Richard Dawkins: How I Persuade People Who Disagree with Me | Big Think

How I Persuade People Who Disagree with Me
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You can be committed to science, but as soon as you're committed to a hypothesis, you've walked off the trail of objective truth, says Richard Dawkins. For him, that is the mission of science and the purpose of the scientific method: these truths exist—they are the foundations of innovations like vaccinations, antibiotics, and space travel, because they are built on something solid: evidence. Einstein is known for highly valuing the role of imagination in science, and Dawkins agrees: imagination and intuition are the springboards scientific progress depends on—but when evidence refutes a hypothesis or a feeling, that's the end of the line. Dogged persistence doesn't get you any closer to the truth, says Dawkins, only critical thinking can do that. Richard Dawkins' latest book is Science In The Soul: Selected Writings of a Passionate Rationalist.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RICHARD DAWKINS:

Richard Dawkins is an evolutionary biologist and the former Charles Simonyi Professor of the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford University. He is the author of several of modern science's essential texts, including The Selfish Gene (1976) and The God Delusion (2006). Born in Nairobi, Kenya, Dawkins eventually graduated with a degree in zoology from Balliol College, Oxford, and then earned a masters degree and the doctorate from Oxford University. He has recently left his teaching duties to write and manage his foundation, The Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science, full-time. 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TRANSCRIPT:

Richard Dawkins: The first chapter of 'Science in the Soul' is called 'The Values of Science and the Science of Values'. And it does, of course, give prominence to objective truth. There is a kind of whispering campaign—more than a whispering campaign, sometimes a yelling campaign—against the value of objective truth. Science, I think, is committed to objective truth; we’re committed to the view that truth is independent of the cultural background of the scientist, for example. So as I said in the book, an experiment done in a lab in New York can be replicated in a lab in New Delhi, and if it’s all done correctly in the same way they’ll get the same result. Science’s belief in objective truth works. Engineering technology based upon the science of objective through achieves results: it manages to build planes that get off the ground, it manages to send people to the moon and explore Mars with robots, and land robotic vehicles on comets. Science works. Science produces antibiotics, it produces vaccines that work. So anybody who chooses to say, “Oh, there’s no such thing as objective truth, it’s all subjective, it’s all socially constructed,” tell that to a doctor, tell that to a space scientist.

Manifestly, science works and the view that “there is no such thing as objective truth” doesn’t. Science proceeds, I believe, in the sort of Popperian view that science proceeds by intuitive leaps of the imagination, building an idea of what might be true and then testing it by experiment, by observation, in the second phase. It’s a kind of Darwinian selection of mutation, which is provided by the imagination.

So intuition is very important, but it is important that scientists should not be so wedded to their intuition that they omit the very important testing phase, and if their hypothesis is disproved they should regard that as a reason to reject the hypothesis or modify it, not a reason to just carry on doggedly sticking to the hypothesis because they are intuitively committed to it.

The phrase 'critical thinking' is quite a cliché but it is immensely important. And so I think that I really could sum it up by saying what we need is critical thinking; we need to respect evidence, we need to respect the fact that the only reason to believe anything about the real world is evidence. The evidence must be assessed critically, preferably statistically and logically. You cannot derive truths about the real world by intuition alone, by feelings alone, by what feels good.

People who say things like, “All opinions are equally valid,” or, “Well, it’s true for me, it may not be true for you.” Never tolerate that kind of thing. The only reason to believe anything is true is that there’s evidence, and everybody should either look at the evidence for themselves or they should trust that the person they’re talking to has looked at the evidence in a scientific, logical, rational,...

[throughvf]

That's the right way. Pick your fights. Don't try to persuade the hardcores, try those on the fence.

[Composer]

Super happy to see Richard Dawkins here!

[rogersowerbutts]

I love Dawkins calm, persuasive demeanour. He seems to have infinite patience when he has debates and discussions with science deniers and creationists. Amazing man.

[quensoueu]

"Put yourself in others' position"

Wisest words I've heard this week and useful for everyone on Earth, in every situation

[Pikopati]

Agreed. I learned the same by teaching others. I always use an analogy or metaphor to explain my explanation when the other person doesn't get it.
But the greatest award is when that person got the idea and you can see it in his eyes. That is priceless.
And of course seen the other person "use" this new knowledge.

[AmanpreetSingh]

Dr. Dawkins is the first intellectual that convinced me how God may not be real which led me to educate myself and transition into an irreligious person

[TheMasterMind]

He's back to hes old self, my metaphorical heart feels warm now. I'm happy to see him as he is now for the time that remains for all of us.

[tafri]

Rule--Put yourself in the position of your Audience.. and try to figure out where they are coming from... very well said Richard... 👌

[ThtkidYouKnw]

Love Dawkins, I'm a big fan of his. Thanks for having him on.

[jrgrover]

The problem with religion, is because it's been sheltered from criticism, is that it allows people to believe en mass what only idiots or lunatics could believe in isolation

[bakewithela]

He has such brilliance. I could listen to him talk for hours about his vast knowledge in science. Please feature this wise man more often. I've been so humbled to meet him in person.

[JasonCoulls]

Smart man.  A lot more people should listen to him.

[phxbillcee]

Mr. Dawkins: Thank you for your lucid & informative books. Thank you for your work on reason & rationality. & thank you for promoting science & thought over myth, faith & superstition.

[vishwakumar]

In his books like "selfish gene", You can find how extremely care he takes to correct the probable misunderstanding the reader might get.
Sometimes i found myself getting the meaning wrong and then i would find in next sentence, he actually didnt want me to get that paŕticular misunderstanding and further explains how he wants me to understand it.

[Phoenix]

Imagining yourself as the other person is critical in almost everyday life. Understanding people instead of going to war with them. Once a debate starts turning into an argument, a fight, it's over.

[kangre]

I respect Richard Dawkins so much for his superior intelligence and courage to continue to speak out for science and against the lunacy of religion. Thank you Richard Dawkins!

[HuntingTarg]

Quite commendable. And the very reason that, whatever one's point of view, it is important to:
-Have sound, rational arguments
-Have empathy for your audience, whether it is one or one million
Most people move obliviously past those points to ridicule, epithet, and derision.

[abowlofsalad]

Richard Dawkins is The Godfather of debate. I used to be a creationist until I turned 13, because I was introduced to Biology. Since 13 I went from hardcore self hating (because I was a closeted lesbian) Christian bigot to a very thoughtful agnostic-atheist. It’s very sad how a lot of Creationists won’t see the beauty of evolution. Evolution, knowing that a lot of the living things we have seen today was factored by one single organism, and that organism evolved into greater things and even separate things is so beautiful. I don’t feel hate for creationists, I just feel sad for them. They’re blinding themselves of every scientific fact of reality and what really happened. They see us “Evolution-believers” as arrogant or over-confident. When in reality, we are humble, because we admit we don’t know all the answers. We don’t claim a book has all the answers.
That’s actually how I became to be a firm knower of evolution, when I recognized that my Holy Book had not a single pinpoint of evidence in a physical and scientific sense.

[johnnyfingers]

This is the first thing I've ever heard from this man. Never heard of him before. I have to say that he not only seems to be brilliant but his voice is so calming. It's like an instant stress relief. The literal voice of reason.

[pauldow]

RD offers very helpful perspectives on biology and ourselves.
A most important thinker and communicator of our time..