If the history-deniers who doubt the fact of evolution are ignorant of biology, those who think the world began less than ten thousand years ago are worst than ignorant, they are the deluded to the point of perversity.
Richard DawkinsRead
No educated person believes the Adam and Eve myth nowadays, but it's surprising how many parents think that it's somehow fun to pass on this falsehood to their children...I would want to argue that the truth of evolution is more interesting and more poetic
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote criticizes the persistence of the Adam and Eve myth while advocating for the teaching of evolution as a more truthful and fascinating narrative.
Richard Dawkins emphasizes the importance of teaching children the truth about evolution rather than perpetuating outdated myths like that of Adam and Eve. He expresses surprise at the willingness of some parents to impart these false narratives to their children, suggesting that the scientific understanding of evolution is not only more factual but possesses a richness and beauty that should be celebrated.
Themes
EvolutionMythEducationTruthChildren
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion on child education about science.
More from Richard Dawkins
All quotes →The population of the U.S. is nearly 300 million, including many of the best educated, most talented, most resourceful, humane people on earth. By almost any measure of civilised attainment, from Nobel prize-counts on down, the U.S. leads the world by miles.
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When you make machines that are capable of obeying instructions slavishly, and among those instructions are 'duplicate me' instructions, then of course the system is wide open to exploitation by parasites.
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Even if not a single fossil has ever been found, the evidence from surviving animals would still overwhelmingly force the conclusion that Darwin was right.
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The bitter hatreds that now poison Middle Eastern politics are rooted in the real or perceived wrong of the setting up of a Jewish State in an Islamic region. In view of all that the Jews had been through, it must have seemed a fair and humane solution. Probably deep familiarity with the Old Testament had given the European and American decision-makers some sort of idea that this really was the historic homeland of the Jews.
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No matter how much knowledge and wisdom you acquire during your life, not one jot will be passed on to your children by genetic means. Each new generation starts from scratch.
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