Richard Dawkins

In 1976 Richard Dawkins published The Selfish Gene, introducing his theory of memes, in which ideas leap “from brain to brain, via a process that can be called imitation.” From 1995 to 2008 he was the Charles Simonyi Professor of the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford University. He is now known best for his opposition to religion. “I don’t quite understand how Dawkins has become such a sage,” says philosopher Mary Midgley. “He goes on saying the same thing.”