What do you think of Dawkins' sentiments?

Richard Dawkins says: “In a universe of electrons and selfish genes, blind physical forces and genetic replication, some people are going to get hurt, other people are going to get lucky, and you won't find any rhyme or reason in it, nor any justice. The universe that we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil, no good, nothing but pitiless indifference.”

Is this true? If it's all nothing, how is he able to say there is no good and evil? The ideas and debates we have must mean we have a conscience. Without a conscience, there would be no discussion and nothing to think about. Dawkins would not have the clarity to make this statement without a conscience.

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Picklebobble2 · 56-60, M

Well he's right isn't he.

Map all the genomes/DNA/lifestyle habits/anything else that's 'flavour of the month' when somebody with no knowledge of anything wants to determine your 'worth' as a human, and you're still no wiser as to why one human physical problem affects one human but misses another.

Particularly pertinent given our poor excuses of government screaming that all societies ills are down to specific groups of people.

yestestvennaya · 22-25, F

@Picklebobble2 What human physical problems are you talking about? Do not all humans have them at some point?

Picklebobble2 · 56-60, M

@yestestvennaya As an example (and i stress, example) the human foible of 'depression'.

A massive industry of endless 'therapies' is available IF you have the desire and money to cater to them. In western cultures.

So does that mean people NOT in western cultures are somehow exempt from getting depression ?

If so, how do those in the 'underdeveloped world' address their depression ? Where such 'therapies' are unheard of.

What makes a 'westerner' more prone to the multitude of cancers out there ?
Are women in the African nations just as at risk of breast cancers ?
If the answer is no, there's your 'selfish gene'

yestestvennaya · 22-25, F

@Picklebobble2 People in the underdeveloped world can't afford to be depressed, and they have fewer reasons to be depressed. They have families to think about. There are fewer distractions and practical matters to deal with. They also most often have sunshine and higher levels of vitamin D. Their moods are better due to the release of serotonin in the brain, which gets produced when we consume the amino acid tryptophan or when the sunlight hits the eyes and stimulates the retina.

Another good treatment or prevention for depression is physical activity, which westerners do not get enough of.

“What makes a 'westerner' more prone to the multitude of cancers out there ? Are women in the African nations just as at risk of breast cancers ?
If the answer is no, there's your 'selfish gene.”

“Selfish genes” are interested in continuation. Why would they cause cancer? In the same way Africans may suffer depression less, environment and lifestyle are why they tend to have fewer cases of cancer.