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Many regard, scientist and bestselling author, Richard Dawkins, as an intellectual heavyweight.
Recognized as a cultural and academic icon. His most recent impact has been in promoting and defending atheism to the public.
Yet, some say that his "Dear Muslima" and his constant twitter controversies are not an "asset" by a "liability". They want a new Atheist Pope, especially now. The catholics have a brand new, media-friendly, Pope Francis.
The Challenge: Find a replacement for Dawkins.
After more than 10,000 votes from over 100 countries, the results of Prospect's world thinkers 2013 poll are in. Online polls often throw up curious results, but this top 10 offers a snapshot of the intellectual trends that dominate our age. THE WINNERS 1.
Richard Dawkins burst on to the scene with his 1976 book, The Selfish Gene, which presented the gene as the central unit of natural selection. Now professor of the public understanding of science at Oxford University, the 64-year-old Dawkins is a formidable critic of organized religion and is perhaps the world’s most vocal atheist. In books, essays, and media appearances, Dawkins makes the case for science to the general public in a way few can match. He is now reportedly working on a documentary about religion, tentatively titled “The Root of All Evil.”
A cultural history of the last forty years, The Age of American Unreason focuses on the convergence of social forces-usually treated as separate entities-that has created a perfect storm of anti-rationalism. These include the upsurge of religious fundamentalism, with more political power today than ever before; the failure of public education to create an informed citizenry; and the triumph of video over print culture.
RICHARD DAWKINS TOPS PROSPECT'S LIST OF BRITAIN'S TOP 100 PUBLIC INTELLECTUALS
Who is the world's most significant thinker? Hardly the simplest question to answer. But in one brave - foolhardy? - attempt, Prospect magazine has been inviting the public to vote on lists of influential thinkers on and off for the past 10 years.
