Dawkin’s primary example was that once one understands how the illusion of design can arise from such simple a process as that of natural selection, one easily begins to view cosmology and the origins of the universe in a different light as well, no longer feeling compelled to call forth a designer to explain it all.

In a beautiful and inspirational post over at Earthman’s Notebook, Hank Fox recounts how evolution raised his own consciousness not toward a deeper cosmology, but out of racism and bigotry. He details how he was born and raised fully immersed in the culture of racism. As such he was himself a racist. However, he eventually found evolution, which slowly and surely forced him out of his racist ideas. The change was natural and noncontrived, brought about solely by the paradigm-shifting worldview that natural selection gave him.

I think this serves as a wonderful example of the profound intellectual changes that can come about through simple understanding. I highly recommend you read his post.

(Hat tip to monado at Science Notes)

Recent related post dealing with racism: John Derbyshire Claims Barack Obama Will Kill Science