[...]
: Darwinism has an aspect of world-view; it is an expression of faith
: in, and desire for, naturalistic explanation of all the complex
: wonders of life. Darwinism as mere theorem and technology is a
: straw man, which Berlinski attacks with the traditional ammunition.
Darwinism is not an expression of faith in naturalistic explanations. It is
a theory (not 'merely' a theory, a longstanding and useful theory). It is
not technology. Berlinski has been unable to effectively attack the
underlaying evidence for the basics of the Darwinian theory of evolution by
natural selection, nor has he brought forward effective counter evidence.
The faith in naturalism added as baggage to 'Darwinism' (with all the evil
connotations of Capital-letter-ism) is the real straw man. Someone who buys
the evidence and thinks Darwin's theory explains a real process may have
such a faith in naturalism, but holding one definitely does not necessarily
necessitate a belief in the other.
[...]
: It's not completely true that Darwin "presented ... to a disbelieving
: world" Darwin was reluctant to publish, and only did so at the behest
: of the only audience he cared about, the scientists who already had a
: profound anti-clerical bias, who were thirsting for something like the
: theory of natural selection.
[...]
Darwin was reluctant to publish at the time that the work of Wallace became
known to him because he considered his work incomplete. When he did publish
Origin of Species, it was a book intended for wide consumption and indeed
was a best seller of sorts -- going through several printings. By reading
it, it is obvious it is certainly not directed (only) at 'the scientists'
you describe, but to anyone who cared to understand or debate his theory.
--Glenn A. Friedrich