The Horrors of Evolution (Evolution)

by dhw, Monday, August 11, 2008, 18:15 (5746 days ago) @ David Turell

It's heart-warming to see the common ground that is emerging between atheists, agnostics and panentheists. As we've often mentioned on this site, many of the misunderstandings arise because of the word "God", and it would be useful to find another term to describe the unknown power (whether personal or impersonal). - Carl thinks I have "come to the end of the road". I'd sort of done that when I wrote the "brief guide", and the reason for opening this website was to see what other paths could be explored. The result has been and continues to be illuminating, though it remains a matter of regret to me that the established religions are not more widely represented. I've found Mark's contributions, for instance, extremely stimulating and would have liked other religious perspectives too. David and George have supplied us with plenty of material to examine, respectively for and against the concept of design as well as on other topics, and the ongoing evolution debate promises yet more insights. - The fact is, the road never comes to an end, and there is an important category missing from Carl's list of directions: namely, the more modern form of agnostic, who says "I don't know, but I'm not giving up the search." Perhaps the road is not a good metaphor. I see all of us circling round a vast area of darkness, and although many of our arguments repeat themselves (inevitable when you're circling), we also gather new information and new ideas on the way ... perhaps getting little glimpses of light. I would like to think that although some contributors have already formed their views and may be writing only in the hope of converting others, a forum like this provides a useful testing ground even for them, while for those of us who are not committed, it offers a continual opportunity to weigh up different possibilities. Carl says: "We are looking for certainty where there can be no certainty." I don't think any of us really expects certainty. The most we can hope for is probability, but if we can't find even that, it doesn't matter so long as we remain tolerant of other people's probabilities and open to any new discoveries that may come our way. - I like the sound of George's "positive humanism", which I find considerably more attractive than Dawkins' aggressive atheism (I agree with Roger Scruton and David on this) and the equally aggressive tactics of certain brands of religion. Perhaps George would tell us why the Secular Society disapproved.