Viruses of the Mind Viruses of the Mind "Viruses of the Mind" is an essay by British evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins, first published in the book "Dennett and His Critics: Demystifying Mind" (1993). Dawkins originally wrote the essay in 1991 and delivered it as a Voltaire Lecture on 6 November 1992 at the Conway Hall Humanist Centre. The essay discusses how religion can be viewed as a meme, an idea previously expressed by Dawkins in "The Selfish Gene" (1976). Dawkins analyzes the propagation of religious ideas and behaviors as a memetic virus, analogous to how biological and computer viruses spread. The essay was later
Irreligion in the United Kingdom to prominence in 1976 following the release of "The Selfish Gene", increasingly figured in British irreligion with the release of his 1986 work "The Blind Watchmaker", in which he argued in favour of evolutionary natural selection as opposed to intelligent design and creationism. In the 21st century, New Atheism became a popular topic of debate, support and critique in the United Kingdom. Dawkins' 2006 book "The God Delusion" and Christopher Hitchens' 2007 book "God Is Not Great" were considered emblematic works of the era among British authors, and Dawkins advocated for the Brights movement. The Atheist Bus Campaign was inaugurated