Evolution

Darwin’s legacy

Darwin’s Great Books

The Origin of Species (1859) The Descent of Man (1871)

Principles of Evolution

Common ancestry: all species originated from one or a small number of ancient organisms.

Variation by mutation: the forms, organs, and instincts of an individual can differ in small and random ways from those of its progenitor; these new characteristics can be passed on to the next generation.

Natural selection as the mechanism of speciation: variations which prove to be useful adaptations that promote an individual’s survival will thereby enhance reproduction and so are passed on to a larger number of offspring. In this way, useful variations are selected for.

Theological Issues

Biblical accuracy Natural theology and the argument from

design No design – no God!

Materialism

Materialism was rampant on the continent. It was a basis of an attack on Christianity and the established (Christian) order.

It undergirded the work of Karl Marx.

Ernst Haeckel (1834 – 1919)

“The cell consists of protoplasm, composed chiefly of carbon with an admixture of hydrogen, nitrogen and sulfur. These component parts, properly nursed, become man. With this single argument, the mystery of the universe is explained, the deity annulled, and a new era of infinite knowledge ushered in.”

One theory – every possible reaction

Both religious and scientific thinkers in the 19th century embraced all possible responses to Darwinism from one extreme to the other.

Theistic Evolution

Evolution is a natural process guided or directed in some way by God.

Advocated by one of Darwin’s major proponents Asa Gray (1810 – 1888)

“It is most presumable that an intellectual conception realized in Nature would be realized by natural agencies.”

Three bad reactions

Progressivism: Everything is getting better and better. (Read the Victorian empire.)

Polygenism: Humans are descended from several different individuals. (Read racism and colonialism.)

Survival of the fittest: So get rid of the weak and unfit. (So why not Nazi extermination camps?)

Catholic Response

Pope Pius XII (1950) in his encyclical Humani Generis (Of the Human Race) allowed for discussions of evolution between theologians and scientists, but evolution at that point was still a hypothesis.

Pope John Paul II (1996)

“Today almost half a century after the publication of the encyclical Humani Generis, new knowledge has led to the recongnition of the theory of evolution as more than a hypothesis. It is indeed remarkable that this theory has been progressively accepted by researchers following a series of discoveries in various fields of knowledge.

The convergence, neither sought nor fabricated, of the results of work that was conducted independently is, in itself, a significant argument in favor of this theory.”

Theory

A theory is a well-supported explanatory structure capable of explaining and predicting a range of phenomena. A theory organizes facts, concepts and predictions into a functional scientific framework.

Affairs at the turn of the century

There was general agreement among both scientist and theologians regarding the transformation of species.

Considerably less for natural selection as its mechanism.

What happens next?