Page 102 - A Definitive Reply to Evolutionist Propaganda
P. 102
A DEFINITIVE REPLY
TO EVOLUTIONIST
PROPAGANDA
Richard Dawkins' Distortions
The Discovery Channel also devotes space to the claims of
Richard Dawkins, an unrepentant Darwinist, atheist, and Oxford
University zoologist. Dawkins considers all forms of cultural be-
havior (ideas, gestures, etc.) under the heading of "meme." Dawkins
describes memes as ideas passed on by one human being imitating
another, and suggests that in the same way that the genes copy
DNA and pass it on from person to person, the memes that consti-
tute the mind and shape behavior are similarly copied and handed
on from one person to another. The idea is that, just as the so-called
competition between genes shaped biological evolution, so too the
competition between memes shaped the brain and culture.
Dawkins later suggests that memes—i.e., mimicry or assimilation—
are the propulsive force behind human evolution.
The ideas Dawkins describes with the concept of memes can of
course change and develop. For instance, ideas can be discussed
and other ideas added as a result. Cultural progress can thus take
place. In addition to this, human behavior and the behavior of other
human beings may be imitated. There is nothing wrong with
Dawkins' account up to this point. The error lies in suggesting that
this is evidence for so-called human evolution. Mimicry is con-
cerned with abstract thought. Man is the only being possessed of
reason and capable of transmitting, copying, and developing ideas.
No relationship based on mimicry can possibly be established be-
tween man—who creates works of art, develops scientific theories,
and designs and debates political regimes—and animals, bereft of
all capacity for abstract thought. Instead of considering and defin-
ing a property that is unique to man, Dawkins should first of all ex-
plain how abstract thought might have emerged during the so-
called transition from animal to man. What evolutionists are unable
to explain is this: How is it that an animal that is unable to think or
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