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The Blind Watchmaker

Author: Richard Dawkins
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Category: Book

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Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

24 reviews
Sales Rank: 606

Media: Paperback
Pages: 368
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5 x 1

ISBN: 0141026162
EAN: 9780141026169
ASIN: 0141026162

Publication Date: April 6, 2006
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Customer Reviews: Read 19 more reviews...

4 out of 5 stars

Recommended to all Creationists April 22, 2008
In The God Delusion, Dawkins notes that The Blind Watchmaker (and possibly The Selfish Gene) hadn't been written to attack religion, but had succeeded in converting many people (notably Douglas Adams) to atheism anyway. Having read The Blind Watchmaker, I can understand why. Dawkins does an excellent job of countering a range of arguments against evolution, explaining how and why natural selection works, and why it's a much simpler - and better - solution than any of the alternatives.

To anyone who doesn't believe in evolution, I recommend this book. I'd be very surprised if anyone who really understands evolution would still disagree with it, and this book is an excellent route to understanding evolution.

4 out of 5 stars

What a profound confidence in "Materialism" the author has! April 18, 2008
0 out of 5 found this review helpful

The book has been given so many praises from so many prestigious persons & media; hence may be a good book to read. But from my point of view, the author is as completely hypnotized by "Materialism" as the so-called creationists are so hypnotized by "God" the Father. I wonder why scientists do not try to put every life on a horizontal line instead of putting Mankind on the top of a tree! It is very dangerous for intelligent Mankind to fall from the top
Great Britain is a very interesting country in the point that she is the mother country of both Darwinism and the Society for Psychical Research. We lost Prof. Ian Stevenson last year (in 2007), who was the president of the SPR for 1989. Obvious truth is that: (1) if Prof. Stevenson's compiled data plus the official document of a Japanese boy "Katsugoro (in 1810)" of "reincarnation" is true, then all theories based on materialism surely fail, (2) if only a fraction of those compiled files include the truth, then the same will be concluded, (3) if "the missing 21 grams" of Dr. Duncan MacDougall (in 1907) cannot be refuted scientifically, then the same will be concluded.
That is, all our current scientific theories are sitting on the top of several big bombs, which might shatter all these materialistic ideas.

5 out of 5 stars

A life-changing book April 13, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

As another reviewer has stated, this book is truly life-changing. Before reading it I was open-minded about all sorts of vaguely 'spiritual' ideas, for the (very common) reason that there seemed to be certain Big Questions that could not be fully explained by science. In particular, life itself.
This is in fact poppycock - Darwinism provides that explanation. But sadly, lots of people misunderstand Darwinism; and then look for weaknesses in their WRONG interpretation of it.
Dawkins does an incredibly thorough job of explaining how Natural Selection actually works, using some great metaphors along the way to make the whole thing very enjoyable reading. [NB Dawkins is always very clear not to confuse a metaphor with reality - unlike some of his reviewers!]
This is not just a text book on Darwinism; it is a thorough rebuttal of the religious argument that there must be a God because "there is no other feasible explanation".
There are a few negative reviews on this site. But it is clear they are all written by religious people with a major axe to grind. ALL of their criticisms seem to be based on wilful misinterpretations. In particular, there is actually lots of evidence to support the theory of Natural Selection. And Dawkins explanation of the eye (human or otherwise) makes perfect sense.
Read the book yourself, and form your own judgement.
And one final point - for me life as an atheist is definitely not devoid of meaning!

5 out of 5 stars

good addition to The Selfish Gene December 1, 2007
3 out of 5 found this review helpful

Published ten years after The Selfish Gene, this book is just as enlightening and entertaining as that first book by Dawkins. More examples of evolution in the natural world, and more evidence that evolution has indeed shaped the diversity of living things, past and present, on the earth. Very well written, it's a pleasure to read. One criticism of this and especially The Selfish Gene: Dawkins seems to think that there's no or very little selection at the level of the group, and that natural selection takes place at the level of the individual or even his or her DNA. However, I think it's clear that there is a good deal of selective pressure at the level of the group or tribe, and even to some degree at the level of the entire species. If a group of animals dies, that includes every member of the group, so it stands to reason that there should be some selection at the level of the group, even if that selection runs counter to the immediate goals of the individual within that group. In spite of this criticism, any curious person should give this, and The Selfish Gene, a read. Author of Adjust Your Brain: A Practical Theory for Maximizing Mental Health.

5 out of 5 stars

Brilliantly argued September 16, 2007
11 out of 15 found this review helpful

Probably Dawsons best effort.

Anyone who reads this book with an open mind should find it challenging, entertaining and invigorating. Unfortunately there will be some who will view any challenge to their faith as blasphemous. How much is your faith worth, and how strong is it, if you cant bear arguements against it? If you are an ardent creationist then a book is hiughly unlikely to change your beliefs.

Dawkins does not attack religion as such, but he does show it to be in contradtictory position to all the known facts about life on earth.

As a scienctist myself, but not of a biological background I found that this book helped me to understand Darwinism and evolution,

Some have queried the veractiy of Dawkins scientific approach, but as he says himself this book is not supposed an academic paper, but rather a piece of a passionate advocacy of his own beliefs.

The book is, as all Dawkins are, an entertaining and easy to read volume which will appeal to scientists and non-scientists alike