetry of Reality with Richard Dawkins

Derren Brown is one of our leading conjurers, specializing in mentalism, the illusion of reading people’s minds. I interviewed him for my Channel 4 TV documentary, Enemies of Reason. We talked about cold reading and how the technique is used by frauds who pretend to communicate with the dead, as well as by honest conjurers. Derren himself is an honest conjurer and a sharp critic of charlatans who abuse their skills, lucratively pretending to supernatural powers, which of course, they don’t have. I have just listened to the interview again, and I must say I find it one of the more interesting interviews I have done. See if you agree.

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Satish Kumar was one of those I interviewed for my Channel 4 documentary, ‘Enemies of Reason.’ He began by telling a nice story about Bertrand Russell, whom he met as a young man and who supported him. We moved on to holism, which seemed harmless enough, but as the interview wore on, he became more and more mystical, culminating in the treeness of trees, I couldn't help wondering what Bertrand Russell would have said.

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I have long wanted to meet John McWhorter. He’s an extremely well-known public intellectual and opinion leader who, in my opinion, always talks sense. I have this rather eccentric idea that before becoming a public intellectual, you need to earn your credentials by having something important and interesting to be intellectual about, and John McWhorter qualifies in a big way. He is a world authority on linguistics, the study of the extraordinary phenomenon of human language, which I think is one of the most important and interesting subjects out there. 

We both spoke at the Dissident Dialogues conference in New York this year, and I seized the opportunity to invite him onto The Poetry of Reality. I was delighted and honored when he accepted. I began by asking him about linguistics, including the vexed question of the origin of language.

Only later did we move on to his more controversial book, a book that I strongly recommend, “Woke Racism: How a New Religion Has Betrayed Black America.

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Ayaan Hirsi Ali is a hero, a staunch fighter against the violent intolerance and bossy control freakery of Islamism. She is also a personal friend of whom I am very fond. When she recently announced her conversion to Christianity, I assumed that she must be no more than a political Christian, regarding Christianity as a bulwark against Islam. I have some sympathy with the view that if you must have a religion at all, Christianity is hugely better than the leading alternative. In Hilaire Belloc’s words, “Always keep a-hold of Nurse for fear of finding something worse.”

I agreed to have a public conversation with her in New York, in which I was all prepared to emphasize the distinction between a political Christian and a true believing Christian, who actually thinks Jesus was born of a virgin and rose from the dead. I think the distinction is a really important one. I don’t think a political Christian is a real Christian, any more than the kind of cultural Christian I am myself.

When we met on the stage at the Dissident Dialogues meeting in New York, I was wrongfooted when Ayaan began with a personal statement which seemed to suggest that she really is a believing Christian, not just a political Christian. Well, her form of words was “I choose to believe.” I’m not sure what to make of that. Anyways, see what you think; here is the recording of our New York meeting.

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(This is part 2 of Richard's interview with Alister McGrath.)

 I interviewed Alister McGrath for my Channel 4 documentary, Root of All Evil. He is a theologian, a nice enough fellow, but I wouldn't go out of your way to listen to this interview unless it's to remind yourself what an empty, vacuous, non-subject theology is. 
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 I will be on tour of North America, UK & EU talking about my latest book, religion, life on earth and beyond. I will be joined on stage by a range of friends and foes on stage. The events will include a Q&A and a limited meet-and-greet. You can get your tickets here: https://richarddawkinstour.com/ #richarddawkins #richarddawkinstour

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I interviewed Alister McGrath for my Channel 4 documentary, Root of All Evil. He is a theologian, a nice enough fellow, but I wouldn't go out of your way to listen to this interview unless it's to remind yourself what an empty, vacuous, non-subject theology is.
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In 2008, touring America to promote The God Delusion, I spoke to a large audience at the University of California at Berkeley. It was a nostalgic visit for me, as I had spent two eventful years there as a young man. Today I stand by everything I said in the lecture.

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Why are there two sexes, and how is the balance between the two maintained in evolution? The riddle is one that baffled Chales Darwin. He explicitly left it for later generations. It was eventually solved, with typical brilliance, by the great Ronald Fisher. The fundamental sexual inequality is an economic one. Eggs are hugely larger than sperm. From this much follows. Why do peacocks have such a ridiculously large, ornamental “tail”, when it obviouly must put them in danger? Do females go for male beauty for beauty’s sake (as Darwin thought, and Fisher explained)? Or are males advertising some useful quality (as AlfredWallace, Darwin's co-discoverer of natural selection, insisted). Is the peacock’s tail favoured in spite of being a handicap? Or could it be favoured precisely becuse it is a costly handicap? Does it have to be costly as a certificate of honesty? Do females only go for honest males? This is a talk I gave on a ship crusing the Galapagos archipelago.

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I filmed a conversation about death shortly after Dan Dennett recovered from a life-threatening condition. In addition to discussing personal mortality, we talked about bereavement. I thought this time it would be appropriate to listen again to his wisdom—the wisdom of a great thinker and a dear friend. Big books, was an eloquent speaker, had deep knowledge of science as well as philosophy, was a talented musician and sculptor, lived a full life and died in harness. It leaves a huge gap in the world of intellect, Dan, I will miss you so much, so deeply.

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This episode features the eminent scientist, Prof. Martin Rees, as he joins me in traversing the worlds of physics and biology. Together, he and I grapple with the profound complexities of understanding reality, from contemplating multiple dimensions to exploring the implications of scientific insights that inspire and challenge us. Dive into the evolution of humankind to include digital and AI creations, ponder philosophical questions of consciousness and self-awareness, and speculate on the future of machine consciousness.

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