Denial of Metaphysical causes in Dawkins' theory: a critical study

Fakhreddine Tabatabai

Abstract
It has almost been one and a half-century since Darwin presented his renowned theory, and perhaps no one envisaged nor Darwin himself that his theory would cause that much impact on all fields of human knowledge. The theory of evolution may not be an atheistic theory in itself, but it has been turned into an artifice of many atheists and skeptics for denying the existence of God and the supernatural. One of these atheists is Richard Dawkins who was able to become an authority in this regard by upgrading the theory of evolution. The range of views of this atheist was so broad that they could also reach the Muslim countries. The fundamental difference between the philosophers and atheists like Dawkins must be in understanding the principle of causality. Dawkins, though not bothered himself by discussing this principle as the philosophers did, but the approach of this biologist in explaining the evolving universe shows that he has conceived this principle in a complete materialistic sense. So, he only believes in what is called material causes or contributing causes in philosophy. But Muslim philosophers consider this view to be invalid, and they believe that the material cause is only one of the four real causes in nature.

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