Dawkins: Slightly more lengthy report.

To follow up on my previous, more important post:

Last night, Richard Dawkins gave a talk at ASU based on his latest, best-selling book, The God Delusion. The audience was one of the largest audiences he has ever addressed (Gammage Auditorium was filled). Although he praised science and the process of natural selection, he did not explain these two concepts fully. Much of his talk focused instead on logical fallacies associated with typical arguments used to support the existence of the Westernized Judeo-Christian concept of God, as well as on addressing the fundamental logical flaws associated with Intelligent Design (I was pleased to see the phrase "Failure of imagination" appear on one Powerpoint slide). He also gave some time to the subject of raising consciousness about how religions/religious thinking appear in societies (can we really label 4-year-old children as Jewish, Muslim, and Christian?).

None of these subjects was surprising, and also unsurprisingly the content overlapped considerably with Dennett's recent book Breaking the Spell, though Dawkins was perhaps even more forthright about the fact that by nature he is not inclined to be highly diplomatic in his dealings with religious thinkers. I also appreciated his mention of the fact that he does not think it necessary to be highly versed in theological studies to be able to hold the above discussion (does that mean, by extension, that I am qualified to hold a philosophical standpoint despite being poorly-versed in classical philosophical texts?).

But. There were a few moments that I wish I could remember better, when the audience laughed or applauded inappropriately, still demonstrating a sheep-like response to the presented ideas. To that, I object. And I think the two points raised in my earlier post still stand. As I've said to a few people before, I have found my studies of Biology quite humbling for what they have revealed to me about the limitations of science as a way of knowing.

After Dawkins's talk, I'm still thinking about writing a letter to Dennett about those two points. I just wonder if there's even a remote chance that I will get an honest response. Perhaps I should omit the fact that though I'm a rationalist, I never claim to be rational.

Lastly, I think I'll never get over the fact that Dawkins was perhaps overly successful in his coining of the term "meme" in The Selfish Gene, for the word has been co-opted to mean something much less meaningful than he originally intended, and its utility as originally intended is still incredibly questionable in my mind at least (augh, the "meme" meme! So Meta.).

Silly scientists. If only it were possible to intelligently discuss these things and derive some meaning from the discussion. Alas, it's but a spin of a hamster wheel. Perhaps it's time for some poetry or art instead.

Three things

1. I rode with a bike posse to First Fridays in Downtown Phoenix. We rocked the streets. Way to represent, Tempe. It was an awesome group.

2. faisdodo and R and I all participated in the Art Petting Zoo. FD and I made blind contour drawings of each other. The one I did in charcoal looks like an old woman. The one I did in graphite has some rockin' hair and glasses, and a great nose. We have decided that we need to do more blind contour drawings.

3. I have discovered a new favorite artist. He makes spray-paint stickers that say, "NOTICE / Future Site of Gentrification" with the small Phoenix insignia in the corner. I bought one. I might put it on my computer. He also makes spray-paint t-shirts, including one that reads, "Silly hipster, fixed gears are for kids," with a picture of a tricycle underneath. I bought it, too. I can't wait to wear it around.

That was a fun First Fridays, to be sure. No, actually, it was an AWESOME First Friday. Among the usual junk, some of the art was actually pretty breathtaking. A studio called the Kitchenette always manages to amaze me, and at Modified we saw a beautiful desert gas station scene titled "Sustainability." Also, the entire show at the Eye Lounge was awesome, including the felted/real fruits, the paintings of birds, E's photographs, and the photographs of glass objects superimposed over desert. Mmm, yeah.