>>> PvM <pvm.pandas@gmail.com> 09/30/07 9:34 PM >>>writes:
Some creationists believe the lies that Darwinism is a religion and
that evolutionary science is the underlying cause of immorality and
other evils in the world.
Ted comments:
The latter, Pim, is very far from truth. We agree on that, although we could
probably identify more than a few people who might be examples of using
Darwin to *justify*immorality-- as vs having evolution genuinely be the
*cause* of immorality, which is indeed what the creationists often believe.
Rockefeller, e.g., used evolution to justify business practices that I would
myself regard as immoral, despite the fact that he was probably a
fundamentalist Christian. And Lenin used aspects of Darwin's theory to
justify his political views, at times.
As for the former--Darwinism as religion--this is where we may part company.
For quite a few modern thinkers, Darwin is a saint and evolution is at the
core of their gospel of atheism. I know we have not agreed about how to
understand Dawkins, e.g., but Dawkins himself does use the term "religion of
science," probably without much knowledge of others who have done likewise
in the past, and Dawkins himself has said that Darwin made it possible to be
an intellectually fulfilled atheist. NASA scientist Eric Chaisson gave a
paper 20 years ago, in which he said exactly that cosmic evolution was his
God--I heard the paper at a conference near San Francisco. I find now this
statement from him:
"Abstract. My conclusions are threefold: The subject of cosmic evolution is
my religion. The process of change itself (especially developmental change)
is my God. And global ethics and a planetary culture, which cosmic evolution
mandates, are the key to the survival of technologically competent life
forms, both here on Earth and perhaps elsewhere in the Universe." Source:
http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1467-9744.1988.tb00860.x
I think one could multiply these examples with much difficulty.
There's fire underneath this smoke, Pim, IMO.
Ted
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Received on Sun Sep 30 23:08:54 2007
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