''The Genius of Charles Darwin'' is a three-part television documentary, written and presented by evolutionary biologist

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 ...

. It was first shown in August 2008 on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service in ...

. It won Best TV Documentary Series 2008 at the British Broadcast Awards in January 2009.Broadcast Awards 2009
Broadcast Awards 2009, broadcastawards.co.uk

Part 1: Life, Darwin & Everything

In the first episode

explains the basic mechanisms of natural selection, and tells the story of how

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended fr ...

developed his theory. He teaches a year 11 science class about evolution, which many of the students are reluctant to accept. He then takes them to the Jurassic Coast in Dorset to search for

fossils A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved in ...

, hoping that the students can see some of the evidence for themselves.Series overview - Episode 1
channel4.com Dawkins also visits the place of his birth, Nairobi, where he interviews a prostitute who seems to have a genetic immunity to

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...

, and talks to microbiologist Larry Gelmon. He goes on to predict that genetic immunity is a trait that will become more prevalent in the community over time.

Part 2: The Fifth Ape

In the second episode Richard Dawkins deals with some of the philosophical and social ramifications of the theory of evolution.Series overview - Episode 2
channel4.com Dawkins starts out in Kenya, speaking with

palaeontologist Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of foss ...

Richard Leakey Richard Erskine Frere Leakey (19 December 1944 – 2 January 2022) was a Kenyan paleoanthropologist, conservation movement, conservationist and politician. Leakey held a number of official positions in Kenya, mostly in institutions of archaeol ...

. He then visits Christ is the Answer Ministries, Kenya's largest Pentecostal church, to interview Bishop Bonifes Adoyo. Adoyo has led the movement to press the National Museums of Kenya to sideline its collection of hominid bones pointing to man's evolution from ape to human.Mike Pflanz, Evangelicals urge museum to hide man's ancestors
telegraph.co.uk The collection includes the

Turkana Boy Turkana Boy, also called Nariokotome Boy, is the name given to fossil KNM-WT 15000, a nearly complete skeleton of a ''Homo ergaster'' youth who lived 1.5 to 1.6 million years ago. This specimen is the most complete early hominin skeleton ever ...

discovered by

Kamoya Kimeu Kamoya Kimeu (1938 – 20 July 2022) was a Kenyan paleontologist and curator, whose contributions to the field of paleoanthropology were recognised with the National Geographic Society's LaGorce Medal and with an honorary doctorate of science deg ...

, a member of a team led by

in 1984. Dawkins discusses social Darwinism and eugenics, explaining how these are not versions of natural selection, and that "Darwin has been wrongly tainted". He then meets with

evolutionary psychologist Evolutionary psychology is a theoretical approach in psychology that examines cognition and behavior from a modern evolutionary perspective. It seeks to identify human psychological adaptations with regards to the ancestral problems they evolv ...

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 ...

to discuss how

morals Morality () is the differentiation of intentions, decisions and actions between those that are distinguished as proper (right) and those that are improper (wrong). Morality can be a body of standards or principles derived from a code of cond ...

can be compatible with natural selection. He goes on to explaining

sexual selection Sexual selection is a mode of natural selection in which members of one biological sex choose mates of the other sex to mate with (intersexual selection), and compete with members of the same sex for access to members of the opposite sex (int ...

, with

peafowl Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera '' Pavo'' and ''Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female peafowl are re ...

s as an example. To find out whether sexual selection plays a role for

altruism Altruism is the principle and moral practice of concern for the welfare and/or happiness of other human beings or animals, resulting in a quality of life both material and spiritual. It is a traditional virtue in many cultures and a core as ...

and kindness among

humans Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...

, he visits women who are looking for sperm donors, as well as a

sperm bank A sperm bank, semen bank, or cryobank is a facility or enterprise which purchases, stores and sells human semen. The semen is produced and sold by men who are known as sperm donors. The sperm is purchased by or for other persons for the purpose ...

manager. Dawkins also explains kin selection and selfish genes. Dawkins talks with Dutch primatologist and

ethologist Ethology is the scientific study of animal behaviour, usually with a focus on behaviour under natural conditions, and viewing behaviour as an evolutionarily adaptive trait. Behaviourism as a term also describes the scientific and object ...

Frans de Waal Franciscus Bernardus Maria "Frans" de Waal (born October 29, 1948) is a Dutch primatologist and ethologist. He is the Charles Howard Candler Professor of Primate Behavior in the Department of Psychology at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, ...

about empathy among chimpanzees.

Part 3: God Strikes Back

In the third and final episode, Dawkins explains why Darwin's theory is one of history's most controversial ideas.Series overview - Episode 3
channel4.com Dawkins uses this episode to discuss the opposition that evolution has experienced since it was first discovered. He starts by approaching various anti-evolutionists, ranging from John Mackay from Creation Research, Wendy Wright, President of

Concerned Women for America Concerned Women for America (CWA) is a socially conservative, evangelical Christian non-profit women's legislative action committee in the United States. Headquartered in Washington D.C., the CWA is involved in social and political movements, t ...

, to English school teacher Nick Cowen. In order to address concerns they bring up, he shows the evidence for evolution, including fossil and DNA evidence. He also talks to the teachers of the science students who he taught during the first episode, asking them why they aren't adequately teaching the ideas of science properly, allowing instead their students to believe that truth is personal and that science is merely a point of view. Dawkins last interview is with the philosopher Daniel Dennett. They discuss whether Darwinism deprives people of consolation. Dawkins also describes Darwin's personal loss of faith, based not only on the natural mechanisms he saw, but also on the cruelty in the world which seemed to deny a loving God, in particular the loss of his daughter Annie. While Dawkins does address the bleakness of the Darwinian view, he spends the last part of this episode describing how Darwin and he himself address it, ending by saying:

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Genius of Charles Darwin, The Channel 4 documentary series Documentary films about nature Works by Richard Dawkins 2008 British television series debuts 2008 British television series endings Charles Darwin bicentenary Scientific skepticism mass media Cultural depictions of Charles Darwin Documentary television shows about evolution