Notes:
He uses the words "intentional stance" in place of consciousness or soul. The idea is credited to Daniel Dennett. The survival value of this concept is that it speeds calculation of expected behavior of other beings.
Consistent with philosophers, e.g. M. J. Adler, Dawkins acknowledges the origin of consciousness as a (one of three) major unexplained gaps in evolution. The other two major gaps are the start of life, and the origin of eukaryotic cells (our kind of cells with a nucleus and mitochondria).
He spends is book refuting the "personal" god that listens and intercedes by our prayers. (People that believe in an impersonal god are basically atheists. Adler elaborates further on this idea.)
This book is easy reading if you have read others by him. In my case I read "The Selfish Gene" about 6 years ago.
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