Richard Dawkins Critique

General Critique

Accepted by all reputable scientists, evolution is a major concept in science which has ties to nearly every aspect of biology. Despite this, systematic opposition flourishes across the world, especially in America where “over forty-percent deny any possibility of evolution” (Dawkins, 2009, p.7). The opposition, consisting of teachers, professors, politicians, and many more highly educated individuals, undermine the very status of science in classrooms and across the world. In Richard Dawkins best-selling book, The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution, Dawkins attacks the fallacious arguments many creationists believe in and provides fourteen separate pieces of evidence which all lead to one truth: evolution is

fact, not fiction.
Though compilations of the evidence behind evolution have been released numerous times in the past, Dawkins’ novel stands out considerably.

What makes Dawkins’ novel truly special is the logical progression in his arguments, making them clearer and more convincing than its predecessors. Moreover, even readers without any prior scientific knowledge can fully comprehend his arguments because of this progression. Dawkins begins with real-life examples that ordinary people understand. For example, Dawkins uses the familiar concept of selective breeding in dogs in his second chapter, Dogs, Cows, and Cabbages. He then uses an analogy to show the core similarities between his everyday example and the evolutionary concept he seeks to explain: “Another familiar example is the sculpting of the wolf, Canis lupus, into the two hundred or so breeds of dogs” (Dawkins, 2009, p.27). In this line, Dawkins compares sculptors to breeders to expose the role of genes in artificial selection, providing a pathway to the concept of natural selection. Finally, Dawkins bolsters his points with scientific evidence, which the audience can readily accept due to his use of analogies and real-world

examples.
In a time where opposition to evolution runs rampant, Richard Dawkins The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution is a crucial text for educating the masses. Through his unequivocal and carefully constructed evidence, Dawkins creates an elegant rebuttal that sets it apart from its precursors. His goal is not to enlighten, nor is it to preach; Dawkins aim is to actively fight against the creationists who are denying an incontrovertible fact, are ignoring the foundation of biology, and are missing, quite aptly, the greatest show on earth.

Personal Critique
While I do believe that Richard Dawkins book is interesting, humorous, and most certainly compelling, I feel that it fails to target the correct audience.

Although it is easy to read as someone who has always believed in evolution, I find this book to be harsh on creationists who Dawkins continually disrespects. For example, right at the start of the novel, Dawkins compares the religious to Holocaust-deniers: “Imagine that, as a teacher of European history, you are continually faced with belligerent demands to ‘teach the controversy’, and give ‘equal time’ to the ‘alternative theory’ that the Holocaust never happened ... the plight of many science teachers is not less dire, as they waste time at every turn with evolution-deniers” (Dawkins, 2009, p.4). By comparing the two groups, Dawkins likens the absurdity of not believing in the Holocaust to that of believing in a God. Though this comparison is somewhat humorous and further developed, it will certainly offend any religious reader and he or she may stop reading after merely four pages. In the case that the reader does stop, his or her hostility towards the concept of evolution will only grow and nothing will be achieved. In my opinion, the aggression towards religious groups is one of the major reasons why the concept of evolution is still denied by a large percentage of the world. Despite all this, I personally found Dawkins’s The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution to be an amazing read as it expanded my

knowledge of evolution and was very entertaining.