NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Dawkinite

Professor Clinton Richard Dawkins, FRS (born March 26, 1941), better known as Richard Dawkins, is a British ethologist and popular science writer. He is best known for popularising the Williams Revolution in his 1976 book The Selfish Gene. He is also an outspoken atheist. The Royal Society of London is claimed to be the oldest learned society still in existence and was founded in 1660. ... March 26 is the 85th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (86th in leap years). ... 1941 was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Ethology is the scientific study of animal behaviour (particularly of social animals such as primates and canids), and is a branch of zoology. ... 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. ... The Selfish Gene is a controversial book by Richard Dawkins published in 1976. ... Atheism is the state either of being without theistic beliefs, or of actively disbelieving in the existence of deities. ...

Biography

Dawkins comes from an upper-middle class family which can be found in the pages of Burke's Landed Gentry as "Dawkins of Over Norton". His father, John Clinton Dawkins, was a descendant of the Clinton family which held the Earldom of Lincoln. His mother was Jean Mary Vyvyan Dawkins (née Ladner). He was born in Nairobi, Kenya, where his father was a soldier. The title of Earl of Lincoln was created in the Peerage of England in 1572 for Edward Clinton, Lord Clinton, who served as Lord High Admiral under Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth I. The title was from the 18th century until the 1980s held by the Duke of Newcastle... Categories: Africa geography stubs | Capitals in Africa | Kenya ...

Dawkins moved to England when he was eight with his father and was educated at Oundle School. He received a second class BA degree in zoology from Balliol College, Oxford in 1962, where he studied under the Dutch ethologist Nikolaas Tinbergen. This was followed by an MA and DPhil in 1966. A Bachelor of Arts (B.A. or A.B.) is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for a course or program in the arts and/or sciences. ... Full name Balliol College Motto - Named after John de Balliol Previous names - Established 1263 Sister College St Johns College, Cambridge Master Andrew Graham (academic) Location Broad Street Undergraduates 403 Graduates 228 Homepage Boatclub Balliol College, founded in 1263, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford... The University of Oxford, situated in the city of Oxford in England, is the oldest university in the English-speaking world. ... 1962 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... Ethology is the scientific study of animal behaviour (particularly of social animals such as primates and canids), and is a branch of zoology. ... Nikolaas Tinbergen (April 15, 1907 - December 21, 1988) was a noted ethologist and ornithologist who shared the 1973 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Karl Von Frisch and Konrad Lorenz for their discoveries concerning organization and elicitation of individual and social behaviour patterns. ... A masters degree is an academic degree usually awarded for completion of a postgraduate course of one or two years in duration. ... Doctor of Philosophy (Ph. ... -1...

He married Marian Stamp on August 19, 1967, but they divorced in 1984. On June 1 the same year, Dawkins married Eve Barham, by whom he had a daughter, Juliet, but they, too, divorced. He married his third wife, actress Lalla Ward, in 1992, after having been introduced to her by Douglas Adams (who was a colleague of hers on the production team of Doctor Who; Dawkins and Adams had quickly become friends after he had written a fan letter to Adams). August 19 is the 231st day of the year (232nd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1967 was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ... 1984 is a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... June 1 is the 152nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (153rd in leap years), with 213 days remaining. ... 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. ... 1992 is a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Douglas Noel Adams (March 11, 1952 – May 11, 2001) — also known as Bop Ad or Bob after his illegible signature, or by his initials DNA — was a British comic radio dramatist and author, most notably of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy (HHGG or H2G2). ... The Doctor Who 2005 television series logo. ...

Meanwhile, he was an assistant professor of zoology at University of California, Berkeley, between 1967 and 1969. He was lecturer in zoology at Oxford University, and fellow of New College, from 1970 to 1990, and later a reader in zoology, until 1995, when he became the first Charles Simonyi Professor of the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2001. University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (also known as Cal, UC Berkeley, UCB, or simply Berkeley) is a public coeducational university situated in the foothills of Berkeley, California, USA to the east of San Francisco Bay, overlooking the Golden Gate. ... 1967 was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ... 1969 was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1969 calendar). ... Zoology (Greek zoon = animal and logos = word) is the biological discipline which involves the study of animals. ... The University of Oxford, situated in the city of Oxford in England, is the oldest university in the English-speaking world. ... New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. ... 1970 was a common year starting on Thursday. ... 1990 is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1995 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Charles Simonyi is a computer software developer who, as the head of Microsofts application software group, oversaw the creation of that companys flagship applications. ... The Royal Society of London is claimed to be the oldest learned society still in existence and was founded in 1660. ... 2001 is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

He is probably best known for his popularisation of the concept of the selfish gene (see "Williams Revolution"), described in his book The Selfish Gene. As an ethologist, interested in animal behaviour and its relation to natural selection, he popularised the idea that the gene is the principal unit of selection in evolution. This gene point of view also provides a basis for understanding kin selection which was formulated by his friend 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. ... The Selfish Gene is a controversial book by Richard Dawkins published in 1976. ... Ethology is the scientific study of animal behaviour (particularly of social animals such as primates and canids), and is a branch of zoology. ... A Unit of Selection, is, in evolutionary theory theory, the hypothetical basis upon which organisms diverge and mutate. ... Charles Darwin, the father of evolutionary theory Although generally, evolution is taken to mean any process of change over time, in the context of life science, evolution is a change in the traits of living organisms over generations, including the emergence of new species. ... Kin selection was first suggested by Darwin as an explanation of the sterile castes of social insects and has later been mathematically defined by W. D. Hamilton as a mechanism for the evolution of apparently altruistic acts. ... This article is about the British biologist Bill Hamilton. ...

Dawkins has been one of the major proponents of sociobiological theory and coined the term meme, which spawned the theory of memetics. In the controversy over the interpretation of the theory of evolution that is colloquially called the Darwin Wars, one faction is often named for Dawkins and its rival for Stephen Jay Gould. This reflects the pre-eminence of each as popularisers of the contesting viewpoints, rather than because either is the more substantial or extreme champion of these positions. A typical example of Dawkins' position is his scathing review (published in January 1985) of Not in Our Genes by Rose, Kamin and Lewontin. Two others often considered to be in the same camp as Dawkins are Pinker and Dennett. Sociobiology is a branch of biology and also sociology that attempts to throw light upon behavior in both human and non-human societies in terms of evolutionary advantage or strategy. ... Meme, (rhymes with cream and comes from Greek root with the meaning of memory and its derivative mimeme), is the term given to a unit of information that replicates from brains and inanimate stores of information, such as books and computers, to other brains or stores of information. ... Memetics is the scientific approach to evolutionary models of information transfer based on the concept of the meme. ... Stephen Jay Gould Stephen Jay Gould (September 10, 1941 – May 20, 2002) was a New York-born American paleontologist, evolutionary biologist, and historian of science. ... 1985 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Steven P. Rose (born July 4, 1938 in London) is a professor of biology and neurobiology at the Open University and University of London. ... Richard Charles Lewontin (born March 29, 1929) is an evolutionary biologist, geneticist, and social commentator at Harvard University. ... Steven Pinker (born September 18, 1954, in Montreal, Canada) is a psychologist at Harvard University and a writer of popular science books. ... Daniel Clement Dennett (born March 28, 1942) is an American philosopher. ...

He is an ardent and outspoken atheist, an Honorary Associate of the National Secular Society and vice-president of the British Humanist Association. He also writes for the Council for Secular Humanism's magazine Free Inquiry and serves as a Senior Editor. In his essay "Viruses of the Mind", he uses memetics theory to explain the phenomenon of religious belief and the various characteristics of organised religions, such as the common belief in punishments awaiting non-believers. Atheism is the state either of being without theistic beliefs, or of actively disbelieving in the existence of deities. ... The National Secular Society is an organisation of the United Kingdom which promotes secularism. ... The British Humanist Association is an organisation of the United Kingdom which promotes humanism. ... The Council for Secular Humanism is the only exclusively Secular Humanist organization in the USA. The council is based in New York, and acts as an umbrella organization for a number of other groups such as the Center for Inquiry, the Campus Freethought Alliance, and Secular Organizations for Sobriety. ... Viruses of the Mind (1993) is a controversial essay by Richard Dawkins using memetics, epidemiology, and an analogy with computer viruses to analyse the propagation of religious beliefs. ... Memetics is the scientific approach to evolutionary models of information transfer based on the concept of the meme. ...

Dawkins is a prominent figure in contemporary public debate on issues related to science and religion. He topped Prospect Magazine's 2004 list of the top 100 public British intellectuals, as decided by the readers, receiving twice as many votes as the runner-up. Prospect is a monthly British current affairs magazine, launched in October 1995. ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

On the advice of his late colleague Stephen Jay Gould, Dawkins refuses to participate in debates with creationists because doing so would give them the "oxygen of respectability" that they want with the public; Dawkins argued that creationists "don't mind being beaten in an argument. What matters is that we give them recognition by bothering to argue with them in public." (A Devil's Chaplain, p. 256) This is an article on wide range of beliefs in creation ex nihilo. ...

Bibliography

Books by Dawkins

The Selfish Gene is a controversial book by Richard Dawkins published in 1976. ... 1976 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1989 is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Extended Phenotype is a 1982 book by biologist Richard Dawkins and is sometimes a reference to the idea expounded in that book. ... 1982 is a number and represents a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar Events January-February January 6 - William Bonin is convicted of being the freeway killer. January 8 - AT&T agrees to divest itself of twenty-two subdivisions January 11 - Mark Thatcher, son of the British... The Blind Watchmaker 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. ... 1986 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... River Out Of Eden is a 1995 popular-science book by Richard Dawkins. ... 1995 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Climbing Mount Improbable is a 1996 popular science book by Richard Dawkins. ... 1997 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Reef. ... 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. ... 1998 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... A Devils Chaplain (Phoenix, 2003) is a book collecting selected essays and other writings by the British zoologist Richard Dawkins. ... 2003 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, and also: The International Year of Freshwater The European Disability Year Events January January 1 - Luíz Inácio Lula Da Silva becomes the 37th President of Brazil. ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Books about Dawkins

See also Books by and about Richard Dawkins (http://www.simonyi.ox.ac.uk/dawkins/WorldOfDawkins-archive/Dawkins/Work/Books/index.shtml) and Richard Dawkins Bibliography (http://www.simonyi.ox.ac.uk/dawkins/WorldOfDawkins-archive/Dawkins/Work/biblio.shtml), these links are useful but no longer maintained. 2001 is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Stephen Jay Gould Stephen Jay Gould (September 10, 1941 – May 20, 2002) was a New York-born American paleontologist, evolutionary biologist, and historian of science. ... Dr. Alister McGrath Alister E. McGrath (Jan. ... 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Essays by Dawkins

See also Papers and commentary by Richard Dawkins (http://www.simonyi.ox.ac.uk/dawkins/WorldOfDawkins-archive/Dawkins/Work/papers.shtml), no longer maintained. Viruses of the Mind (1993) is a controversial essay by Richard Dawkins using memetics, epidemiology, and an analogy with computer viruses to analyse the propagation of religious beliefs. ... 1993 is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003) Events Media:January January 1 - Czechoslovakia divides. ... An astrological chart (or horoscope) - Y2K Chart — This particular chart is calculated for January 1, 2000 at 12:01:00 A.M. Eastern Standard Time in New York City, New York, USA. (Longitude: 074W0023 - Latitude: 40N4251) Astrology (from Greek: αστρολογία = άστρον, astron, star + λόγος, logos, word) is any... 1995 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about race as an intraspecies classification. ... Osama bin Laden Usāmah bin Muhammad bin `Awad bin Lādin (born March 10, 1957 or July 30, 1957) (Arabic: أسامة بن محمد بن عود بن لادن), commonly known as Osama bin Laden (أسامة بن لادن), is the figurehead of al-Qaeda, an Islamist movement that has been involved in attacks...

Documentaries

Three Tales is the title of multiple works: Three Tales, a novel by Gustave Flaubert Three Tales, an opera by Steve Reich and Beryl Korot This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Dont Panic is the advice written across the front of the fictional book The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy in big, friendly letters, according to the narrator of the novel. ...

External links

Categories: 1941 births | Ethologists | British biologists | Atheist thinkers and activists | Fellows of the Royal Society | Science writers | British writers | Skeptics File links The following pages link to this file: Abraham Lincoln Aristotle Ayn Rand Adolf Hitler Al Gore Animal Farm Aldous Huxley Arthur Koestler Arthur Schopenhauer Animal Albert Einstein Art Abortion Apocalypse Now Alfred Hitchcock Alexander Graham Bell Andy Warhol Afrika Bambaataa Arthur C. Clarke Atheism Arthur Conan Doyle A... Wikiquote is a sister project of Wikipedia, using the same MediaWiki software. ... Human cloning is the creation of a genetically identical copy of an existing human or growing cloned tissue from that individual. ... 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. ... The Blind Watchmaker 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. ... A Devils Chaplain (Phoenix, 2003) is a book collecting selected essays and other writings by the British zoologist Richard Dawkins. ... 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 a general term for many different lines of thought that focus on humanity and issues that are common to human beings. ... Charles Darwin, the father of evolutionary theory Although generally, evolution is taken to mean any process of change over time, in the context of life science, evolution is a change in the traits of living organisms over generations, including the emergence of new species. ... 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. ...