The flight of a hummingbird, the sprints of a cheater, the breath of a whale, a daisy turning towards the sunlight.

Given the complexity of the natural world, we can understand why, before the publication of Charles

Darwin's on the origin of species, people believe that the universe was the work of an intelligent

designer. These days, however, although creationism continues to be defended by religious fundamentalists,

the scientific consensus is that the world's organisms evolve through the long and arduous process of natural selection.

With a complete physical explanation, say the new atheists, there's no need to appeal to the supernatural.

In this interview, we'll be discussing atheism with Professor Richard Dawkins.

It's no exaggeration to say that

Richard is one of the most influential scientists and the most famous atheist of all time.

Alongside his invaluable contributions to evolutionary biology, his books including the

selfish gene, the blind watchmaker and the god's delusion, have a readership in the tens of

millions, resulting in numerous prestigious awards and recognition as the world's top thinker.

Although atheism might have been logically tenable before Darwin, says Dawkins,

Darwin made it possible to be an intellectually fulfilled atheist. It is time we seize that opportunity, that we embrace the godless universe,

craft our own meaning, and stop suffering fools gladly. Hello and welcome to episode 108 of the Pan Sidecast.

I'm the delusional Jack Symes, so I'm joined once again by the devil's chaplain that is Rose to Castellan. Hello.

And the teapot agnostic, that is Professor Richard Dawkins.

It's great to have you on the show, Richard.

Thank you very much.

To the first question we ask all of our guests, what is philosophy?

What is philosophy?

I sometimes wonder myself. I suppose philosophy is the study of how we think, of what we mean by words, the questions that we need to be asking.

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