Evolutionary Worldview Research Articles

A Contemporary Aristotelian–Thomistic Perspective on the Evolutionary View of Reality and Theistic Evolution

This article presents a coherent and comprehensive proposal of a renewed contemporary Aristotelian–Thomistic approach to the evolutionary view of reality and the position of theistic evolution. Beginning with a proposal of a hylomorphically–grounded essentialist definition of species—framed within a broader revival of biological essentialism—a constructive model of the Aristotelian–Thomistic metaphysics of evolution is being offered, together with a reflection on the alleged violation of the principle of proportionate causation in evolutionary transitions and the role of teleology and chance in evolution. The theological part of the article addresses a number of questions concerning the Thomistic school of theology in its encounter with the evolutionary worldview, including the question of whether God creates through evolution, the query concerning the concurrence of divine and created causes in evolutionary transitions, and the question regarding evolutionary and theological notions of anthropogenesis. A list of ten postulates grounding a contemporary Thomistic version of theistic evolution is offered as a conclusion to the research presented in the text.

Reintroducing Pierre Teilhard de Chardin to modern evolutionary science

ABSTRACT Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881–1955) developed an evolutionary worldview that was both spiritual and consistent with the scientific knowledge of his day. He has been largely forgotten by modern evolutionary scientists but remains widely read by those who are inspired by his vision of conscious evolution leading to a planetary superorganism. This article examines the major tenets of Teilhard’s vision from a modern evolutionary perspective in an effort to integrate “hard” evolutionary science with spirituality, the humanities, and conscious efforts to manage cultural change.

Учение о дегенерации и антиэволюционизм в религиозной мысли XIX в.

The paper deals with the history of the notion of degeneration in theoretical thinking of the religion-driven opponents of evolutionism. The notion of degeneration is commonly perceived as something that goes hand in hand with Social Darwinism and other trends of evolutionary thought. Evolutionists of the past usually understood degeneration as a reversal to the ancestral condition, and applied this notion to criminals, mentally ill persons and paupers. However, during the pre-Darwinian time, conservative supporters of the biblical literalism took the doctrine of degeneration very differently, construing it as a rival model to evolutionism. According to this model degeneration is a process of gradual descent from the exalted state in which Adam and its progeny were initially created by God. Prominent proponents of the doctrine of degeneration, such as Richard Whately, a Church of England Archbishop, and Nicholas Wiseman, a Catholic cardinal, argued that the primeval man, created by God, was civilized, far from being in a savage condition, called the state of nature by J.J. Rousseau and his disciples. Antievolutionary doctrine of degeneration suggested that the mode of life of modern savages could not be considered as an original one, because primitive tribes had degraded under the impact of harsh climate and other factors. Degenerationists underscored that humans were unable to invent civilization from scratch without help from God. The doctrine of degeneration enjoyed much influence, so that Charles Darwin himself, and other evolutionists, like Robert Chambers and John Lubbock, felt obliged to counter it. Nevertheless, the doctrine still had some support in the religious camp in 1870. The fact that the notion of degeneracy, initially used by opponents of evolutionism, has been eventually incorporated into the evolutionary worldview by the followers of Darwin is just another example of how triumphant paradigms absorb conceptual elements of their defeated rivals.

Defining Communication and Language from Within a Pluralistic Evolutionary Worldview

New definitions are proposed for communication and language. Communication is defined as the evolution of physical, biochemical, cellular, community, and technological information exchange. Language is defined as community communication whereby the information exchanged comprises evolving individual and group-constructed knowledge and beliefs, that are enacted, narrated, or otherwise conveyed by evolving rule-governed and meaningful symbol systems, that are grounded, interpreted, and used from within evolving embodied, cognitive, ecological, sociocultural, and technological niches. These definitions place emphasis on the evolutionary aspects of communication and language, and they are here differentiated from four older paradigms that instead focus either on the referential or social aspects of language, or the informational or semantic aspects of communication. In contrast with these paradigms, the definitions proposed here for communication and language are in line with a pluralistic evolutionary worldview, one that necessitates the recognition that a multitude of units, levels, mechanisms and processes are involved in bringing forth communication and language.

Loss of Tawhidi Worldview in Islamic World

Modernization and the concomitant changes in people behavior are now blamed for the deterioration of the environment. This article points up desacralization of knowledge and the demise of esoteric tradition that followed to have an ecological impact in the Islamic world as the Muslims began to hold the bifurcated notion of “this-worldly” and “heavenly” in a completely distinct manner. Through modern education, Muslims adopted the notion of “independent existence” according to which nature exists in and of itself. Hence, the modernist vision of development and progress that threw the life-support system of the earth out of balance was possible in the Islamic world where religion and its cultural traditions remained strong. The twentieth century’s awareness about the need of an integrative framework to reconcile rational thought and science with a spiritual sense of awe for the cosmos, should remind the Muslims of the unitive worldview that arise from the core of Islamic belief—tawhid—expounded by esoteric Islam. Further, this article argues that science needs to repossess a metaphysical foundation, and that ethics and values need to be reintegrated into our rationality. Three case studies reveal mental crises caused by an overweening trust in science. I use data from my own extreme life experience, and biographical data suggestive of existential depression of two arguably highly gifted individuals. Drawing upon the data, the article juxtaposes the “unitive worldview” associated with mystical experience and the “evolutionary worldview” given rise by Darwin’s evolutionary biology, to put forward an examination of the effects that worldviews might have on human minds. The analysis adopts organic inquiry within transpersonal psychology research method, and content analysis of biographical data. Designed to investigate the “non-objective” spiritual reality, organic inquiry offers a rigorous method for those attempting to incorporate spiritual experience and mysticism into academic work. As a whole, the case studies present an example of the biologization of ethics; discusses social Darwinism and giftedness phenomena; and explicate the unitive worldview granted by mystical experiences.

"Coğrafya Kaderdir" Üzerine

This study focuses on the genealogy of the idea that “geography is destiny”. It claims that beside its pejorative meaning the idea has also an imperative meaning. In this regard, it defends considering geography as destiny is closely related with definition and imagination of the geography itself and has long historical material ground. Departing from this logic, the study focuses on relationship between the idea and diverse traditions in historical development of geographical thought to put forward how this relationship has been reproduced from antique times to modern times. In this respect, after chasing contribution of theological, astrological and cosmological traditions in classical age the study analyses role of mechanical, ecological and evolutionary world views in modern times and argues the aforementioned idea is an outcome of putting the nature and culture under same explanative umbrella. The study claims perceiving geography as destiny is product of idealistic geographical thought and functions as justification and legitimization tool for every kind of conservative politics.

The Plurality of Evolutionary Worldviews

Evolutionary biologists, evolutionary epistemologists, and biosemioticians have demonstrated that organisms not merely adapt to an external world, but that they actively construct their environmental, sociocultural, and cognitive niches. Denis Noble demonstrates that such is no different for those organisms that engage in science, and he lays bare several crucial assumptions that define the scientific dogmas and practices of evolutionary biology.

What do religion and natural science each have to say about origins, creation and evolution?

The purpose of this article is to put forward an acceptable scriptural stance with respect to an evolutionary worldview. The authors posit that a theologically orthodox position can best be substantiated when the moral ideal embodied in Christ is the starting point for all deliberations. In light of this premise, the authors consider the following topics: the great divide between science and religion; the various theoretical shifts taking place on both sides of the science and religion arena concerning the veracity of evolution a substantive consideration of Darwin’s evolutionary theory; the issue of whether Genesis is only a myth or a narration of literal, historical events and the profound implications of evolutionary theory for religious belief. The authors conclude that a choice does not have to be made between evolution and religion but between good and bad evolutionary theory and good and bad religious beliefs.Contribution: The article’s challenge is to not only show that science and theology are not in conflict, but also that ascribing to an evolutionary worldview when discussing God’s creative acts, is also not in conflict with God’s Word.

Faith and Evolution: A Grace Filled Naturalism

Faith and Evolution: A Grace Filled Naturalism

The centrality of evolution in biology teaching: towards a pluralistic perspective

ABSTRACT The central importance of evolution to all biological sciences is recognised by many authors. Despite this scientific consensus, the theory of evolution is commonly presented as one discrete topic among many in the biology curriculum. Possible reasons for this scenario include discomfort with the content, ideological opposition and teachers’ difficulties in concepts identified as essential for the understanding of evolution. In evolution education, there is a well-established literature on these aspects, but little has been discussed about the historical and philosophical issues concerning the challenges to the centrality of evolution in biology teaching. In this article, I argue that evolution at both basic and higher education levels is strongly based on the original evolutionary synthesis, with a focus on population genetics, and this is one of the reasons for the failure in establishing the centrality of evolution in biology teaching. Given the diversity and complexity of contemporary evolution theory, a more pluralistic perspective to evolutionary teaching is required. I propose that a causally pluralistic evolutionary worldview, which expands the range of causal factors contributing to evolutionary change, is essential when it comes to establishing the centrality of evolution in biology teaching.

Https://jbh.journals.villanova.edu/article/view/2428

Astrobiology is the field of science devoted to searching for life elsewhere in the Universe. It is inherently interdisciplinary, integrating results from multiple fields of science, and in this respect has strong synergies with 'big history'. I argue that big history and astrobiology are both acting to widen human perspectives in intellectually and socially beneficial directions, especially by enhancing public awareness of cosmic and evolutionary worldviews. I will further argue that these perspectives have important implications for the social and political organisation of humanity, including the eventual political unification of our planet. Astrobiology and big history are also concerned with the future of humanity, and I will argue that this future will be culturally and intellectually enriched if it includes the exploration of the universe around us.

God in gesprek – ’n Dialogiese Christologie

God in conversation – A dialogical Christology. A world view claims to give a true picture of reality. As the insights of the sciences change our picture of reality, theology must take the new views on the world serious to maintain its integrity and the Gospel its credibility. The aim of this article is to rethink our faith in Christ (Christology) in the light of the new consciousness of the engagement between human beings and the cosmos. I would like to argue that a dynamic-dialogical (second-person) approach is the best way to be true to the Biblical message in regard to the evolutionary world view. Human beings become part of God’s ongoing activity in the world in and through the Logos incarnated in Jesus Christ. The consciousness of Jesus of Nazareth of God as his Father is the starting point in the relationship and communication between God, man and the community of faith in a dialogical Christology. The aim of this relational communication is to transform human beings and the world to fulfil God’s destiny for the whole of creation. As such, a dialogical Christology focuses on salvation as an individual and cosmic salvation. The cross and the resurrection of Jesus Christ are central in the dialogue between God, human beings and the world. The Holy Spirit guides the community of believers in this dialogue through the Bible and the sacraments, prayer and contemplation to live in the presence of God and to make a difference in an ever-changing world. Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: The aim of this article is to rethink, within the discplines of Systematic Theology and New Testament, our faith in Christ (Christology) in the light of the new consciousness of the engagement between human beings and the cosmos.

The positive effect of role models in evolution instruction

BackgroundPrevious research has identified numerous factors to explain why students have difficulty learning about evolution. Some of these factors include a student’s background (including their religion and major of study), the type of evolution instruction, and the inclusion of the nature of science (NOS) instruction. Sparse but more recent work has investigated the impact of a religious-scientist role model to help dampen perceptions of conflict between evolutionary science and worldview. We had two research goals: (1) to identify which of these factors influence students’ learning of evolution in post-secondary education; and (2) to describe the relationships among incoming biology students’ creationist reasoning, knowledge of evolution, and perceived conflict between evolution and their worldview.ResultsThe single factor linked with the reduction in both creationist reasoning and in students’ perceived conflict between evolution and their worldview through a semester was the presence of a role model. Likewise, knowledge and perceived relevance of evolution increased in sections with a role model instructor and with evidence-based evolution instruction. Otherwise, tested factors (the type of evolution instruction, inclusion of NOS, biology-major/nonmajor, GPA, or religiosity) were not shown to be associated with these three constructs. We found that in the first week of the semester students with higher knowledge of evolution had lower creationist reasoning and lower perceived conflict.ConclusionsThe single factor that collectively reduced erroneous beliefs, increased scientific knowledge, and minimized perceived conflict was the presence of a religious-scientist role model. Previous work has suggested a role model could positively impact students’ learning of evolution, yet this is the first quasi-experimental evidence supporting the importance of the course instructor as the role model in students’ learning of evolution. These findings are especially relevant to institutions with a greater proportion of religious students who could benefit from modeling to help foster their learning of evolution.

Global stratigraphy and the fossil record validate a Flood origin for the geologic column

The geologic column has been under the scrutiny of numerous creationists for many decades. Critics have claimed the column is intimately tied to the evolutionary worldview and deep time, and cannot be trusted or used by creation scientists. Other creation scientists have argued that the geologic column, although incomplete at most locations, can provide useful correlations of rocks and fossils across the globe. This paper examines the sedimentary rocks across three continents in an attempt to test the validity of the global geologic column. We attempted to assess the data primarily from a lithologic viewpoint, and as independent of the fossil data as possible. To accomplish this, we constructed a new data set of over 1500 local, stratigraphic columns across three continents, recording the detailed lithologic information and Sloss-type megasequence boundaries at each site. A detailed 3-D lithology model was created for each continent using the local columns. We also constructed maps of the basal lithology for each megasequence. Unique lithologic units, like salt and chert-rich layers were also tracked from column to column. Results show extensive lithologic units (i.e. blanket sandstones) covered portions of every continent and are correlative across vast regions and even continent to continent. The correlation of these stacked basal megasequence units, and other unique lithologies (i.e. salt and chert layers) within the megasequences, confirm the validity of the geologic column on a global scale. The observable pattern in the fossil record further confirms these findings. Indeed, a global Flood could produce globally extensive, stacked lithologic units on an intercontinental scale. Creationists should not be critical of the geologic column, but embrace it as evidence of a global Flood event.

Conceptual Blending, the Second Naïveté, and the Emergence of New Meanings

Abstract The field of cognitive linguistics has generated a powerful set of theoretical tools for analyzing the ways in which we understand, communicate, and create concepts. In the conceptual integration theory of Gilles Fauconnier and Mark Turner, the cognitive process known as double-scope blending provides a highdefinition model for the phenomenological hermeneutics of Paul Ricoeur. In particular, Ricoeur’s notion of developing a second naivete through the blending of ancient and contemporary worlds of meanings can be viewed as the double-scope integration of concepts across disparate conceptual frames. This re-modeling of Ricoeur’s hermeneutics gives it a new level of clarity and precision in cognitive scientific terms, which in turn may be utilized in service of theological and other forms of discourse. Conceptual integration theory also sheds light on other Ricoeur-inspired hermeneutical models and makes a case for the revelatory character of scripture through the meaning-making process of interpretation. The interpretation of the image of God concept in an evolutionary worldview serves as a heuristic example of second naivete as double-scope blending.

Scientific naturalists and their language games

For nineteenth century British scientific naturalists like Charles Darwin, Thomas Henry Huxley, and John Tyndall, translation, and the issues of language that it raised, were crucial. Dealing with these issues became a major part of their strategy to reform British science, and it involved opening up the scientific community to French and German research. Early in their careers, both Huxley and Tyndall invested time translating science books from the continent into English. Later, as they themselves wrote books that were in demand across the channel, they, and Darwin, put a great deal of time and energy into locating the best possible translators for their writings. Translation was not only a key to reforming British science; it was also essential as a means of circulating the evolutionary worldview of scientific naturalism globally. But Darwin, Huxley, and Tyndall were not fully prepared for the challenges they would encounter in authorizing translations of their own works.

Creating creationists: The influence of 'issues framing' on our understanding of public perceptions of clash narratives between evolutionary science and belief.

Clash narratives relating to evolutionary science and personal belief are a recurrent theme in media or public space discourse. However, a 2009 British Council poll undertaken in 10 countries worldwide shows that the perception of a necessary clash between evolutionary worldviews and belief in a God is a minority viewpoint. How then does the popular conception that there is an ongoing conflict between evolution and belief in God arise? One contributing factor is the framing and categorization of creationism and evolutionism within large-scale surveys for use within media campaigns. This article examines the issue framing within four polls conducted in the United Kingdom and internationally between 2008 and 2013. It argues that by ignoring the complexity and range of perspectives individuals hold, or by framing evolutionary science as atheistic, we are potentially creating 'creationists' - including 'Islamic creationists' - both figuratively and literally.

<strong>Proposal of an integrated framework of biological taxonomy: a phylogenetic taxonomy, with the method of using names with standard endings in clade nomenclature</strong>

An integrated framework of biological taxonomy (IFBT) is proposed, in which the advantages of phylogenetic taxonomy and traditional, Linnaean nomenclature, together with the temporal banding methods (Hennig, 1966; Avise & Johns, 1999) are synthesized, without deteriorating the strength of theoretical coherence. The IFBT aims at achieving a completely rank-free reference system of the organismal group in question (i.e., phylogenetic arrangements of the names of clades as parts of timetrees); here, the whole area (all taxon names) of a reference system is called “general domain”, while its part (basic clade names) is called “particular domain”. Thus, the major task of IFBT is to precisely give names to those clades whose times of evolutionary origin are known; here, the categories of evolutionary clades that I recognize are “basic clade”, “holoclade” and “synclade”. Taxon names with standard endings can be used as components of a rank-free system created under the IFBT, when we interpret those taxon names as “meaningless symbols” under the Millian philosophy of language. Thus, introducing the method of using “names with standard endings” into the present clade nomenclature is logically possible. That is, by adopting the temporal bands of geological episodes (non-standard; standard) as the unique criteria for assigning the standard endings to some clade names in naming clades, we name the clades, so that we can create a particular domain of reference system that takes basically the same style as the Linnaean system (of taxon names), in that taxon names with standard endings are arranged in a hierarchical manner. The particular domain can be created by giving “names with standard endings” only to basic clades, out of the clades whose origins are located in one particular temporal band. The reference system is first reconciled with the evolutionary world view, because the taxon names precisely refer only to clades; and second, it also functions well as a convenient system for information storage and retrieval, because the mutual exclusivity of taxon names with standard endings in the particular domain is certain. The best way of practicing the IFBT at the present time is to create only the particular domain, by naming only the basic clades (extant, extinct), using non-standard temporal banding method. The IFBT can construct the particular domains of (rank-free) reference systems, upon the particular Linnaean (ranked) systems of clade names. The IFBT is proposed as the new framework for future biological taxonomy.

Damien A. Howard, Being Human in Islam: The Impact of the Evolutionary Worldview, Culture and Civilization in the Middle East (New York: Routledge, 2011). Pp. 226. $130.00 cloth.

Damien A. Howard, Being Human in Islam: The Impact of the Evolutionary Worldview, Culture and Civilization in the Middle East (New York: Routledge, 2011). Pp. 226. $130.00 cloth.

Emergence: A New Approach to The Perennial Problem of The one and the Manyv

Emergence, as a relatively new concept in the natural and social sciences, has multiple meanings. As an analogical philosophical concept which consciously resists the dialectical opposition of reductive physicalism and immaterial dualism for the understanding of physical reality, it presupposes an evolutionary world view which is open-ended in its mode of operation rather than conceptually closed. Within such an open-ended world view, the implicit paradigm for the dialectical relationship between the One and the Many will necessarily be different from the corresponding paradigm for that relation within a closed metaphysical system. The purpose of this article is to set forth an understanding of the relation between the One and the Many that rationally justifies an open-ended, process-oriented metaphysics which in turn confirms the proposed validity of that same paradigm for the understanding of physical reality from an evolutionary perspective. Hence, I first lay out the historical development of the classical paradigm for the One and the Many in Western philosophy and at the same time point to its residual deficiencies for a full explanation of physical reality. Then I sketch what I see as a new paradigm for understanding the relation between the One and the Many which does not prioritize either the One over the Many or the Many over the One but sees them as intrinsically interdependent for their existence and intelligibility. Finally, I apply this revised understanding of the relation between the One and the Many to analysis of the generic notion of emergence in the natural sciences. Further application of this new paradigm for the relation between the One and the Many within each of the natural sciences and within the social sciences and the humanities will inevitably involve many other individuals than the author.