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Why Are We Here – Richard Dawkins
Posted in: Atheism
Why Are We Here – Richard Dawkins
July 20th, 2009
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Rating: 8.2/10 (50 votes cast)

In this short documentary, Dawkins takes a look at the purpose of human existance and asks the earthshaking question – Why are we here?

Pointing out that religious stories of human purpose fail miserably, Dawkins indicates that science may be able to offer a better explaination for human existance. Starting out with Darwin, he claims that Darwin’s theory of evolution may offer the only explaination for humanity’s raison d’état that we are likely to ever get.

Many religious believers may claim that answers for our existance offered by evolution theory mean that humans are nothing special, that we are just another species of animal. They are, of course, correct in saying that we are just another animal species but this does not necessarily mean that are not special.

Clearly humans are different from our animal brothers in that we have the ability to ask questions like why are we here. This also means, however, that with our ‘specialness’ comes extraordinary responsibilities. This brilliant documentary helps clarify some of the arguments made by evolution and is in no way just more of the same from Dawkins.

Why Are We Here - Richard Dawkins, 8.2 out of 10 based on 50 ratings
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  • Alex

    Dawkins says basically that purpose is just what we create. And purpose came around because we forced our evolution to go faster and that we could use our goal making and technology for thing other than natural selection, according to Dawkins. So the only way he could say that there was no purpose to the universe before we made one was by making a new definition of the word purpose.

    I think if he is going by how complex or intelligent what we do is evidence for purpose there is a lot more purpose for human life coming from outside of us with all the systems of perpetual motion and stuff in nature than just in our own ideas and inventions.

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  • Hershy

    This documentary was not very satisfying. As Dawkins said, our purpose is basically to create stuff and figure stuff out in the world. Not that that isn’t interesting and fun to do, but I believe there is more (coming from an atheist viewpoint.) Even Dawkins admitted that we explored the from far abyss of space all the way down to the human cell and even lower than that like subatomic particles… and we are still not satisfied. Let me emphasize: STILL NOT SATISFIED. We will never be fulfilled with exploring, because once we figured something out or come to a solution, there is always something else to explore. We need to stop expanding outward. I want to emphasize that we need to look WITHIN. Find more things out about ourselves. And beyond that, love others. That is the purpose, I believe: to love. We need to focus more on philosophy and psychology.

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  • Anonymous

    Good job, professor! I totally agree with you.
    The purpose, for itself, does not exist. My life hasn’t got some particularly defined meaning just by coming into existence. I am here in this world now, but the world will go on without me. Yet, I will have no consciousness of that and the world ‘ends’ for me with my existence.
    We give our lives a meaning and the ‘greater good’ will be whatever we’ve left behind to remain for the world.

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  • 101

    let Dr. Steel resummarize http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIcBfJw__k0

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  • 101

    let Dr. Steel resummarize http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIcBfJw__k0

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    Rating: 0 (from 0 votes)
  • 101

    let Dr. Steel resummarize http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIcBfJw__k0

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    Rating: 0 (from 0 votes)
  • Trey

    Terrible. Waste of my life.

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  • Trey

    Terrible. Waste of my life.

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