Richard Dawkins: Man of the year 2006

The BBC has elected Richard Dawkins as "Man of the year 2006". For those of you who don't know him, he is a professor of Public Understanding of Science at Oxford University.

Some of the reasons:

• For being everywhere this year, with the publication of his global bestseller, The God Delusion.



• For writing a book (The God Delusion) which enabled Terry Eagleton to write the most negative review ever published.



• For thinking clearly in a world that doesn't much value clear thinking anymore.


• For saying what he thinks.


• For defending the delusion that science and religious faith are incompatible.


• For creating the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason & Science.


• For making people talk about the dangers of religious fundamentalism.


• For lobbying atheism and humanism into the headlines more than anyone else has done before.


• For being the face of science on television across the western world.


• For not having been given an honour by the Queen, while being a recipient of the Medal of the Presidency of the Italian Republic and many scientific and literary prizes.


• For raising questions that need to be answered by any intelligent religious believer wishing to develop a coherent worldview.


• For being a scientific fundamentalist and the worst advert for atheism currently doing a book tour.


• For raising a debate about the nature of "science" and how future generations of schoolchildren should be protected from "pseudo-science".


• For being rude and getting away with it.

My suggestion to any open-minded person, is to at least watch Richard Dawkins' documentaries "The root of all evil?" and "The virus of faith". If you feel inclined to keep on evaluating his view points, go ahead and grab a copy of "The God Delusion".

If you like these documentaries, pass them along to people you really love.

-R

From: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/ni/2006/12/person_of_the_year_2006_1.html