Famed atheist Richard Dawkins appeared on “The Daily Show” last night to discuss his new book and his views on science and religion. From doubling down on his contention that “we are apes” to attempting to explain what happens after human beings die, the evolutionary biologist touted some of his familiar talking points — but host Jon Stewart didn't just sit there nodding in agreement.
Throughout the interview, the Comedy Central host challenged the biologist’s many contentions. At the center of the discussion was a key question posed by Stewart: “Do you believe that the end of our civilization will be through religious strife or scientific advancement?”
“The answer is probably both. Science provides in the form of technology — weapons which hitherto have been only available to reasonably responsible governments are likely to become available to nutcases who believe that their God requires them to reap havoc and destruction,” he responded.
But Stewart challenged this notion, charging that this framing of the issue lets science off the hook when claiming that only the religious could or would do something to cause worldwide catastrophe. He pondered whether science run amok could, on its own, create similar results.
Dawkins conceded that this could be possible, as “science is the most powerful way to do whatever it is you want to do” — both good and bad.
And later, the host pushed even harder on the faith front, noting that scientists likely also embrace the notion that there is something greater out there — something that mankind simply doesn't understand yet. T
“Isn’t the job of a scientist, in some ways, to have faith that there’s something out there that we don’t understand yet?,” asked Stewart. “The loss of faith — wouldn't that steal something essentially human from scientific pursuit?”
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