Sex, Death and the Meaning of Life

Sex, Death and the Meaning of Life is a three-part television documentary presented by Richard Dawkins which explores what reason and science might offer in major events of human lives. He argues that ideas about the soul and the afterlife, of sin and God's purpose have shaped human thinking for thousands of years.^[1] He believes science can provide answers to some of these old questions we used to entrust to religion.

Part 1: Sin

First, he examines issues surrounding the notion of sin. He also explores the rituals that surround mating and the science of disgust and taboo.

Part 2: Life After Death

In the second episode he tackles death. He investigates different beliefs about death and afterlife from Hindu funeral pyres in India to genetics labs in New York. He brings together neuroscience, evolutionary and genetic theory to examine how we age and why we crave life after death.

Part 3: The Meaning of Life

In the third and final episode Dawkins examines how both religious and non-religious people struggle to find meaning in their lives. To the question "Why does an atheist bother to get up in the morning?", he argues that we each have to forge our own sense of meaning. For him, it is awe and wonder in scientific inquiry.

See also

• Darrel Ray

References

External links

• Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science Sex, Death and the Meaning of Life
• Sex, Death and the Meaning of Life at the Internet Movie Database
• 'Sex, Death and the Meaning of Life, Series' at channel4.com