Darwin dissed again and again by a Brit! (Introduction)

by dhw, Tuesday, August 29, 2017, 13:34 (2643 days ago) @ dhw

I have restored this post to the thread where it belongs.

dhw: The principle is on the same intellectual level as blaming Jesus Christ for the Crusades and the Inquisition, Muhammed for ISIS terrorism, and God for all the evil that men do. No, I am not comparing Darwin to these religious figures. He was simply a scientist trying to unravel the mystery of how life on earth developed, and he put together a theory much of which is still valid 150 years after he wrote it. If the theory of common descent is true, and if it’s true that in most cases those organisms best suited for survival will survive, then why attack the person who promulgated the truth just because other people used it for their own purposes? As for “bogus Victorian science” and the other spiteful ad hominems, no doubt there will be responses from people who know a lot more than I do, and last time I promised to report on any reviews. They obviously won’t be available till later next month.

DAVID: Your partial sentence: He was simply a scientist trying to unravel the mystery of how life on earth developed, and he put together a theory much of which is still valid 150 years after he wrote it. If the theory of common descent is true, and if it’s true that in most cases those organisms best suited for survival will survive, (my bold) is where I have trouble with Darwin. My position, as you know, is evolution is driven to advance complexity, with or without survivability.

I’m disappointed that you have focused on this and not even commented on the dreadful distortions underlying A.N. Wilson’s personal attacks on Darwin, which are the subject of my post. I know you disagree with Darwin, and you know that I have added the drive for improvement to the drive for survival. Meanwhile, I hope you will join me in condemning A.N. Wilson’s ad hominems for the reasons I have given in my post.