''Sex, Death and the Meaning of Life'' is a three-part television documentary presented by

Richard Dawkins Richard Dawkins (born 26 March 1941) is a British evolutionary biologist and author. He is an emeritus fellow of New College, Oxford and was Professor for Public Understanding of Science in the University of Oxford from 1995 to 2008. An ath ...

which explores what

reason Reason is the capacity of consciously applying logic by drawing conclusions from new or existing information, with the aim of seeking the truth. It is closely associated with such characteristically human activities as philosophy, science, ...

and

science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...

might offer in major events of human lives. He argues that ideas about the

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

and the

afterlife The afterlife (also referred to as life after death) is a purported existence in which the essential part of an individual's identity or their stream of consciousness continues to live after the death of their physical body. The surviving ess ...

, of

sin In a religious context, sin is a transgression against divine law. Each culture has its own interpretation of what it means to commit a sin. While sins are generally considered actions, any thought, word, or act considered immoral, selfish, s ...

and God's purpose have shaped human thinking for thousands of years. He believes science can provide answers to some of these old questions we used to entrust to

religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, ...

Author

Richard Dawkins was born on 26 March 1941. Richard is an emeritus fellow of New College, Oxford. Dawkins has written several books such as

The Selfish Gene ''The Selfish Gene'' is a 1976 book on evolution by the ethologist Richard Dawkins, in which the author builds upon the principal theory of George C. Williams's ''Adaptation and Natural Selection'' (1966). Dawkins uses the term "selfish gene ...

The Extended Phenotype ''The Extended Phenotype'' is a 1982 book by the evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins, in which the author introduced a biological concept of the same name. The main idea is that phenotype should not be ''limited'' to biological processes such ...

, In 2006 Dawkins also founded the

Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science The Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science (RDFRS or RDF) is a division of Center for Inquiry (CFI) founded by British biologist Richard Dawkins in 2006 to promote scientific literacy and secularism. Originally a non-profit based in ...

. Dawkins is an

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

and is well known for his criticism of

creationism Creationism is the religious belief that nature, and aspects such as the universe, Earth, life, and humans, originated with supernatural acts of divine creation. Gunn 2004, p. 9, "The ''Concise Oxford Dictionary'' says that creationism is 't ...

. Dawkins has been awarded many prestigious academic and writing awards and he makes regular television, radio and Internet appearances, predominantly discussing his books, his atheism, and his ideas and opinions as a

public intellectual An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and reflection about the reality of society, and who proposes solutions for the normative problems of society. Coming from the world of culture, either as a creator or a ...

Part 1: Sin

First, Dawkins examines issues surrounding the notion of

. He also explores the rituals that surround

mating In biology, mating is the pairing of either opposite-sex or hermaphroditic organisms for the purposes of sexual reproduction. ''Fertilization'' is the fusion of two gametes. ''Copulation'' is the union of the sex organs of two sexually reproduc ...

and the science of

disgust Disgust (Middle French: ''desgouster'', from Latin ''gustus'', "taste") is an emotional response of rejection or revulsion to something potentially contagious or something considered offensive, distasteful, or unpleasant. In ''The Expression o ...

and

taboo A taboo or tabu is a social group's ban, prohibition, or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, sacred, or allowed only for certain persons.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...

. Dawkins tries to answer the question If we don't believe God is watching over us we abandon morality? Dawkins examines the case for religious morality by speaking with Ray Lewis. Ray Lewis helps run a school in

Newham The London Borough of Newham is a London borough created in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963. It covers an area previously administered by the Essex county boroughs of West Ham and East Ham, authorities that were both abolished by the s ...

East London East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the f ...

which has been ravaged by gang violence and drugs. Workers like Lewis are trying a tough love approach inspired by

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

. Dawkins disagrees with this approach and challenges Lewis by trying to use a more scientific approach. The scene ends with the two disagreeing. Dawkins then examines

Sex Sex is the trait that determines whether a sexually reproducing animal or plant produces male or female gametes. Male plants and animals produce smaller mobile gametes (spermatozoa, sperm, pollen), while females produce larger ones (ova, oft ...

where he goes to a class where men are learning to control their modern addictions through Christ and biblical teaching. Dawkins discovers through a conversation with Darrel Ray, author of ''Sex & Secularism'', that pornography use is its highest among Christians and that

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

and

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

, which are considered religious states, have the highest level of pornography viewers. Ray explains to Dawkins that religious people lie about their sexually paroles. Dawkins further examines this by visiting plastic surgeon Dr. Marc Abecassis that repairs the

hymen The hymen is a thin piece of mucosal tissue that surrounds or partially covers the external vaginal opening. It forms part of the vulva, or external genitalia, and is similar in structure to the vagina. In children, a common appearance of the h ...

membrane in women's vaginas. Dr. Abecassis says this procedure provides women to rehabilitate themselves and restore their integrity and that this is a way to give back a pureness to the person that they love. Dawkins sees this as hypocrisy and challenges it by calling it a lie. Dr. Abecassis tells Dawkins that while it may be a lie for him, it is not for others. Dawkins himself subscribes to Kathleen Taylor's notion of “otherization” which cast other that are not your family as beast and subhuman and results in suppressed empathy. Dawkins examines how empathy is making us more moral by speaking to

Steven Pinker Steven Arthur Pinker (born September 18, 1954) is a Canadian-American cognitive psychologist, psycholinguist, popular science author, and public intellectual. He is an advocate of evolutionary psychology and the computational theory of mind. P ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

who has looked at the figures in detail, including data from the British home office and U.S bureau of Justice and found that as religion declines we are becoming ever more civilized. Ultimately, Stevens says that we are not becoming more moral biologically but rather societal factors have made us more moral. The episode ends with Dawkins giving a recap of everything discussed.

Part 2: Life After Death

In the second episode, Dawkins investigates different beliefs about

death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

and

. He brings together neuroscience, evolutionary and genetic theory to examine what happens as we age and why humans crave life after death. Dawkins begins by explaining that this episode is not about whether God exists or not. Instead, it addresses this question: what, if anything, can take God's place? He asks, what does an

like himself do in the face of death? To find out, he travels to

Varanasi, India Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world. * * * * The city has a syncretic tra ...

, where pilgrims bring over 40,000 corpses to be burned, and where

Hindus Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

aspire to die in order to escape from the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. They believe the body does not live forever, but the soul does, which Dawkins says is hard to understand as an atheist. He then visits a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

hospice in Kansas for babies who die within hours of birth. Patti Lewis, the owner of the home in which this takes place, offers care for the families who have lost newborn babies. Dawkins inquires about her idea of life after death and she believes the families will reconnect in their afterlife, leaving the two at a disagreement. He interviews a couple that had lost a newborn baby, and disagrees with their hope for a miracle and belief that it is not their choice to choose the baby's fate. Dawkins continues to question how people gain reassurance from their faith and wonders how the relationship between death and religion has become so strong. He meets with Dominic Maguire, a

funeral director A funeral director, also known as an undertaker (British English) or mortician (American English), is a professional involved in the business of funeral rites. These tasks often entail the embalming and burial or cremation of the dead, as w ...

that tells Dawkins how people find reassurance wishing the dead along by saying farewell to the last sight of their physical body. Dawkins claims that while fewer and fewer people believe in God, we still cling to the religious rituals that come along with death.

Douglas Davies Douglas James Davies, (born 11 February 1947) is a Welsh Anglican theologian, anthropologist, and academic, specialising in the history, theology, and sociology of death. He is Professor in the Study of Religion at the University of Durham. ...

, an

anthropologist An anthropologist is a person engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropology is the study of aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms and ...

, speaks with Dawkins about how death rituals are for the sentimental value of honoring someone's life. He questions why even he, as an atheist, has these sentimental values. He demonstrates people's natural inclination towards believing in different essences of individuals, or

s, by showing an experiment of children being tricked into thinking a hamster was cloned. Dawkins doesn't believe in a soul, but he believes he has some kind of essence that makes him who he is and would potentially differentiate him from a clone of himself. Dawkins lastly explores the scientific reality of why people die. He claims it is not something to overcome, but it is an evolutionary occurrence that must happen in order for the world to keep developing. He speaks with Irving, a 105-year-old man who has gone to work every day since 1927, in looking for the answer to why some people live longer than others. He discovers that

gene In biology, the word gene (from , ; "...Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a ba ...

s affect our lifespan, not lifestyle or environment, and that most

centenarian A centenarian is a person who has reached the age of 100 years. Because life expectancies worldwide are below 100 years, the term is invariably associated with longevity. In 2012, the United Nations estimated that there were 316,600 living cente ...

s have fewer children at a later age. Dawkins has his entire

genome In the fields of molecular biology and genetics, a genome is all the genetic information of an organism. It consists of nucleotide sequences of DNA (or RNA in RNA viruses). The nuclear genome includes protein-coding genes and non-coding ge ...

sequenced to find out what keeps him alive and what could potentially cause his death. Dawkins end the episode by concluding that as we learn and understand more about DNA, there will be less of a reliance on religion to cope with and understand death.

Part 3: The Meaning of Life

In the third and final episode, Dawkins examines how both

religious Religion is usually defined as a social system, social-cultural system of designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morality, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sacred site, sanctified places, prophecy, prophecie ...

and

non-religious Irreligion or nonreligion is the absence or rejection of religion, or indifference to it. Irreligion takes many forms, ranging from the casual and unaware to full-fledged philosophies such as atheism and agnosticism, secular humanism and anti ...

people struggle to find meaning in their lives. Segments of the episode are anchored to aspects of the lives of writers

Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...

Graham Greene Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading English novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquir ...

, and

Albert Camus Albert Camus ( , ; ; 7 November 1913 – 4 January 1960) was a French philosopher, author, dramatist, and journalist. He was awarded the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature at the age of 44, the second-youngest recipient in history. His work ...

(specifically ''

The Myth of Sisyphus ''The Myth of Sisyphus'' (french: link=no, Le mythe de Sisyphe) is a 1942 philosophical essay by Albert Camus. Influenced by philosophers such as Søren Kierkegaard, Arthur Schopenhauer, and Friedrich Nietzsche, Camus introduces his philosophy ...

''). He focuses on figures such as Russian novelist

and how throughout his life he comes full circle on his quest to find meaning. Dawkins mentions how like him, Tolstoy was brought up Christian and as a young adult began to question and lose faith in his religion. Tolstoy is quoted, “Why do I live? Is there any meaning in my life that will not be annihilated by the inevitability of death?” Later in life Tolstoy takes a spiritual retreat at

Mount St. Bernard Abbey Mount St Bernard Abbey is a Roman Catholic, Trappist monastery near Coalville, Leicestershire, England, founded in 1835 in the parish of Whitwick and now in that of Charley. The abbey was the first permanent monastery to be founded in England s ...

and seeks enlightenment at the monastery. Dawkins later juxtaposes the methods to which Tolstoy found meaning in his life to

a philosopher during WW2 who did not seek religion when searching for the meaning in his life. Camus is quoted in saying, “Without the aid of eternal values, it is necessary to wonder whether life has a meaning.” Camus later in life comes up with the idea of “absurdity” claiming that life must have meaning in order to value it, and that we must find meaning in futile work while analyzing the Greek Myth of Sisyphus. Towards the episode's end, Dawkins interviews actor

Ricky Gervais Ricky Dene Gervais ( ; born 25 June 1961) is an English comedian, actor, writer, and director. He co-created, co-wrote, and acted in the British television sitcoms ''The Office'' (2001–2003), '' Extras'' (2005–2007), and '' An Idiot Abroad' ...

who is a known

of his ideals of what the meaning of life is. Gervais states that for life to be meaningful one must love what they do, and center their life around meaningful relationships. That it doesn't matter what exactly you do, but that you must do something with your life that you enjoy. To the question "Why does an

bother to get up in the morning?", Dawkins argues that we each have to forge our own sense of meaning. For him, it is awe and wonder in

scientific inquiry Models of scientific inquiry have two functions: first, to provide a descriptive account of ''how'' scientific inquiry is carried out in practice, and second, to provide an explanatory account of ''why'' scientific inquiry succeeds as well as it ap ...

. Dawkins comes the conclusion that rather than to accept fate, meaning is found when we revolt against outrageous fortune. That the meaning of life is subjective, personal and that every individual person must set out to give our lives their own meaning.

Film's reception

Sex, Death and the Meaning was praised for moving away from Dawkins' previous coverage of atheism. "But at least in this three-part series the evolutionary biologist gets off his militant atheist’s high horse to tackle the God question from a more constructive angle. Instead of continuing with his usual line – 'God doesn’t exist so get used to it' – he offered ideas as to how we can best prosper in a godless world." Not all viewers were happy with Dawkins documentary.

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

criticized the documentary for "conflating 'sentiment' with 'illogic', which sometimes feels as if it's missing the point, because sentiment isn't dismayed by accusations of irrationality. It takes pride in it."

References

External links

*
Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science
Sex, Death and the Meaning of Life *

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

Sex, Death and the Meaning of Life: Episode 1Episode 2Episode 3
{{Richard Dawkins 2012 British television series debuts 2012 British television series endings 2010s British documentary television series British television documentaries Channel 4 documentary series Documentary films about science Works by Richard Dawkins English-language television shows Richard Dawkins Scientific skepticism mass media Works about meaning of life