--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Fifth, I think that you [Daniel Dennett]…" description: "\"“Fifth, I think that you [Daniel Dennett] and Richard are absolute disasters in the fight against intelligent design — we are losing this battle, not t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d6/michael-ruse-35791_intelligent-design_fifth-i-think-that-you-daniel-dennett-an_1658804.jpg" --- # Fifth, I think that you \[Daniel Dennett\] and Richard are… ![“Fifth, I think that you [Daniel Dennett] and Richard are absolute disasters in the fight against intelligent design — we are losing this battle, not the least of which is the two new supreme court justices who are certainly going to vote to let it into classrooms — what we need is not knee-jerk…” quote by Michael Ruse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d6/michael-ruse-35791_intelligent-design_fifth-i-think-that-you-daniel-dennett-an_1658804.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d6/michael-ruse-35791_intelligent-design_fifth-i-think-that-you-daniel-dennett-an_1658804.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d6/michael-ruse-35791_intelligent-design_fifth-i-think-that-you-daniel-dennett-an_1658804.jpg) > ““Fifth, I think that you \[Daniel Dennett\] and Richard are absolute disasters in the fight against intelligent design — we are losing this battle, not the least of which is the two new supreme court justices who are certainly going to vote to let it into classrooms — what we need is not knee-jerk atheism but serious grappling with the issues — neither of you are willing to study Christianity seriously and to engage with the ideas — it is just plain silly and grotesquely immoral to claim that Christianity is simply a force for evil, as Richard claims — more than this, we are in a fight, and we need to make allies in the fight, not simply alienate everyone of good will." "William Dembski. "Remarkable exchange between Michael Ruse and Daniel Dennett" " 2006”” [Michael Ruse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ruse/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author argues for nuanced dialogue with Christianity rather than dismissive atheism, urging constructive engagement. **In simple terms:** Engage respectfully with opposing views. Key Takeaway Seek common ground in debates. Themes religion dialogue science Mood critical analytical Type philosophical debate When to use this quote - academic conferences - interfaith panels - public policy discussions Key Concepts intelligent design atheism ethics Questions to Reflect On - Can constructive dialogue change deeply held beliefs? - What are the limits of compromise? A Different Perspective Risk of compromising scientific rigor for appeasement. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Atheism Grappling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheism-grappling-735943/) [Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/daniel-dennett-735942/) [Fifth Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fifth-think-735948/) [Intelligent design](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligent-design/) [Jerk Atheism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jerk-atheism-735945/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [Daniel Dennett is our best current philosopher. He is the next Bertrand Russell. Unlike traditional philosophers, Dan is a student of neuroscience, linguistics, artificial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-minsky/daniel-dennett-is-our-best-current-philosopher-he-is-the-next/) [Marvin Minsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-minsky/) > [“That scientifically savvy philosopher Daniel Dennett pointed out that evolution counters one of the oldest ideas we have: 'the idea that it takes a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/that-scientifically-savvy-philosopher-daniel-dennett-pointed-out-that/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“Today, the 4-billion-year-old regime of natural selection is facing a completely different challenge. In laboratories throughout the world, scientists are engineering living beings. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/today-the-4-billion-year-old-regime-of-natural-selection-is-facing-a/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [I say the Intelligent Design-evolution debate misses the point. It trivializes God and it trivializes science. The universe is like the hand of God.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dowd/i-say-the-intelligent-design-evolution-debate-misses-the-point-it/) [Michael Dowd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dowd/) > [“If a beautiful sunflower is somehow supposed to be evidence of the Christian god, then what is a parasitic worm that eats children’s eyeballs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-p-harrison/if-a-beautiful-sunflower-is-somehow-supposed-to-be-evidence-of-the/) [Guy P. Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-p-harrison/) > [There is absolutely no scientific basis or evidence for 'intelligent design.' It is simply a religious assertion, and it has no place in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hillis/there-is-absolutely-no-scientific-basis-or-evidence-for-intelligent/) [David Hillis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hillis/) > [In evolution, as in all areas of science, our knowledge is incomplete. But the entire success of the scientific enterprise has depended on an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-alberts/in-evolution-as-in-all-areas-of-science-our-knowledge-is-incomplete/) [Bruce Alberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-alberts/) > [“New Rule: You don't have to teach both sides of a debate if one side is a load of crap. President Bush recently suggested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/new-rule-you-don-t-have-to-teach-both-sides-of-a-debate-if-one-side/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [The followers of intelligent design should openly and clearly declare the existence of Allah as the Creator.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harun-yahya/the-followers-of-intelligent-design-should-openly-and-clearly-declare/) [Harun Yahya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harun-yahya/) > [“According to Dembski, for example, “scientific creationism has prior religious commitments whereas intelligent design does not.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/according-to-dembski-for-example-scientific-creationism-has-prior/) [Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/) > [The argument for intelligent design basically depends on saying, 'You haven't answered every question with evolution,'... Well, guess what? Science can't answer every question](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-r-miller/the-argument-for-intelligent-design-basically-depends-on-saying-you/) [Kenneth R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-r-miller/) > [“If Darwinists are opposed to mentioning scientific problems with their view, you would think they would be even more opposed to mentioning intelligent design.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-wells/if-darwinists-are-opposed-to-mentioning-scientific-problems-with/) [Jonathan Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-wells/) > [“The most essential prediction of Darwinism is that, given an astronomical number of chances, unintelligent processes can make seemingly-designed systems, ones of the complexity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-j-behe/the-most-essential-prediction-of-darwinism-is-that-given-an/) [Michael J. Behe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-j-behe/) > [Intelligent Design opens the whole possibility of us being created in the image of a benevolent God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-a-dembski/intelligent-design-opens-the-whole-possibility-of-us-being-created-in/) [William A. Dembski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-a-dembski/) > [“The free-market economy and globalisation process have brought about, in the late twentieth and early twenty-first century, a sharp and sudden rise in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yaakov-malkin/the-free-market-economy-and-globalisation-process-have-brought-about/) [Yaakov Malkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yaakov-malkin/) ## More by Michael Ruse > [Being a philosophical naturalist does not mean that one thinks that science can provide all of the answers. That is scientism and that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ruse/being-a-philosophical-naturalist-does-not-mean-that-one-thinks-that/) [Michael Ruse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ruse/) > [“The definition of a philosopher is a blind man in a dark room looking for a black hat, which isn’t really there. And the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ruse/the-definition-of-a-philosopher-is-a-blind-man-in-a-dark-room-looking/) [Michael Ruse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ruse/) > [In particular, I argue that in both evolution and creation we have rival religious responses to a crisis of faith-rival stories of origins, rival…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ruse/in-particular-i-argue-that-in-both-evolution-and-creation-we-have/) [Michael Ruse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ruse/) > [In other words, science tells us that Adam and Eve are fictions. That Saint Paul or Uncle Tom Cobley and all thought otherwise is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ruse/in-other-words-science-tells-us-that-adam-and-eve-are-fictions-that/) [Michael Ruse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ruse/) > [ Their \[the new atheists\] treatment of the religious viewpoint is pathetic to the point of non-being. Richard Dawkins in The God Delusion would fail… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ruse/their-the-new-atheists-treatment-of-the-religious-viewpoint-is/) [Michael Ruse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ruse/) > [...I really want to believe. I find the goodies offered by Christianity extremely attractive. But I am damned (again!) if I am going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ruse/i-really-want-to-believe-i-find-the-goodies-offered-by-christianity/) [Michael Ruse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ruse/) > [Morality is a biological adaptation no less than are hands and feet and teeth... Considered as a rationally justifiable set of claims about an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ruse/morality-is-a-biological-adaptation-no-less-than-are-hands-and-feet/) [Michael Ruse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ruse/) > [Evolution is promoted by its practitioners as more than mere science. Evolution is promulgated as an ideology, a secular religion - a full-fledged alternative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ruse/evolution-is-promoted-by-its-practitioners-as-more-than-mere-science/) [Michael Ruse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ruse/) > [“I mean, I think even God would agree with this at this point. God’s existence isn’t important. It’s what we do with what we’ve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ruse/i-mean-i-think-even-god-would-agree-with-this-at-this-point-god-s/) [Michael Ruse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ruse/) > [We who cherish science should be careful to distinguish when we are doing science and when we are extrapolating from it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ruse/we-who-cherish-science-should-be-careful-to-distinguish-when-we-are/) [Michael Ruse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ruse/) > [The God Delusion makes me embarrassed to be an atheist, and the McGraths show why.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ruse/the-god-delusion-makes-me-embarrassed-to-be-an-atheist-and-the/) [Michael Ruse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ruse/) > [Evolution is a religion. This was true of evolution in the beginning, and it is true of evolution still today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ruse/evolution-is-a-religion-this-was-true-of-evolution-in-the-beginning/) [Michael Ruse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ruse/) [Explore all 13 Michael Ruse quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ruse/) ## More Intelligent design quotes > [“The free-market economy and globalisation process have brought about, in the late twentieth and early twenty-first century, a sharp and sudden rise in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yaakov-malkin/the-free-market-economy-and-globalisation-process-have-brought-about/) [Yaakov Malkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yaakov-malkin/) > [Intelligent Design opens the whole possibility of us being created in the image of a benevolent God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-a-dembski/intelligent-design-opens-the-whole-possibility-of-us-being-created-in/) [William A. Dembski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-a-dembski/) > [“The most essential prediction of Darwinism is that, given an astronomical number of chances, unintelligent processes can make seemingly-designed systems, ones of the complexity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-j-behe/the-most-essential-prediction-of-darwinism-is-that-given-an/) [Michael J. Behe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-j-behe/) > [“If Darwinists are opposed to mentioning scientific problems with their view, you would think they would be even more opposed to mentioning intelligent design.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-wells/if-darwinists-are-opposed-to-mentioning-scientific-problems-with/) [Jonathan Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-wells/) > [The argument for intelligent design basically depends on saying, 'You haven't answered every question with evolution,'... Well, guess what? Science can't answer every question](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-r-miller/the-argument-for-intelligent-design-basically-depends-on-saying-you/) [Kenneth R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-r-miller/) > [“According to Dembski, for example, “scientific creationism has prior religious commitments whereas intelligent design does not.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/according-to-dembski-for-example-scientific-creationism-has-prior/) [Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/) > [The followers of intelligent design should openly and clearly declare the existence of Allah as the Creator.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harun-yahya/the-followers-of-intelligent-design-should-openly-and-clearly-declare/) [Harun Yahya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harun-yahya/) > [“New Rule: You don't have to teach both sides of a debate if one side is a load of crap. President Bush recently suggested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/new-rule-you-don-t-have-to-teach-both-sides-of-a-debate-if-one-side/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [In evolution, as in all areas of science, our knowledge is incomplete. But the entire success of the scientific enterprise has depended on an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-alberts/in-evolution-as-in-all-areas-of-science-our-knowledge-is-incomplete/) [Bruce Alberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-alberts/) > [There is absolutely no scientific basis or evidence for 'intelligent design.' It is simply a religious assertion, and it has no place in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hillis/there-is-absolutely-no-scientific-basis-or-evidence-for-intelligent/) [David Hillis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hillis/) > [“If a beautiful sunflower is somehow supposed to be evidence of the Christian god, then what is a parasitic worm that eats children’s eyeballs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-p-harrison/if-a-beautiful-sunflower-is-somehow-supposed-to-be-evidence-of-the/) [Guy P. Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-p-harrison/) > [I say the Intelligent Design-evolution debate misses the point. It trivializes God and it trivializes science. The universe is like the hand of God.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dowd/i-say-the-intelligent-design-evolution-debate-misses-the-point-it/) [Michael Dowd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dowd/) > [“Today, the 4-billion-year-old regime of natural selection is facing a completely different challenge. In laboratories throughout the world, scientists are engineering living beings. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/today-the-4-billion-year-old-regime-of-natural-selection-is-facing-a/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“You might think that, by now, people would have become accustomed to the idea of natural catastrophes. We live on a planet that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/you-might-think-that-by-now-people-would-have-become-accustomed-to/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Science is a philosophy of discovery; intelligent design is a philosophy of ignorance... Something fundamamental is going on in people's minds when they confront…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/science-is-a-philosophy-of-discovery-intelligent-design-is-a/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) [Browse all 151 Intelligent design quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligent-design/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Fifth, I think that you [Daniel Dennett] and Richard are absolute disasters in the fight against intelligent design — we are losing this battle, not the least of which is the two new supreme court justices who are certainly going to vote to let it into classrooms — what we need is not knee-jerk atheism but serious grappling with the issues — neither of you are willing to study Christianity seriously and to engage with the ideas — it is just plain silly and grotesquely immoral to claim that Christianity is simply a force for evil, as Richard claims — more than this, we are in a fight, and we need to make allies in the fight, not simply alienate everyone of good will.\" \"William Dembski. \"Remarkable exchange between Michael Ruse and Daniel Dennett\" \" 2006”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michael Ruse" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ruse/fifth-i-think-that-you-daniel-dennett-and-richard-are-absolute/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Intelligent design" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ruse/fifth-i-think-that-you-daniel-dennett-and-richard-are-absolute/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d6/michael-ruse-35791_intelligent-design_fifth-i-think-that-you-daniel-dennett-an_1658804.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d6/michael-ruse-35791_intelligent-design_fifth-i-think-that-you-daniel-dennett-an_1658804.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d6/michael-ruse-35791_intelligent-design_fifth-i-think-that-you-daniel-dennett-an_1658804.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Fifth, I think that you [Daniel Dennett] and Richard are absolute disasters in the fight against intelligent…” — Michael Ruse", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Michael Ruse", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ruse/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Fifth, I think that you [Daniel...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ruse/fifth-i-think-that-you-daniel-dennett-and-richard-are-absolute/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ruse/fifth-i-think-that-you-daniel-dennett-and-richard-are-absolute/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```