Richard Dawkins

Scientists disagree among themselves but they never fight over their disagreements. They argue about evidence or go out and seek new evidence. Much the same is true of philosophers historians and literary critics.

Natural selection is anything but random.

It has become almost a cliche to remark that nobody boasts of ignorance of literature but it is socially acceptable to boast ignorance of science and proudly claim incompetence in mathematics.

It's an important point to realize that the genetic programming of our lives is not fully deterministic. It is statistical - it is in any animal merely statistical - not deterministic.

Design can never be an ultimate explanation for anything. It can only be a proximate explanation. A plane or a car is explained by a designer, but that's because the designer himself, the engineer is explained by natural selection.

The idea of an afterlife where you can be reunited with loved ones can be immensely consoling - though not to me.

I am against religion because it teaches us to be satisfied with not understanding the world.

I do disapprove very strongly of labelling children especially young children as something like 'Catholic children' or 'Protestant children' or 'Islamic children.'

By all means let's be open-minded but not so open-minded that our brains drop out.

Personally I rather look forward to a computer program winning the world chess championship. Humanity needs a lesson in humility.

Of course in science there are things that are open to doubt and things need to be discussed. But among the things that science does know evolution is about as certain as anything we know.

Physicists are working on the Big Bang and one day they may or may not solve it.

A delusion is something that people believe in despite a total lack of evidence.

Isn't it sad to go to your grave without ever wondering why you were born? Who with such a thought would not spring from bed eager to resume discovering the world and rejoicing to be part of it?