Darwinism and its Discontents By Michael Ruse
Book Darwinism and its discontents
Like the notion of a stable molecular clock When I was in graduate school some 13 years ago it was recognized that the problems of correctly calibrating a molecular clock such that it would be useful for inferring phylogenies were nigh insurmountable Some of these errors can be chalked up to Ruse being a professional philosopher and not a biologist but it is puzzling. Darwinism and its Discontents nonfiction definition His concept of evolutionary ethics is also somewhat confusing These parts of the book read a bit like he hasn t entirely made up his mind yet He allows that humans have evolved as social animals and so there has historically been a selective advantage for cooperative behavior which runs counter to the idea that individual selection is far powerful and yet he still seems to believe that there is wiggle room we can and do act as independent moral agents.
Darwinism and its discontentsxy
And Darwinian approaches to humankind certainly do not cross that line p 193 What is is one thing What should be is another People crossing that blunt and clearly marked line do so on their own 3 Little light and certainly no resolution are brought to bear on the problem of evil and free will that Ruse addresses beginning on page 284 He brings the matter up because some people think that seeing the world from the view of biological evolution somehow supports evil in the world and argues against free will The problem of evil is the result of the belief in a personal God who is all powerful and at the same time all compassionate and has nothing to do with biological evolution Further.
EBook Darwinism and its discontents meaning
Informative and up to date book on Darwin and his influence on things scientific and non 052182947X I m discontented Too much time trying to refute idiot philosophers too little on ordinary idiots 052182947X More pop than not Certainly readable but not overly convincing Ruse provides in some cases the biologically sensitive ones sketches of replies to anti Darwinists than full blown a phrase which occurs no less than 20 times in the book responses Despite this Ruse does leave you with the feeling that Darwinism is not yet dead 052182947X Ruse attempts to defend Darwinian evolution against its myriad critics across the spectrum of human thought a daunting task but one at which he largely succeeds The book begins by explaining Darwinism and then traces the history of post Darwin evolutionary ideas from the discovery of Mendelian inheritance and the subsequent rise of neo Darwinism to Gould s challenge to the supremacy of selection and Wilson s sociobiology From there he starts to look at the implications of Darwinism including evolutionary theory s significance to politics economics racism and ethics He wraps up the text by reviewing reactions to Darwinism and criticisms in the arenas of philosophy literature and religion and whether they hold any validity I can t say that I agree with all of his ideas or even his language Ruse insists in 2006 on using the term cladism to describe what most practitioners refer to as cladistics or phylogenetic systematics Why the semantic fuss Cladism is a somewhat derogatory term that was used by opponents of the method in its early days and as Ruse does not seem to have any particular beef with the method it s odd that he does so He also tends to put too much stock in ideas that except in some small circles were long discredited at the time of this writing sometimes acting selfishly and sometimes acting selflessly I m inclined to agree but if Ruse is attempting to provide an evolutionary rationale for this idea it was pretty thin Finally his treatment of intelligent design creationism is rather brief and dismissive Coming as much of it does toward the end of the book it s not too surprising but it is disappointing Again in fairness to Ruse he does have one or two other books largely devoted to creationism and addressing this was not really the purpose of this treatise 052182947X Starts out as a good examination and defense of Darwinism but ends up pandering too much to religious beliefs 052182947X Adjudicating points of contentionIn a previous book Can a Darwinian Be a Christian 2001 Michael Ruse reconciled the ways of Christianity to the fact of evolution He did so by allowing for a largely symbolic reading of the Bible and by defining Christianity as a system of belief about matters beyond the reach of Darwinism such as our having souls and being made in the image of God and being given heavenly or hellish eternal life in realms not subject to biological evolution. Darwinism and its discontentsmen Here Ruse adjudicates various disputes between Darwinism and its critics and among Darwinians themselves on such matters as natural selection especially this punctuated equilibrium group selection drift reductionism etc Unfortunately I don t think he adds much that is new to the discussion and his torturously correct navigation between believers and non believers left this reader annoyed Spill the beans For example state it clearly Christianity that relies on a literal interpretation of the Bible is incompatible with Darwinism Period Add Those who appreciate the fact of biological evolution cannot accept that man was made in a Christian God s image or that a personal God is and has been shaping events on this planet. Darwinism and its Discontents ebook free Ruse writes from the point of view of a historian of evolutionary science and as someone sympathetic with what I might call progressive Christianity a Christianity that knows that the world was not made in six days and that the earth has been around for a few billion years and that God does not have a belly button or even an alimentary canal or a need for either Ruse is an expert on Darwinism and its contemptuous history and he understands the major issues very well He is the kind of writer who bends over backwards to be fair to his opposition such as creationists and Intelligent Designers as well as atheists like Richard Dawkins or agnostics like Stephen Jay Gould He is also the kind of writer who equivocates a lot whose instincts are to find common ground and to further responsible and honorable dialogue which is the strength of this book. Darwinism and its discontentsmen He begins with a chapter demonstrating that Charles Darwin really does deserve the credit he gets for being the first to understand natural selection which is the very heart and soul of evolutionary theory He goes on to argue for The Fact of Evolution the title of Chapter Two while giving a hearing to creationist ID people like Alvin Plantinga and Michael Behe He follows with a discussion of the some of the problems surrounding The Origin of Life Chapter Three He ends the book with chapters ten eleven and twelve on Philosophy Literature and Religion There is some interesting material on the epistemological ramifications of biological evolution and whether we can construct some sort of morality from Darwin s blueprint No He analyses Ian McEwan s contemporary novel Enduring Love 1997 in terms of its relationship to Darwinism and he dregs up some raucous anti Darwinian quotes from George Bernard Shaw and recalls Samuel Butler s Erewhon 1872 amid a gloss about the differences between machines and organisms In between there is some interesting pro and con about familiar issues within evolutionary theory. Darwinism and its Discontents pdf editor Ruse s style is a little long winded and typical of philosophers weighted down with careful qualification yet at the same time he is capable of wit and sharp expression This is the sort of book that will appeal to those readers with philosophic literary and historical inclinations This is not a book for biological scientists or for those looking for cutting edge discussions of problems in evolutionary theory. Book Darwinism and its discontents Three things 1 I am not enad of the term Darwinism as a synonym for biological evolution It is too restrictive both in terms of the ideas and manifestations of evolution but also in terms of the historical record 2 While Ruse understands that the facts about our biological nature revealed by evolutionary biology do not necessarily support any kind of ought about how we should behave he doesn t seem to realize see pages189 193 that we can understand and forgive on a biological level while on a societal level we must throw the violent criminals into jail There is no very fine line between knowledge of our biology and our ethics the question of whether we have free will or whether it is just an illusion we cannot help but believe is a philosophical problem and not a scientific one Dennis Littrell author of Understanding Evolution and Ourselves 052182947X Michael Ruse at his best but not for the faint of heart He is a philosopher and academic Ruse has taken on the theists in their various forms and forums He is generally patient with their pseudo logic but this is a book for the scientists He opens the wounds of the disciplines own failures and shortcomings For some it s too willing to air the scientific laundry but it s never wrong logically. Book Darwinism and its discontents meaning We lost a great one when he passed 052182947X
| Darwinism and its Discontents By Michael Ruse |
| 052182947X |
| 9780521829472 |
| English |
| 328 |
| Hardcover |
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