As new technology has come along, it has served to strengthen Darwin’s theories.
In the past, it was believed that every organism is one example of the true Form of a being (Plato’s time). This is typological thinking – the view that species are unchanging. The first person to suggest evolution and the idea that species can change was Lamarck in the time of the French Revolution.
Later, Hutton talked about the Rock Cycle and how the earth is immensely old, which conflicts with the Bible. Then, in the 19th century, Cuvier and Brongniart observed the layers of exposed rock formations that tell the history of the area based on the fossils present. Charles Lyell, “Father of Modern Geology,” championed that change over time on earth’s surface is very slow. He published some books that were important to Darwin. John Ray, 17th century, published a book about how species are perfect for their environments – God would not have created anything that is not perfect. William Paley published a book with similar ideals; God’s creatures are adapted perfectly.
The time before Darwin went on his voyage:
The watch analogy – if you happen to find a watch, you can infer that it has a designer and a maker. This supposedly translates to God’s creations. They must have a designer and have been designed with a purpose. Darwin was religious, and a pretty well-off guy. Definitely a family man. Married to his first cousin, Emma, and they were very close with each other. She was worried that if he lost his religion, they would not be able to be together in heaven. Paley and Wallace were key influences, along with the study of Geology. It’s still unclear whether or not he held his religious views throughout his life. His views likely changed over time.
He first started formulating his ideas very shortly after his voyage. He waited about 20 years before he published his works. He didn’t want to upset Emma, or receive criticism for upsetting the social hierarchical norms. He ended up publishing about 25 books and a bunch of papers.
1836 England: specimens
1837 Transmutation Notebooks
1844 “confessing a murder”
1858 Wallace
1859 Origin comes out
Walsh on Science and Religion: Science and Faith should be as separate as possible.
Book to read – Your Inner Fish by Neil Shubin
Claire, I appreciate your summary. I d be curious to know your thoughts on some of the points brought out in the film and the talk.