How to Read "The Blind Watchmaker"

[swamidass (S. Joshua Swamidass)]

@sfmatheson and @Jonathan_Burke, thank you for bringing this to our attention. @davidson, thank you for making the correction.

@system

This section,

Addressing the latter questions led me to the works of Richard Dawkins, perhaps the most well known and outspoken apologist for evolution and atheism at the time. I started with The Blind Watch Maker – a tome dedicated to replacing antiquated religious belief with faith in science. He did a reasonable job building a case for how natural processes could have brought about life, and even how evolutionary adaptations in sentient populations could have given rise to a sense of moral and religious belief. I also took no issue with his insistence that there is no evidence that can be subjected to scientific testing for the effectiveness of prayer, the verification of miracles, or life after death.

Based on his scientific observations, Dawkins felt confident in declaring there is no God, or at least not one with any involvement on planet Earth. Here, the wheels of his argument started to wobble.

Was replaced with,

Addressing the latter questions led me to the works of Richard Dawkins, perhaps the most well known and outspoken apologist for evolution and atheism at the time. I read two of his books in full, The Blind Watch Maker and The God Delusion , along with articles and chapters from his other books. As I progressed through his work, starting with his scientific arguments, I felt he did a reasonable job building a case for how natural processes could have brought about life, how the notion of “selfish” replicating genes could have given rise to increasing diversity and complexity of life, and even how that same process could have led to a sense of moral and religious belief. As he moved into more direct challenges against religious belief, I also took no issue with his insistence that there is no evidence that can be subjected to scientific testing for the effectiveness of prayer, the verification of miracles, or life after death.

Based on his scientific observations, Dawkins felt confident in declaring there is no God, or at least not one with any discernible involvement on planet Earth. Here, the wheels of his argument started to wobble.

The following note was added to the article.