> I was wondering why very little is ever said about Charles Darwin being
> a graduate of Christ College, Oxford, I believe it was. And, on his
> telling his professor botanist friend before the voyage that he did not
> feel qualified to be the naturalist upon the Beagle. Are not these two
> important points of interest when trying to interpret a man's ideas
> nearly 150 years ago?
Your subject line makes it seem like a sinister conspiracy. I really
don't see your point...
I wouldn't necessarily evaluate a man's ideas based upon where he
graduated from university. Why do you think this is significant? Also,
because someone expresses self-doubt at some point, doesn't mean they're
not qualified. I think most biologists would agree that Darwin did a
wonderful job aboard the Beagle since the ideas he developed on that
trip revolutionized their discipline! Darwin was an excellent naturalist
who published very well-received work on barnacles, earthworms, etc.
I also find it odd (not necessarily speaking about the poster of the
above message) that many young-earth creationists invest so much time
and effort into trying to discredit Darwin. Modern evolutionary theory
is quite different (almost 150 years of scientific advances) from the
original ideas of Darwin (although much has been retained as well).
Discrediting Darwin will in no way discredit evolutionary theory or make
it go away.
- Steve.
-- Steven H. Schimmrich KB9LCG s-schim@uiuc.edu Department of Geology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 245 Natural History Building, Urbana, IL 61801 (217) 244-1246 http://www.uiuc.edu/ph/www/s-schim Fides quaerens intellectum