NationMaster - Encyclopedia: A Devil's Chaplain

A Devil's Chaplain (Phoenix, 2003, ISBN 0753817500) is a book collecting selected essays and other writings by the British zoologist Richard Dawkins. The book contains 32 essays covering subjects including pseudoscience, genetic determinism, memetics, terrorism, religion and creationism. A section of the book is devoted to Dawkins' late colleague, paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould. 2003 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Zoology (Greek zoon = animal and logos = word) is the biological discipline which involves the study of animals. ... Dawkins is the holder of the Charles Simonyi Chair in the Public Understanding of Science at the University of Oxford. ... Pseudoscience refers to any body of knowledge or practice which purports to be scientific or supported by science but which is judged to fall outside the domain of science. ... Genetic determinism is the idea that an individuals genes determine to a large degree all aspects of their behaviour. ... Memetics is the pseudoscientific approach to evolutionary models of information transfer based on the concept of the meme. ... The word terrorism is controversial and has many definitions, none of which are universally accepted. ... Christianity, Islam and Judaism hold the belief that the universe was created by a Supreme Being. ... A paleontologist carefully chips rock from a column of dinosaur vertebrae. ... Stephen Jay Gould Stephen Jay Gould (September 10, 1941 â€“ May 20, 2002) was a New York-born American paleontologist, evolutionary biologist, and historian of science. ...

The book's title is a reference to a quotation of Charles Darwin, made in reference to Darwin's lack of belief in how "a perfect world" was designed by God: "What a book a devil's chaplain might write on the clumsy, wasteful, blundering low and horridly cruel works of nature!" Charles Darwin in 1854, five years prior to the publication of The Origin of Species Charles Robert Darwin (12 February 1809â€“19 April 1882) was a British naturalist who achieved lasting fame as originator of the theory of evolution through natural selection. ... The term God is used to designate a Supreme Being; however, there are other definitions of God. ...

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Categories: 2003 books | Science books Dawkins is the holder of the Charles Simonyi Chair in the Public Understanding of Science at the University of Oxford. ... The Selfish Gene is a controversial book by Richard Dawkins published in 1976. ... The Extended Phenotype is a 1982 book by biologist Richard Dawkins and is sometimes a reference to the idea expounded in that book. ... Cover The Blind Watchmaker: Why the Evidence of Evolution Reveals a Universe Without Design is a 1986 book by Richard Dawkins in which he presents an explanation of, and argument for, the theory of evolution by means of natural selection. ... River Out Of Eden is a 1995 popular-science book by Richard Dawkins. ... Climbing Mount Improbable is a 1996 popular science book by Richard Dawkins. ... Unweaving the Rainbow (subtitled Science, Delusion and the Appetite for Wonder) is a book by Richard Dawkins, published in 1998 discussing the relationship between science and arts from the perspective of a scientist. ... This article is about the British biologist Bill Hamilton. ... Named in honour of George C. Williams, the Williams Revolution is the phrase sometimes used to characterise the paradigm shift which is asserted to have occurred in theoretical biology in the mid-1960s. ... Atheism is the state either of being without theistic beliefs, or of actively disbelieving in the existence of deities. ... Humanism is an active ethical and phylosphical approach to life focusing on human solutions to human issues through rational arguments without recourse to a god, gods, sacred texts or religious creeds. ... Charles Darwin, father of the theory of evolution by natural selection. ... Lalla Ward as Romana in Doctor Who Lalla Ward (the Honourable Sarah Ward) (born June 28, 1951) is an actress and illustrator best known for playing the part of Romana in the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who. ...

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