The Impact of Evolution on the Humanities and Science
The Impact of Evolution on the Humanities and Science
by Bill Lockwood
Beneath the above title, John N. Moore, professor of science at Michigan State University, offered a broad range of cultural themes that have felt the brunt force of Darwinian evolution. Below are condensed notes from his work with insertions of my own.
First, Literature. Even prior to Darwin’s first book (1859) English novelists seemed to opt for an “evolutionary” model regarding the origin of man. After Darwin’s second book, The Descent of Man, the 19th century “intellectuals” were in perfect accord with Darwin’s scheme. George Bernard Shaw, Beatrice and Sidney Webb, of the Fabian Socialists—and even Karl Marx constructed evolution into social theories such as socialism.
Second, Philosophy. If there was a slow gradual change over eons of time that produced mankind, then all mammals, of which man is a part, have a common ancestry. If that be true, then all values are relative and there are no absolutes. John Dewey, the “father of modern American education” is one of these. Listen today to the philosophers to realize that they believe in no absolute moral standards.
Third, Psychology. Modern psychiatry, except for biblically-based counseling, is grounded squarely on the concept enunciated in the Humanist Manifesto (1933, 1973, 2000), that man is a mere “matter machine.” As one psychologist put it, man is simply a “bunch of chemicals running around in a bag.” The DSM-IV (2004) manual (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) attacks the biblical concept that man has a separate “spirit” that is answerable to God as “foolish and obsolete.” If this be the true nature of man, his “disorders” are fixed by adding more chemicals, which is precisely what is occurring in our society.
Fourth, Biology. One has only to read the writings of such leaders as Julian Huxley, Theodosius Dobzhansky, and Pierre Teilhard de Chardin to verify the infusion of evolutionary thinking in all facets of biology and associated sciences and in the mass communications media as well (Moore). A more modern evolutionary writer is George Gaylord Simpson. All of these demonstrate the “ubiquitous application of evolutionary thought.”
Fifth, Education. The “father” of modern education, John Dewey, was an ardent supporter of the evolutionary hypothesis. Little wonder that the myth of evolutionary origins of mankind has so infiltrated modern education that it is difficult to avoid such from grade school to graduate school. Unsurprisingly, Dewey was a Humanist who did not believe in God.
Sixth, Theology. Many are shocked that this field has been completely captured by evolution. Modern graduate students are frequently required to begin their textual researches based upon the concept that the text of the Bible is not God-breathed (2 Tim. 3:16,17), but the result of an evolutionary change that occurred over the “growth” of a period of years.