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37 - Darwinism

from Part VI - Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries: Intellectual and Artistic Currents

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 September 2021

Michael Ruse
By
Robert T. Pennock
Edited by
Stephen Bullivant
Michael Ruse
Affiliation:
Florida State University
Stephen Bullivant
Affiliation:
St Mary's University, Twickenham, London
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Summary

Darwinian evolution is an overarching explanatory framework that makes sense of the characteristic patterns of the biological world. Evolutionary science is a progressive research program that is as well-confirmed as findings in other scientific disciplines. In this sense, it is not different from chemistry or physics. There is one significant difference, however, in that evolution continues to be subjected to regular attacks from some religious quarters, especially in the United States, where the issues have had considerable political, legal, and sociocultural significance.

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Chapter
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The Cambridge History of Atheism , pp. 666 - 685
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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References

References

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Further Reading

Haught, J. F. 2010. Making Sense of Evolution: Darwin, God, and the Drama of Life. Louisville, KY: John Knox Press. A Catholic theologian provides an account of how Darwinian evolution may be seen as fitting with the Church’s religious dogma.Google Scholar
Hume, D. 1779. Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion. London. A well-deserved classic discussion of arguments for and against the existence of God; Hume’s subtle philosophical presentation repays repeated readings.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johnson, P. E. 1990. Evolution as Dogma: The Establishment of Naturalism. Dallas, TX: Haughton Publishing Company. This foundational text of the IDC movement laid out their key arguments against evolution.Google Scholar
Lebo, L. 2008. The Devil in Dover: An Insider’s Story of Dogma v. Darwin in Small-Town America. New York: The New Press. From an astute local reporter who covered the story, the best book about the Kitzmiller v. Dover IDC trial.Google Scholar
Miller, K. B. (ed.) 2003. Perspectives on an Evolving Creation. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdman’s Publishing Company. A collection of papers by evangelical Christians who argue that evolution is compatible with their belief in God.Google Scholar
Paley, W. 1850. Natural Theology: Or Evidences of the Existence and Attributes of the Deity Collected from the Appearances of Nature. Boston, MA: Gould, Kendall, and Lincoln. Paley was not the first to make the watchmaker analogy, but this is the most famous and influential articulation of the design argument from natural theology.Google Scholar
Pennock, R. T. 1999. Tower of Babel: The Evidence against The New Creationism. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press and Bradford Books. As Frederick Crews put it, this “comprehensive and consistently rational” study is “the best book opposing creationism in all of its guises.”Google Scholar
Pennock, R. T. 2001. Intelligent Design Creationism and Its Critics: Philosophical, Theological and Scientific Perspectives. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press and Bradford Books. A one-stop collection of articles for and against IDC, featuring all the major players on all sides.Google Scholar
Ruse, M. 2001. Can a Darwinian be a Christian? The Relationship Between Science and Religion. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Philosopher of science Ruse provides a synoptic account of the arguments about the compatibility of Darwinian evolution with Christianity.Google Scholar

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