The Horrors of Evolution (Evolution)

by George Jelliss , Crewe, Thursday, August 07, 2008, 14:30 (5750 days ago)

In his TV programme on "The Genius of Charles Darwin", (Channel 4 Monday 4th August), Richard Dawkins at one point shows film of wildlife in Kenya that depicts "nature red in tooth and claw", yet at the end concludes with Darwin's own comment that "There is grandeur in this view of life" ... I find these two statements difficult to reconcile. The evolution of life over an enormous period of time is impressive, but the detail of it is in many ways horrific. - Darwin himself said in another often quoted phrase "What a book a Devil's Chaplain might write on the clumsy, wasteful, blundering, low & horridly cruel works of nature!" (Letter to Hooker 1856). - If I, as an atheist, have difficulty with facing the reality, how much more difficult is it for religious believers? What sort of designer would deliberately instigate such a process? Surely only something demonic, or at best uncaring? Or do we have to put it down to "mysterious ways" beyond the ability of our poor brains to comprehend? - These thoughts have been reinforced by this article linked to on the RDF site: - http://richarddawkins.net/article,2945,Brainwashed-by-a-parasite,Neurophilosophy - It's about ants being "brainwashed" by a fungal parasite: - http://neurophilosophy.wordpress.com/2006/11/20/brainwashed-by-a-parasite/ - Naturally analogies can be made with human ideas, the first commenter has: - "Human beings have something similar to the first example. It enters through the ears at an early age, germinates in the mind, and causes the host to destroy rival communities, whilst reproducing abnormally rapidly, thus permitting the parasite to breed, exit via the mouth, and infect others. It is commonly known as..."