The Genius of Charles Darwin
Encyclopedia
The Genius of Charles Darwin is a three-part television
documentary
, written and presented by evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins
.
It was first shown in August 2008 on Channel 4
. It won Best TV Documentary Series 2008 at the British Broadcast Awards in January 2009.
explains the basic mechanisms of natural selection
, and tells the story of how Charles Darwin
developed his theory.
He teaches a year 11 science class about evolution
, which many of the students are reluctant to accept. He then takes them to the Jurassic Coast
in Dorset
to search for fossils, hoping that the students can see some of the evidence for themselves.
Dawkins also visits the place of his birth, Nairobi
, where he interviews a prostitute who seems to have a genetic immunity to HIV
, and talks to microbiologist
Larry Gelmon. He goes on to predict that genetic immunity is a trait that will become more prevalent in the community over time.
.
Dawkins starts out in Kenya
, speaking with palaeontologist Richard Leakey
. He then visits Christ is the Answer Ministries, Kenya's largest Pentecostal church, to interview Bishop Bonifes Adoyo. Adoyo has led the movement to press the National Museums of Kenya
to sideline its collection of hominid bones pointing to man's evolution from ape to human. The collection includes the Turkana Boy
discovered by Kamoya Kimeu
, a member of a team led by Richard Leakey in 1984.
Dawkins discusses social Darwinism
and eugenics
, explaining how these are not versions of natural selection
, and that "Darwin has been wrongly tainted".
He then meets with evolutionary psychologist Steven Pinker
to discuss how morals can be compatible with natural selection
. He goes on to explaining sexual selection
, with peafowl
s as an example. To find out whether sexual selection plays a role for altruism
and kindness among humans, he visits women who are looking for sperm donors, as well as a sperm bank
manager. Dawkins also explains kin selection
and selfish genes
.
Dawkins uses this episode to discuss the opposition that evolution has experienced since it was first discovered. He starts by approaching various anti-evolutionists, ranging from John Mackay from Creation Research, Wendy Wright
, President of Concerned Women for America
, to English school teacher Nick Cowen. In order to address concerns they bring up, he shows the evidence for evolution, including fossil and DNA evidence. He also talks to the teachers of the science students who he taught during the first episode, asking them why they aren't adequately teaching the ideas of science properly, allowing instead their students to believe that truth is personal and that science is merely a point of view.
Dawkins also describes Darwin's personal loss of faith, based not only on the natural mechanisms he saw, but also on the cruelty in the world which seemed to deny a loving God, in particular the loss of his daughter Annie. While Dawkins does address the bleakness of the Darwinian view, he spends the last part of this episode describing how Darwin and he himself address it, ending by saying:
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Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
, written and presented by evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins
Richard Dawkins
Clinton Richard Dawkins, FRS, FRSL , known as Richard Dawkins, is a British ethologist, evolutionary biologist and author...
.
It was first shown in August 2008 on Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
. It won Best TV Documentary Series 2008 at the British Broadcast Awards in January 2009.
Part 1: Life, Darwin & Everything
In the first episode Richard DawkinsRichard Dawkins
Clinton Richard Dawkins, FRS, FRSL , known as Richard Dawkins, is a British ethologist, evolutionary biologist and author...
explains the basic mechanisms of natural selection
Natural selection
Natural selection is the nonrandom process by which biologic traits become either more or less common in a population as a function of differential reproduction of their bearers. It is a key mechanism of evolution....
, and tells the story of how Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
developed his theory.
He teaches a year 11 science class about evolution
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
, which many of the students are reluctant to accept. He then takes them to the Jurassic Coast
Jurassic Coast
The Jurassic Coast is a World Heritage Site on the English Channel coast of southern England. The site stretches from Orcombe Point near Exmouth in East Devon to Old Harry Rocks near Swanage in East Dorset, a distance of ....
in Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
to search for fossils, hoping that the students can see some of the evidence for themselves.
Dawkins also visits the place of his birth, Nairobi
Nairobi
Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi County. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters". However, it is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun" and is...
, where he interviews a prostitute who seems to have a genetic immunity to HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
, and talks to microbiologist
Microbiologist
A microbiologist is a scientist who works in the field of microbiology. Microbiologists study organisms called microbes. Microbes can take the form of bacteria, viruses, fungi, and protists...
Larry Gelmon. He goes on to predict that genetic immunity is a trait that will become more prevalent in the community over time.
Part 2: The Fifth Ape
In the second episode Richard Dawkins deals with some of the philosophical and social ramifications of the theory of evolutionThe Theory of Evolution
The Theory of Evolution is a book by English evolutionary biologist and geneticist John Maynard Smith, originally published in 1958. It serves as a general introduction to the eponymous subject, intended to be accessible to those with little technical knowledge of the area. It has been highly...
.
Dawkins starts out in Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, speaking with palaeontologist Richard Leakey
Richard Leakey
Richard Erskine Frere Leakey is a politician, paleoanthropologist and conservationist. He is second of the three sons of the archaeologists Louis Leakey and Mary Leakey, and is the younger brother of Colin Leakey...
. He then visits Christ is the Answer Ministries, Kenya's largest Pentecostal church, to interview Bishop Bonifes Adoyo. Adoyo has led the movement to press the National Museums of Kenya
National Museums of Kenya
The National Museums of Kenya is a State Corporation that manages Museums, Sites and Monuments in Kenya. It also practices scientific research. Its headquarters and the National Museum are located on Museum Hill, near Uhuru Highway between Central Business District and Westlands in Nairobi...
to sideline its collection of hominid bones pointing to man's evolution from ape to human. The collection includes the Turkana Boy
Turkana Boy
Turkana Boy, also occasionally, Nariokotome Boy is the common name of fossil KNM-WT 15000, a nearly complete skeleton of a hominid who died in the early Pleistocene. This specimen is the most complete early human skeleton ever found. It is 1.5 million years old...
discovered by Kamoya Kimeu
Kamoya Kimeu
Kamoya Kimeu, is one of the world's most successful fossil collectors who, together with paleontologists Meave Leakey and Richard Leakey, is responsible for some of the most significant paleoanthropological discoveries...
, a member of a team led by Richard Leakey in 1984.
Dawkins discusses social Darwinism
Social Darwinism
Social Darwinism is a term commonly used for theories of society that emerged in England and the United States in the 1870s, seeking to apply the principles of Darwinian evolution to sociology and politics...
and eugenics
Eugenics
Eugenics is the "applied science or the bio-social movement which advocates the use of practices aimed at improving the genetic composition of a population", usually referring to human populations. The origins of the concept of eugenics began with certain interpretations of Mendelian inheritance,...
, explaining how these are not versions of natural selection
Natural selection
Natural selection is the nonrandom process by which biologic traits become either more or less common in a population as a function of differential reproduction of their bearers. It is a key mechanism of evolution....
, and that "Darwin has been wrongly tainted".
He then meets with evolutionary psychologist Steven Pinker
Steven Pinker
Steven Arthur Pinker is a Canadian-American experimental psychologist, cognitive scientist, linguist and popular science author...
to discuss how morals can be compatible with natural selection
Natural selection
Natural selection is the nonrandom process by which biologic traits become either more or less common in a population as a function of differential reproduction of their bearers. It is a key mechanism of evolution....
. He goes on to explaining sexual selection
Sexual selection
Sexual selection, a concept introduced by Charles Darwin in his 1859 book On the Origin of Species, is a significant element of his theory of natural selection...
, with peafowl
Peafowl
Peafowl are two Asiatic species of flying birds in the genus Pavo of the pheasant family, Phasianidae, best known for the male's extravagant eye-spotted tail, which it displays as part of courtship. The male is called a peacock, the female a peahen, and the offspring peachicks. The adult female...
s as an example. To find out whether sexual selection plays a role for altruism
Altruism
Altruism is a concern for the welfare of others. It is a traditional virtue in many cultures, and a core aspect of various religious traditions, though the concept of 'others' toward whom concern should be directed can vary among cultures and religions. Altruism is the opposite of...
and kindness among humans, he visits women who are looking for sperm donors, as well as a sperm bank
Sperm bank
A sperm bank, semen bank or cryobank is a facility that collects and stores human sperm mainly from sperm donors, primarily for the purpose of achieving pregnancies through third party reproduction, notably by artificial insemination...
manager. Dawkins also explains kin selection
Kin selection
Kin selection refers to apparent strategies in evolution that favor the reproductive success of an organism's relatives, even at a cost to the organism's own survival and reproduction. Charles Darwin was the first to discuss the concept of group/kin selection...
and selfish genes
Gene-centered view of evolution
The gene-centered view of evolution, gene selection theory or selfish gene theory holds that evolution occurs through the differential survival of competing genes, increasing the frequency of those alleles whose phenotypic effects successfully promote their own propagation, with gene defined as...
.
Part 3: God Strikes Back
In the third and final episode, Dawkins explains why Darwin's theory is one of history's most controversial ideas.Dawkins uses this episode to discuss the opposition that evolution has experienced since it was first discovered. He starts by approaching various anti-evolutionists, ranging from John Mackay from Creation Research, Wendy Wright
Wendy Wright (activist)
Wendy Wright is the current president and CEO of Concerned Women for America, a conservative Christian political action group active in the United States. She joined the organization in 1999 and served as its executive vice president before being named president on January 30, 2006...
, President of Concerned Women for America
Concerned Women for America
Concerned Women for America is a conservative Christian public policy group active in the United States best known for its stance against abortion...
, to English school teacher Nick Cowen. In order to address concerns they bring up, he shows the evidence for evolution, including fossil and DNA evidence. He also talks to the teachers of the science students who he taught during the first episode, asking them why they aren't adequately teaching the ideas of science properly, allowing instead their students to believe that truth is personal and that science is merely a point of view.
Dawkins also describes Darwin's personal loss of faith, based not only on the natural mechanisms he saw, but also on the cruelty in the world which seemed to deny a loving God, in particular the loss of his daughter Annie. While Dawkins does address the bleakness of the Darwinian view, he spends the last part of this episode describing how Darwin and he himself address it, ending by saying:
External links
- The Genius of Charles Darwin:
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