Douglas Noel Adams

From Philosopedia

Adams, Douglas Noel (11 Mar 1952 - 11 May 2001 )

A British comic writer, Adams completed a mock science-fiction series known collectively as The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (1980-1990). Although raised in a religious household, he once listened to a street preacher and realized he was hearing utter nonsense. Asked by American Atheist (1998-1999) if it is accurate that he had been described as a “radical atheist,” Adams responded,

• Yes, I think I use the term “radical” rather loosely, just for emphasis. If you describe yourself as “atheist,” some people will say, “Don’t you mean ‘agnostic’?” I have to reply that I really do mean atheist, I really do not believe that there is a god; in fact, I am convinced that there is not a god (a subtle difference), I see not a shred of evidence to suggest that there is one . . . etc., etc. It’s easier to say that I am a radical atheist, just to signal that I really mean it, have thought about it a great deal, and that it’s an opinion I hold seriously.

His works include The Utterly Utterly Merry Comic Relief Christmas Book (1986) and Starship Titanic (CD ROM, 1998). He is a scriptwriter for BBC Radio and was a script editor for the television series “Doctor Who” (1978-1980).

An article about Richard Dawkins in The New Yorker (9 September 1996) stated that “Douglas Adams, a friend of Dawkins’s . . . found the experience of reading [The Selfish Gene] ‘one of those absolutely shocking moments of revelation when you understand that the world is fundamentally different from what you thought it was.’ He adds, ‘I’m hesitating to use the word, but it’s almost like a religious experience.’ ” That book was a key event in leading Adams to his position of atheism.

At the age of 49, Adams died of a heart attack while working out at a gym in Montecito, California. A narrowing of the coronary arteries led to a myocardial infarction and a fatal cardiac arrhythmia.

He was survived by his wife Jane and daughter Polly. A funeral was held 16 May 2001 in Santa Barbara, California, and his ashes were placed in Highgate Cemetery in north London that June. A memorial service was held 17 September 2001 at St. Martin-in-the-Fields Church, London, the first such of any kind broadcast live on the web by the British Broadcasting Company (BBC).

Dr. Peter Stone of Stanford University, writing of Adams's last book - The Salmon of Doubt: Hitchhiking the Galaxy One Last Time (2003), describes him as "a radical atheist" whose work contains the following memorable lines:

The whole business of religion is profoundly interesting. But it does mystify me that otherwise intelligent people take it seriously. (p. xxvii)

America is like a belligerent boy; Canada is like an intelligent woman. Australia is Jack Nicholson. (p. 45)

In England it is considered socially incorrect to know stuff or think about things. It's worth bearing this in mind when visiting. (p. 69)

The agenda of life's important issues has moved from novelists to science writers, because they know more. (p. 160)

{CA; Peter Stone, The Bertrand Russell Society Quarterly (May-August 2006)}