Richard Dawkins :
Group selection theory would therefore predict a tendency to evolve towards an all-dove conspiracy ... But the trouble with conspiracies, even those that are to everybody's advantage in the long run, is that they are open to abuse.
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Conspiracy
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Science and Scientists
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Theory
Gift it
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=78553&author=Richard Dawkins"e=Group+selection+theory+would+therefore+predict+a+tendency+to+evolve+towards+an+all-dove+conspiracy+...+But+the+trouble+with+conspiracies%2C+even+those+that+are+to+everybody%27s+advantage+in+the+long+run%2C+is+that+they+are+open+to+abuse.&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2FauthorIcons%2F7996%2FRichard+Dawkins_64x64.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=41238&author=John Buchan"e=++Civilization+is+a+conspiracy.+Modern+life+is+the+silent+compact+of+comfortable+folk+to+keep+up+pretences.&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2FauthorIcons%2F1291%2FJohn_Buchan_64x64.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=41241&author=Alexis De Tocqueville"e=++In+countries+where+associations+are+free%2C+secret+societies+are+unknown.+In+America+there+are+factions%2C+but+no+conspiracies.&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2FauthorIcons%2F778%2FAlexis+De_Tocqueville_64x64.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=99878&author=Moby"e=one+simple+word%3A+ugh.is+something+still+considered+a+conspiracy+if+it%27s+played+out+right+under+our+noses%3F%0A&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2FauthorIcons%2F14625%2FMoby+_64x64.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=48639&author=Randolph S Bourne"e=Society+is+one+vast+conspiracy+for+carving+one+into+the+kind+of+statue+likes%2C+and+then+placing+it+in+the+most+convenient+niche+it+has.&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2FauthorIcons%2F2524%2FRandolph+S+Bourne_64x64.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=41239&author=Don Delillo"e=++If+we+are+on+the+outside%2C+we+assume+a+conspiracy+is+the+perfect+working+of+a+scheme.+Silent+nameless+men+with+unadorned+hearts.+A+conspiracy+is+everything+that+ordinary+life+is+not.+It%27s+the+inside+game%2C+cold%2C+sure%2C+undistracted%2C+forever+closed+off+to+us.+We+are+the+flawed+ones%2C+the+innocents%2C+trying+to+make+some+rough+sense+of+the+daily+jostle.+Conspirators+have+a+logic+and+a+daring+beyond+our+reach.+All+conspiracies+are+the+same+taut+story+of+men+who+find+coherence+in+some+criminal+act.&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2FauthorIcons%2F1519%2FDon_Delillo_64x64.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=90593&author=Steve Jobs"e=When+you%27re+young%2C+you+look+at+television+and+think%2C+There%27s+a+conspiracy.+The+networks+have+conspired+to+dumb+us+down.+But+when+you+get+a+little+older%2C+you+realize+that%27s+not+true.+The+networks+are+in+business+to+give+people+exactly+what+they+want.+That%27s+a+far+more+depressing+thought.+Conspiracy+is+optimistic%21+You+can+shoot+the+bastards%21+We+can+have+a+revolution%21+But+the+networks+are+really+in+business+to+give+people+what+they+want.+It%27s+the+truth.%0A&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2FauthorIcons%2F3035%2FSteve_Jobs_64x64.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=41240&author=Anthony Lewis"e=++The+search+for+conspiracy+only+increases+the+elements+of+morbidity+and+paranoia+and+fantasy+in+this+country.+It+romanticizes+crimes+that+are+terrible+because+of+their+lack+of+purpose.+It+obscures+our+necessary+understanding%2C+all+of+us%2C+that+in+this+life+there+is+often+tragedy+without+reason.&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2FauthorIcons%2F7751%2FAnthony+Lewis_64x64.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=75110&author=Gilbert K Chesterton"e=The+madman%27s+explanation+of+a+thing+is+always+complete%2C+and+often+in+a+purely+rational+sense+satisfactory.+Or%2C+to+speak+more+strictly%2Cthe+insane+explanation%2C+if+not+conclusive%2C+is+at+least+unanswerable%3B+this+may+be+observed+specially+in+the+two+or+three+commonest+kinds+of+madness.+If+a+man+says+%28for+instance%29+that+men+have+a+conspiracy+against+him%2C+you+cannot+dispute+it+except+by+saying+that+all+the+men+deny+that+they+are+conspirators%3B+which+is+exactly+what+conspirators+would+do.+His+explanation+covers+the+facts+as+much+as+yours.+Or+if+a+man+says+that+he+is+the+rightful+King+of+England%2C+it+is+no+complete+answer+to+say+that+the+existing+authorities+call+him+mad%3Bfor+if+he+were+King+of+England+that+might+be+the+wisest+thing+for+the+existing+authorities+to+do.+Or+if+a+man+says+that+he+is+Jesus+Christ%2Cit+is+no+answer+to+tell+him+that+the+world+denies+his+divinity%3B+for+the+world+denied+Christ%27s.%0A&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2FauthorIcons%2F279%2FGilbert+Keith_Chesterton_64x64.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=90151&author=Bob Jaffe"e=The+theory+community%2C+myself+included+-+became+rather+troubled+about+the+particle.%0A&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2FauthorIcons%2F14222%2FBob+Jaffe_64x64.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=79227&author=David Deutsch"e=The+truly+privileged+theories+are+not+the+ones+referring+to+any+particular+scale+of+size+or+complexity%2C+nor+the+ones+situated+at+any+particular+level+of+the+predictive+hierarchy%E2%80%94but+the+ones+that+contain+the+deepest+explanations.&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2FauthorIcons%2F13761%2FDavid_Deutsch_64x64.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=78534&author=Richard Dawkins"e=The+total+amount+of+suffering+per+year+in+the+natural+world+is+beyond+all+decent+contemplation.+During+the+minute+that+it+takes+me+to+compose+this+sentence%2C+thousands+of+animals+are+being+eaten+alive%2C+many+others+are+running+for+their+lives%2C+whimpering+with+fear%2C+others+are+slowly+being+devoured+from+within+by+rasping+parasites%2C+thousands+of+all+kinds+are+dying+of+starvation%2C+thirst%2C+and+disease.+It+must+be+so.+If+there+ever+is+a+time+of+plenty%2C+this+very+fact+will+automatically+lead+to+an+increase+in+the+population+until+the+natural+state+of+starvation+and+misery+is+restored.+In+a+universe+of+electrons+and+selfish+genes%2C+blind+physical+forces+and+genetic+replication%2C+some+people+are+going+to+get+hurt%2C+other+people+are+going+to+get+lucky%2C+and+you+won%27t+find+any+rhyme+or+reason+in+it%2C+nor+any+justice.+The+universe+that+we+observe+has+precisely+the+properties+we+should+expect+if+there+is%2C+at+bottom%2C+no+design%2C+no+purpose%2C+no+evil%2C+no+good%2C+nothing+but+pitiless+indifference.%0A&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2FauthorIcons%2F7996%2FRichard+Dawkins_64x64.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=78544&author=Richard Dawkins"e=We+are+survival+machines+%E2%80%93+robot+vehicles+blindly+programmed+to+preserve+the+selfish+molecules+known+as+genes.+This+is+a+truth+which+still+fills+me+with+astonishment.&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2FauthorIcons%2F7996%2FRichard+Dawkins_64x64.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=44526&author=Richard Dawkins"e=++The+God+of+the+Old+Testament+is+arguably+the+most+unpleasant+character+in+all+fiction%3A+jealous+and+proud+of+it%3B+a+petty%2C+unjust%2C+unforgiving+control-freak%3B+a+vindictive%2C+bloodthirsty+ethnic+cleanser%3B+a+misogynistic%2C+homophobic%2C+racist%2C+infanticidal%2C+genocidal%2C+filicidal%2C+pestilential%2C+megalomaniacal%2C+sadomasochistic%2C+capriciously+malevolent+bully.&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2FauthorIcons%2F7996%2FRichard+Dawkins_64x64.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=52221&author=Richard Dawkins"e=Much+as+we+might+wish+to+believe+otherwise%2C+universal+love+and+the+welfare+of+the+species+as+a+whole+are+concepts+which+simply+do+not+make+evolutionary+sense.&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2FauthorIcons%2F7996%2FRichard+Dawkins_64x64.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=60319&author=Richard Dawkins"e=Nature+is+not+cruel%2C+pitilessly%2C+indifferent.+This+is+one+of+the+hardest+lessons+for+humans+to+learn.+We+cannot+admit+that+things+might+be+neither+good+nor+evil%2C+neither+cruel+nor+kind%2C+but+simply+callous+--+indifferent+to+all+suffering%2C+lacking+all+purpose.&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2FauthorIcons%2F7996%2FRichard+Dawkins_64x64.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=78533&author=Richard Dawkins"e=If+we+want+to+postulate+a+deity+capable+of+engineering+all+the+organized+complexity+in+the+world%2C+either+instantaneously+or+by+guiding+evolution%2C+that+deity+must+have+been+vastly+complex+in+the+first+place.+The+creationist%2C+whether+a+naive+Bible-thumper+or+an+educated+bishop%2C+simply+postulates+an+already+existing+being+of+prodigious+intelligence+and+complexity.+If+we+are+going+to+allow+ourselves+the+luxury+of+postulating+organized+complexity+without+offering+an+explanation%2C+we+might+as+well+make+a+job+of+it+and+simply+postulate+the+existence+of+life+as+we+know+it%21%0A&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2FauthorIcons%2F7996%2FRichard+Dawkins_64x64.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=78535&author=Richard Dawkins"e=What+worries+me+about+religion+is+that+it+teaches+people+to+be+satisfied+with+not+understanding.%0A&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2FauthorIcons%2F7996%2FRichard+Dawkins_64x64.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=78536&author=Richard Dawkins"e=We+are+going+to+die%2C+and+that+makes+us+the+lucky+ones.+Most+people+are+never+going+to+die+because+they+are+never+going+to+be+born.+The+potential+people+who+could+have+been+here+in+my+place+but+who+will+in+fact+never+see+the+light+of+day+outnumber+the+sand+grains+of+Sahara.+Certainly+those+unborn+ghosts+include+greater+poets+than+Keats%2C+scientists+greater+than+Newton.+We+know+this+because+the+set+of+possible+people+allowed+by+our+DNA+so+massively+outnumbers+the+set+of+actual+people.+In+the+teeth+of+these+stupefying+odds+it+is+you+and+I%2C+in+our+ordinariness%2C+that+are+here.%0A&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2FauthorIcons%2F7996%2FRichard+Dawkins_64x64.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=78537&author=Richard Dawkins"e=Many+of+us+saw+religion+as+harmless+nonsense.+Beliefs+might+lack+all+supporting+evidence+but%2C+we+thought%2C+if+people+needed+a+crutch+for+consolation%2C+where%27s+the+harm%3F+September+11th+changed+all+that.+Revealed+faith+is+not+harmless+nonsense%2C+it+can+be+lethally+dangerous+nonsense.+Dangerous+because+it+gives+people+unshakeable+confidence+in+their+own+righteousness.+Dangerous+because+it+gives+them+false+courage+to+kill+themselves%2C+which+automatically+removes+normal+barriers+to+killing+others.+Dangerous+because+it+teaches+enmity+to+others+labelled+only+by+a+difference+of+inherited+tradition.+And+dangerous+because+we+have+all+bought+into+a+weird+respect%2C+which+uniquely+protects+religion+from+normal+criticism.+Let%27s+now+stop+being+so+damned+respectful%21%0A&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2FauthorIcons%2F7996%2FRichard+Dawkins_64x64.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=78538&author=Richard Dawkins"e=It%27s+obvious+that+in+an+intelligent+educated+audience+such+as+this+university%2C+I+stress+this+university.+Who+saw+fit+to+give+them+accreditation%3F%0A&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2FauthorIcons%2F7996%2FRichard+Dawkins_64x64.png){kind=link}