Question of the Day #66: The Gospel of Richard
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Richard Dawkins has famously said that evolution "'made it possible to be an intellectually satisfied atheist." What do you think of this statement? Do you agree? Does it logically imply that it is not possible to be "an intellectually satisfied atheist" without evolution? If not, what does it imply?
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Derek Sansone always says that any debate between theism and atheism always comes down to the question of design. I think there's a good bit of truth to that, because one of the fundamental questions of life is "where did I come from?" Although an understanding of evolution is not necessary for one to conclude that atheism is true, it does go a long way towards answering that question. What Dawkins means, I think, is that before we could scientifically explain the development on life on this planet, theists always had a, if not a paralyzing, still a rhetorically satisfying rejoinder to any question of the existence of God. "How do you explain the existence of elephants and buffalo and butterflies, without first accepting the existence of God?!"
But I think confining his sentiment to evolution is perhaps a distortion of what Dawkins is really trying to get across. Not just evolution, but the whole of science has taken the place of God for atheists, insofar as God has been the great cosmic answer to the questions of life. Ultimately, proffering a god-concept as an answer is technically possible, but intellectually vacuous, becuase it's essentially admitting ignorance. On the other hand, science (although not absolute in its conclusions) gives a much more satisfying answer because we can have a high degree of confidence in its methods.
"So, it seems that the theist answer being outside the realm of personal experience may as much recommend it to our satisfaction, as it may condemn it."
It's meaningless, therefore you like it?
"My point is nothing more or less than someone might be as well satisfied with a thing that explains everything and relies on something we can't understand"
Oh, there are plenty of people who are satisfied by it, even if it makes their lives totally meaningless.
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