Jewish Tradition and the Challenge of Darwinism (review)

Abstract

Jewish Tradition and Challenge of Darwinism, edited by Geoffrey Cantor and Marc Swetlitz. Chicago & London: The University of Chicago Press, 2006. 260 pp. $24.00. This book is a collection of papers written by scholars in a variety of disciplines. It provides a survey of Jewish voices on a broad range of subjects related to Darwinism. One of book's main goals is to delineate scientific and theological dimensions of topic in context of engaging modern Jewish thought in dialogue between and religion. The book is eminently readable and accessible. While book initially claims that there is no Jewish problem with of evolution, further reading shows that not as much harmony exists under surface in terms of compatibility between Darwin's theory and Judaism as this claim would imply. Indeed, in final chapter, Darwinism is called the greatest challenge to divine (p. 230). Likewise, one of book's editors says that evolution is probably most prominent and controversial aspect of science (p. 32). Another theme is that of conflict and harmony. The theories of mutual aid and altruism are raised in contrast to competitive, war-based ideology, struggle for life, survival of fittest component of Darwinian theory, which was heavily influenced by Spencer's evolutionism and Malthus' population pessimism. Mutual aid, as it was originally envisaged, actually contradicts current evolutionary psychology, which has detached itself from metaphysics and ethics, to degree that it imagines animals and sometimes plants as similarly social beings equal to human beings. Should we not respect notion of a continuing creation, at work in both natural history and human history? Is reality of divine action something that can be considered in light of divine knowledge, if not in terms of secular human knowledge? Should we not leave space for highly improbable, or for what evidence has not yet verified, or for theories which do not currently stand as legitimate or valid? In this way anti-evolution, creation science, and Intelligent Design (ID) are said not to resonate with modern Orthodox Jews, but this need not mean that this applies to all such theories and paradigms. One suggestion is given in book, for example, of a reversal of typical views of evolution, suggesting that perhaps apes descended from humans, namely from sinful ones (p. 84). The larger context of book thus regards compatibility between and Judaism. Judaism holds a singularly important voice in controversy over evolution, which is nowadays current in some Christian circles, particularly in United States. Another aspect of book that makes this publication very timely has to do with contemporary Jewish identity, place of race concept and practice of eugenics in Zionism. …