brief excursus through a modern superstition

The atheist Richard Dawkins believes that over a set period of time, planets, rocks, mud, dust, atoms, matter,  can accidentally come to exist and that matter can then over another set period of time become animated with consciousness, finally resulting after another set period of time in the reality of creatures, structures, cultures, and civilisations that we encounter today.

He also believes that whatever energy caused existence can never over any period of time be animated or conscious or purposeful or aware of what it is doing, that is to say that it cannot cause existence or indeed do anything it has observably done, on purpose.

He believes he knows this.