Why is Prof Richard Dawkins so obnoxious?

Answer 1

Because he is *usually* right ... and he has the misfortune of being aware of this fact.

I disagree with him on his atheism. And I have a fondness for the late Stephen Jay Gould that may have made me prone to disagreeing with Dawkins on some of the famous feuds with Gould.

But when it comes to knowledge of biology, Dawkins is an absolute powerhouse! He *knows* his science ... right down to his toes... and he knows how to explain it, and can call up dozens of unimpeachable examples to illustrate any point.

If that's what you call 'obnoxious', then give me more of it.

Or to put it another way, we can't all be "unobnoxious" adorable teddy bears like Kent Hovind.

{p.s.}

jonmcn ... no I haven't read it. Do you have a link?

Answer 2

Why does it make any difference to the message he brings, especially in scientific matters? He has been rebuked lately, by Neil deGrasse Tyson, on that very issue; occluding his message with his intensity. I doubt he will change all that much and this religious thing is probable nothing in change that can be forced by his power of personality, or many others, for that matter. As secretsause has told you, his science is " right on " and this is all that matters to me.

PS Secretsause. Did you read Dawkins eulogy for Gould; at Gould's death?

PSS secretsause I think it is in " The Devil's Chaplin ", but I am not sure. Will find out and e-mail you.

Answer 3

Prof. Dawkins has a world view which eliminates any kind of personal meaning or significance. Like most of us, he now finds that he cannot live with that world-view, and so he is creating his own 'meaning' - in this case, he has become the evangelist for the religion of atheism. And, because his own significance is defined by the purpose he has set himself, you can bet that he is going to be extremely committed to his cause.

Answer 4

Any scientist would be in the same situation.

Imagine if even the kindly Mr Stephen Hawking received information from religious people everyday saying they don't believe in gravity or blackholes because they're not mentioned in the bible and that he'll burn for his sins in promoting a secular worldview.

I can just hear that electronic voice smoothly saying 'f*** you all.* Any scientist would get angry. Dawkins gets the brunt of it with all the moronic creationists wasting his time.

Answer 5

Martin has it absolutely right. Give him 10 points.

To the Dawkins supporters:

Dawkins is extremely damaging to science in the US. He loudly demands that people choose between religion and science. In the US that means that a great many people will reject science, and stop supporting it. He's smart enough to know that, too, so he is willfully damaging science. I can't imagine why.

The best approach here is to show people that religion and science are fully compatible. If someone accepts all of science they are still free to believe that a creator started the whole thing 13 billion years ago. Nothing in science contradicts that.

Answer 6

Dawkins, like many atheists and non-cChristians realize the intelligence in many Jesus' teachings. He in basic terms rejects the thought he grow to be any style of supernatural being (or the son of one). Jesus' important coaching of "Love one yet another" is a vital one, and not constrained to Christians.

Answer 7

Love the Prof to bits!

Answer 8

Interesting question.
It is absolutely true that he is a fundementalist atheist.
Most of his 'scientific' output is religious philosophy not realy science at all.
The bottom line is that he hates God with a passion, and will do anything to convince himself and anyone that will listen that evolution is true and therefore the Bible is wrong and God does not exist.
Some atheists are happy to acknowledge this and can be quite civil about it. http://www.creationontheweb.com/content/view/703/
Dawkins is apparently unable to conduct a civil debate with those he disagrees with, stooping to ad hominem insults, underhand tactics and poor logic. E.g. see this review of one of his books http://www.creationontheweb.com/content/view/1855/).

I think his obnoxiousness stems from his enormous pride.
He is undoubtedly a good communicator and 'clever' in certain ways. Yet he is a fool.

Answer 9

He is a bit of a toff, but that shouldn't be a handicap. I guess a lot of people can't be bothered to trail up mount improbable.

Answer 10

He annoys me because he's become too preoccupied with arguing the toss with Creationists. I'd much rather he kept developing his ideas - that would be a much more inspiring legacy.