Richard Dawkins

Richard Dawkins is a British zoologist, formerly the Charles Simonyi Professor of the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford University. He is also a very outspoken atheist.

Much of his popular published work is on zoology, biology and evolution. His 2006 work, The God Delusion is concerned primarily with religion, belief and the effects it has had, on society, and why such should be considered anathema to those who value life.

Dawkins is well-known for his outspokenness against religion. He is famous for his opinion that labeling children with the religion of their parents is tantamount to child abuse, and for comparing the spread of religious beliefs to the spread of viruses.

Dawkins coined the term "meme" to describe how ideas (notably, religious belief) are spread and evolve using mechanisms similar to those of biological evolution.

Along with Sam Harris, Daniel Dennett and Christopher Hitchens, Dawkins participated in a two hour round-table discussion entitled the The Four Horsemen.

Publications

 * The Selfish Gene, Oxford University Press, 1976. ISBN 0-19-929115-2
 * The Extended Phenotype, Oxford University Press, 1982. ISBN 0-19-288051-9
 * The Blind Watchmaker, W. W. Norton & Company, 1986. ISBN 0-393-31570-3
 * River Out of Eden, Basic Books, 1995. ISBN 0-465-06990-8
 * Climbing Mount Improbable, W. W. Norton & Company, 1996. ISBN 0-393-31682-3
 * Unweaving the Rainbow, Houghton Mifflin, 1998. ISBN 0-618-05673-4
 * A Devil's Chaplain, Houghton Mifflin, 2003. ISBN 0-618-48539-2
 * The Ancestor's Tale, Houghton Mifflin, 2004. ISBN 0-618-61916-X
 * The God Delusion, Houghton Mifflin, 2006. ISBN 0-618-68000-4
 * The Greatest Show on Earth, Transworld, 2009. ISBN 0-593-06173-X
 * The Magic of Reality, 2011. ISBN 978-1-439192818

Documentaries

 * Root of all Evil?, 2006
 * The Enemies of Reason, 2007
 * The Genius of Charles Darwin, 2008
 * Faith School Menace?, 2011