Richard Dawkins for many years held the Charles Simonyi Chair for the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford. Yet, as a scientist, hes behind the times, argues Fern Elsdon-Baker.
Richard Dawkins is one of the most recognisable living scientists in the world. In the public perception of evolutionary theory, it often seems as if Dawkins has become more associated with Darwinism than Charles Darwin himself. However, in recent years he has been left behind by changes in the way science thinks about evolutionary processes.
Dawkins was not actually a Professor of Biology but a Professor for the public understanding of science. The very first line of The Extended Phenotype reads, this is a work of unabashed advocacy not the rational argument of a scientist. Dawkins himself acknowledges that this would not be accepted in a scientific journal. So why is it for a popular science book?
He has used his position to publicly attack unreason, in the form of organised religion, pseudo-science, or new age folly. This polarized representation of science is potentially fuelling the feud between Darwinism and Creationism.
Fern Elsdon-Baker, a rational pro-science atheist and specialist in the history and communication of evolutionary theory, finds Dawkins influence distinctly worrying. She argues that Dawkins is publicly misrepresenting Science as a whole and asks is Dawkins really acting to popularise Science or to popularise Richard Dawkins?
Fern Elsdon-Baker is currently working on the organisation of international projects to celebrate the anniversary of Darwin's birth and the publication of his most famous book On the Origin of Species.
Having originally studied Environmental Sciences, Elsdon-Baker then went on to complete her doctoral studies in the history and philosophy of evolutionary theory. A passionate believer in the interactive communication of science to the public, in her spare time she also works in various roles with the British Society for the History of Science and the British Science Association.
|
