The Greatest Show on Earth by Richard Dawkins - Essay Example

The book titled Denying the Holocaust – The Growing Assault on Truth and Memory by Deborah Lipstadt makes the assertion that among the detractors of the holocaust the idea is to show that the Jews are not victims but instead are victimizers, the goal is to show that the Jews caused their problems and in fact, the formation of Israel is a direct result of that. (Lipstadt 27) Lipstadt is a well-known researcher and historian with a Ph.D. and a professor of Modern Jewish and Holocaust Studies at Emory University. (Alumni, Lipstadt Ph.D.)  What Dawkins is discussing is the inevitable progression of people from belief to disbelief to outright lies in the attempt to ignore what we know is true. He later makes the statement that evolution is a fact, not a theory and that there is a difference between the fact that is evolution and the theory of its journey (Dawkins, Ph.D. FRS, FRSL) Clearly the purpose of this book is to first discredit attempts to disprove evolutionary theory while providing a basis for his approach. It is my opinion that he does a credible job in his approach

In continued reading, it becomes apparent to me that he has done his research and his proofs abound. His clear delineations between the “fact” as he calls it and the “theory” of what drives it tend to be very convincing. All living things on planet earth are in fact cousins, according to a PBS segment titled, all in the Family, makes the statement that the root of all life is a 3.8 billion-year-old single-celled organism. (Evolution change 1) While the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is in fact a media outlet, they are subject to the strictures of similar agencies in that they must verify the information before it is placed for viewing. So we can see that the answer is true, there is the fact in evolution we are all related to each other. His further arguments in chapter two regarding the common “man from ape and ape to man” are formed well. I would tend to agree with his hypothesis that it is not a matter of proving that men come from “apes” but more than men come from the same genetic history that apes do. Further on in chapter two, he begins to break down the idea that genetics are malleable and can change. The idea behind the artificial selection is easily verified with most common domesticated animals, and even in humans. Over the centuries many animals, plants, and more have been changed drastically through selective breeding which proves that evolution can and does occur. (Artificial selection 1) Beginning chapter three the focus shifts from domestic animals to plants. Specifically, roses and other flowers of a similar nature, with a look at the natural pollination and changes that have occurred as a result of that and the changes that have occurred as a result of man's forced involvement for purposes of adornment.