Understand evolution well enough to explain it.
Evolution might be the greatest idea anyone ever had. Its reach is extraordinary when you consider how different living things are and how much of their history we can explain.
From the author of The Selfish Gene and The Blind Watchmaker.
Founding pre-order priceA$149incl. GST
Founding offer valid until 16 November. Full course access begins [TO CONFIRM].
18 recorded episodes, plus an illustrated companion guide
Richard Dawkins has spent much of his career working out how to explain that science to the public. Across 18 recorded episodes, he puts the biology you may have picked up from books and documentaries into one account of how life changes, so each new thing you learn has a place in the larger picture.
In this course, you'll learn to...
Build the understanding to follow an evolutionary argument and explain the reasoning in your own words. As Dawkins works through the examples, you'll see how the same principles connect the natural world with our own place in it.
Explain how natural selection builds complexity.
Understand how small inherited differences can accumulate across generations. Follow the reasoning that connects a slight advantage to an adaptation as striking as an insect that looks like a leaf.
Understand why the evidence points to common ancestry.
Follow the evidence from fossils and geographical patterns to the relationships revealed by DNA. See how different lines of investigation support a shared history of life.
Make sense of how behaviour evolves.
Examine cooperation and competition through evolutionary reasoning. Learn how helping relatives can favour gene survival, and why a peacock's display can aid reproduction at a cost to survival.
Place human origins in the wider history of life.
Trace the evidence for our ancestry and consider the emergence of upright walking and larger brains. Understand how the cultural changes around us differ from the genetic evolution that shaped our bodies.
Understand what a 'selfish gene' actually means.
Hear Dawkins explain the gene's-eye view of evolution and the extended phenotype. Follow how the effects of genes can reach beyond an animal's body, into a bird's nest or the behaviour of a parasite's host.
Recognise the limits of an evolutionary explanation.
Distinguish well-supported explanations from hypotheses about life's origins and possible life elsewhere. Consider why understanding how we evolved cannot, by itself, tell us how we ought to behave.
About Richard Dawkins
Richard Dawkins has spent fifty years making evolutionary biology impossible to ignore. In The Selfish Gene (1976), he showed what natural selection looks like from the gene's point of view. He took the argument further in The Extended Phenotype, tracing the effects of genes beyond the body of the animal that carries them. In The Blind Watchmaker, he took on a question that has followed Darwin's theory since its beginning. How can natural selection produce things that look as though they were designed?
Dawkins began his career studying animal behaviour and went on to become Oxford University's first Charles Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science, a post he held from 1995 to 2008. A Fellow of the Royal Society, he received its Michael Faraday Prize for his work communicating science to the public.
His public defence of evolution earned him the nickname 'Darwin's Rottweiler', an echo of Thomas Henry Huxley's 'Darwin's Bulldog'. In Learn Evolution, you study with a scientist who has spent decades making the case for evolution in public and whose own work helped shape how biologists think about natural selection.
- The Selfish Gene
- 1976
- Charles Simonyi Professor, Oxford
- 1995–2008
- Fellow of the Royal Society
- Michael Faraday Prize
Build your understanding, episode by episode
Study evolution with Richard Dawkins from first principles. What you learn about inheritance helps you understand why biologists look at evolution from the gene's point of view. As the course develops, you'll see how the same principles explain why species adapt and how behaviour evolves.
That grounding lets you follow an evolutionary argument for yourself and see how much the evidence can tell you.
18 recorded video episodes, taught by Richard Dawkins.
Episodes 1–6
Start with the foundations
Understand the evidence for evolution and how natural selection works. Then connect inheritance and genetics to the bodies that develop from them.
Episodes 7–12
See what the principles explain
Apply the ideas to animal behaviour and the formation of species. Explore mate choice, the relationships revealed by DNA and the ways species influence one another's evolution.
Episodes 13–14
Bring humans into the picture
Examine our ancestry and the expansion of the human brain. Consider how language and culture change through processes that differ from genetic inheritance.
Episodes 15–18
Extend the argument
Explore the origin of life and possible life elsewhere. Develop the gene's-eye view further, then examine evolutionary progress and the relationship between evolution and human values.
Experience the series before you pre-order
Watch Episode 1 free. Begin with Dawkins's introduction to evolution and the evidence behind it, and get a feel for how he makes the subject understandable.
Who is this course for?
You want to understand how evolution works
You may recognise the language of evolution and want a firmer grasp of the explanation. The course begins with the evidence and mechanism, then builds towards more specialised ideas.
You already read or watch Richard Dawkins
Study ideas from across his work through his conversational explanations. Follow their connections in a course that moves from the foundations into the wider questions they raise.
You enjoy science books and documentaries
Get more out of the science you already enjoy. When a new discovery catches your attention, you'll have the background to understand why it matters and what it changes about the accepted account.
You teach biology or talk about science with others
Hear how Dawkins builds an explanation from an example people can picture. Follow his reasoning so you can explain it in your own words when someone asks why a trait evolved or how a new species forms.
Your founding pre-order
Study evolution with Richard Dawkins in a course that connects the underlying science to the living world. Pre-order the complete series and receive access first when it opens.
What's included
- All 18 recorded episodes: the full course, from the evidence for evolution to its wider implications.
- Illustrated companion guide included. Follow along with the recorded lessons and return to the illustrations when you want to revisit an explanation.
- 12 months of course access. Your access period starts when the full course becomes available to you.
What happens after you order
- Your confirmationYou'll receive an email confirming your pre-order and the date your full course access begins.
- Your course accessWhen the course opens, we'll send a separate email with your access link and login details.
Founding pre-order priceA$149incl. GST
- Full course access begins [TO CONFIRM].
- Founding offer valid until 16 November.
- Refunds: [TO CONFIRM] Refund policy
Questions before you begin
Can I follow the course if I'm new to evolution?
Yes. Dawkins uses familiar examples to explain how natural selection works. He introduces the ideas as you need them, so you can start with curiosity alone. Watch Episode 1 free to get a feel for how he teaches.
I've read Richard Dawkins. What does the course offer?
You can study familiar ideas through Dawkins's spoken explanations and follow how they connect across the field. It includes his gene's-eye view of evolution and the extended phenotype among others, alongside the broader foundations of evolutionary biology.
When will I get access?
The full course opens on [TO CONFIRM]. We'll confirm your order by email and send your access link and login details in a separate email when the course opens.
How long will I have access, and how can I watch?
You'll have 12 months of access from the date the full course opens to you. [TO CONFIRM]
What is the companion guide?
Your course includes an illustrated guide to the recorded lessons. Follow along with it as you watch, or use it to revisit an idea later.
What is the refund policy?
[TO CONFIRM]
Who can help with my order?
If you have a question about your order or need help accessing the course, email support@thisis42.com.
Learn evolution with Richard Dawkins
Build an understanding you can bring to the science you read and the living world around you.
18 recorded episodes, plus an illustrated companion guide
Founding pre-order priceA$149incl. GST
Pre-order the course- Full course access begins [TO CONFIRM].
- Founding offer valid until 16 November.
- Refunds: [TO CONFIRM] Refund policy
- Payment processed securely by Airwallex.