Dr. Carol Anelli discussed Darwin’s background, his biggest influences, and major breakthroughs in science in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. Not only did the Darwinian theory make a huge influence on biology and medicine at its origin, but also on science and phenomena to this day. His theory sustained time, and the technological advances throughout the centuries only served to further strengthen his theory.
I find it interesting to see how conflicting ideas are addressed in a classroom setting, especially the clash between science and religion. One quote that resonated with me from the lecture was “you want to eliminate faith as much as possible when using scientific procedures”. While faith can be a heavy influence on an outcome, no one would ever want an unexperienced person performing life-threatening surgical procedures on someone, relying solely on faith. There will always be an unclear line between faith for a religion and science, and it was interesting to hear about how everyone draws this line differently.
Dr. Anelli helped paint the picture of Darwin’s life story beyond the movie Creation. I did not know he came from a religious background, and that he had to have been religious to attend Cambridge. From the movie, I expected him to be nonreligious mainly due to his silence when attending church and his contradicting theory about evolution. However, it now makes sense that his faith may have faded as he learned more about science and after his daughter Annie passed away.
Jenna – I think many people today are surprised to learn about Darwin’s religious background, because he is often held up by the political left as a kind of atheistic prophet (for instance the fish symbol with the world Darwin inside). It is interesting that you note that his personal story with religion is certainly much more complicated.