TagRichard Dawkins

The debate over whether evolution means progress is sharply divided between Team Dawkins and Team Gould. Dawkins’ team argues that evolution increases the complexity and adaptability of organisms and favors their environment, while Gould’s team counters that complexity does not mean progress and that evolution has no direction. While it is argued that the process of evolution involves...

Scientific paradigm shifts are driven by new discoveries and controversies that challenge conventional thinking, as was the case with the 16th-century Copernicanism and 18th-century creationism. The case of Galilei and Darwin illustrates the difficulty of turning long-held beliefs into scientific fact, and even within evolutionary theory, adaptationism and genetic selection (mainstream) versus...

This article addresses the academic debate over whether rape is a biological adaptation or a byproduct. Adaptationists, as represented in Thornhill’s Natural History of Rape, argue that rape is a strategy for reproductive success, based on the fact that women of childbearing age are primarily victims of rape. Opponents counter that statistics and various examples of rape, such as child...

A comparison of the arguments of Stephen Jay Gould and Richard Dawkins over Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution. Steven Jay Gould debunks misconceptions about Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution, criticizing the idea that humans are the culmination of evolution. Richard Dawkins emphasizes the importance of gradual natural selection. These two scholars’ perspectives explore...

Focusing on the evolutionary debate between Richard Dawkins and Stephen Jay Gould, this book explores how the opposing theories of natural selection and environmental adaptation have shaped modern evolutionary theory. Dawkins argues for gradual evolution, emphasizing the role of genes, while Gould argues that the environment drives changes in individuals. This debate reveals the complexity and...

This book is a fictionalized debate between Richard Dawkins and Stephen Jay Gould on the theories of evolution, discussing which claim is closer to scientific truth: Dawkins’ gene-centered theory or Gould’s multifaceted theory of evolution. Dawkins explains evolution at the gene level through the “selfish gene,” while Gould argues that evolution also occurs at the individual and...