Der Dawkins-Diskurs in Theologie, Philosophie und Naturwissenschaften
by Katharina Peetz
Richard Dawkins, evolutionary biologist and best-selling author (‘The God Delusion’) is the most popular religious critic of our time. A well-known slogan of his characterizes religion as the ‘root of all evil’ and as a justification for ‘belief without evidence’. According to Dawkins, the notion of God as a creator is perfectly unnecessary to explain the existence of complex life forms as ourselves. He advocates instead a gene-centered view of Evolution and Nature in general, where natural selection is the key to the appearance of complex life.
English summary: Richard Dawkins, evolutionary biologist and best-selling author (‘The God Delusion’) is the most popular religious critic of our time. A well-known slogan of his characterizes religion as the ‘root of all evil’ and as a justification for ‘belief without evidence’. According to Dawkins, the notion of God as a creator is perfectly unnecessary to explain the existence of complex life forms as ourselves. He advocates instead a gene-centered view of Evolution and Nature in general, where natural selection is the key to the appearance of complex life. Moreover, Dawkins goes beyond his field of activity by rejecting the God hypothesis altogether, even as an explanation for the origin of the Universe. Here is where he receives sharp criticism from theologians, arguing that his reasoning is shallow and unprofessional. However, an analysis of the Dawkins discourse illustrates that Dawkins’ theses deserve to be taken seriously. Among other things, he challenges theologians to argue if the hypothesis of a creator God can be truth-apt in the cognitivistic sense. German description: Der Biologe Richard Dawkins, Autor des Bestsellers Der Gotteswahn, ist einer der popularsten Religionskritiker der Gegenwart. Gott existiert nach Dawkins “mit an Sicherheit grenzender Wahrscheinlichkeit” nicht. Mit seinen religionskritischen Argumenten fordert Dawkins die Theologie heraus, uber die prinzipielle Wahrheitsfahigkeit der Aussage von Gott als Schopfer und die genuine Aufgabe einer rationalen Verantwortung des Glaubens nachzudenken. Katharina Peetz fuhrt mit dem Dawkins-Diskurs mitten hinein in die Kontroversen um Theologie und Naturwissenschaften und macht deutlich, dass von einem Dialog mehr profitiert werden kann als von Konfrontation oder Abgrenzung.
- By (author) Katharina Peetz
Other Titles in this Series
‘Emergente Evolution’?
Fallstudien zur philosophischen Rekonstruktion und schopfungstheologischen Rezeption eines naturalistischen Paradigmas
Volume 40
Einstein und die Religion
Das Wechselverhältnis zwischen religiös-weltanschaulichen Gehalten und naturwissenschaftlicher Theoriebildung Albert Einsteins in seiner Entwicklung
In der Bewusstseinsfalle?
Geist und Gehirn in der Diskussion von Theologie, Philosophie und Naturwissenschaften
Volume 18
Freier Wille und Natur(alismus)
Ein integrativer Ansatz zur Willensfreiheit im Kontext der Bewusstseinsfrage
Volume 36
Hope as Atmosphere
An Existential-phenomenological and Inter-cultural Study into the Phenomenon of Hope
Volume 37
The Fracture of An Illusion
Science And The Dissolution Of Religion. Frankfurt Templeton Lectures 2008
Volume 20
Firmament und Kosmos
Schopfungstheologie im Denkhorizont des Alten Orients als Prototyp eines Dialogmodells fur Theologie und Naturwissenschaft
Volume 39
Vom Erkennen zum Handeln
Die Dynamisierung von Mensch und Natur im ausgehenden Mittelalter als Voraussetzung fur die Entstehung naturwissenschaftlicher Rationalitat
Volume 12
Perceiving Truth and Value
Interdisciplinary Discussions on Perception as the Foundation of Ethics
Volume 33
Resonanzen
Neurobiologie, Evolution und Theologie: Evolutionare Nischenkonstruktion, das okologische Gehirn und narrativ-relationale Theologie
Volume 30
Das Modell des illibertaren Indeterminismus
Lebensfuhrung jenseits von Willensfreiheit und Fatalismus: Ein philosophisch-theologischer Entwurf im Dialog mit den Naturwissenschaften
Volume 31
Resonances
Neurobiology, Evolution and Theology: Evolutionary Niche Construction, the Ecological Brain and Relational-Narrative Theology
Volume 29
Alone in the World?
Human Uniqueness in Science and Theology. The Gifford Lectures. The University of Edinburgh, Spring 2004
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