Professor Richard Dawkins will join Richard Holloway in a discussion, on 1 April, on the meaning of life at the 2008 Edinburgh International Science Festival (EISF), it was announced today. The two men, with opposing views on religion, God, and science, met previously at the Edinburgh Science Festival in 2006. Dawkins also spoke at the first Edinburgh Science Festival 20 years ago in what EISF director Dr Simon Gage describes as "one of the most talked-about events the Festival has ever staged."
Dawkins, a confirmed atheist and Darwinian evolutionist , has simultaneously earned widespread praise and criticism over his best-selling book The God Delusion and as presenter of the TV series ‘Root of all Evil?' where he asks that if there is a God, can we test this scientifically and find evidence?
Richard Holloway, former Bishop of Edinburgh and one time Professor of Theology at Gresham College, is regarded as one of the most outspoken yet liberal figures in the Church and expresses his views widely on issues concerning religious belief in the modern world.
'I look forward to having another public conversation with Richard Dawkins, one of the leading thinkers of our age, on the topic of religion, one of the leading pre-occupations of humanity in any age,' said Richard Holloway.
EISF director Dr Simon Gage said: "Richard Dawkins' book ‘The God Delusion', which has won friends and enemies around the world, gives focus to the tension between scientific explanations of the world and very different religious interpretations and perspectives. I can think of no better person than Richard Holloway to tease out these issues in a style that will take all those present to new perspectives of their own."
The discussion will take place on Tuesday 1 April at 8.30pm in the George Square Theatre. It is one of a series of Edinburgh Science Festival talks tackling subjects from climate change to hypnosis.