I hesitated to post in on Darwin Day but now that other blogs have linked to it, I want to use this opportunity to raise two important questions.
- The video promotes "Darwinism" as the only solution to evolution. This is wrong, but is there value in lying about this for a greater cause? Is it possible to make an effective video like this without distorting the science?
- I'm very uneasy about promoting Darwin worship, partly for the reason that there's more to evolution than what Darwin wrote in 1859 and partly for the reason that it smacks of religion. What do you think? Should we be pushing "Darwin Day"?
5 comments :
In the spirit of “To a first approximation, all animals are insects,” it is not unreasonable to say that “To a first approximation, evolution is Darwinian.” Yes, we know that the tree of life is more tangled than that, that there is genetic drift and and sexual selection and horizontal gene transfer and all manner of complications, and that it is in fact a much more elaborate story.
But Darwin Day is a celebration not just of evolution, but of secular humanism, of the change in our society made possible by finding a non-theological explanation of the biological world. It was and is a significant turning point in our cultural history. It is not that Darwin got everything right, but that Darwin got the ball moving, and it hasn’t stopped moving since.
I would go further. I think that, in addition to a Darwin Day, there should be a Newton Day on Dec. 25 and an Einstein Day on March 14. These were the three most important scientists who ever lived up to the present time.
Well Newton was not a very nice person, as Warden of the Royal Mint he vigorously enforced anti-counterfeiting laws and this resulted in many executions.
But the idea of the commemoration of the heroes of science rather than malignant imaginary deities straight out of goat herder snuff porn is an attractive one, with good friday (it keeps moving around for fucks sake), easter and xmas at the top of the list.
"with good friday (it keeps moving around for fucks sake), easter and xmas at the top of the list."
I agree and let's start with not-so-good Friday.
There's more to Physics than Newton and celebrating Newton isn't worship in the religious sense. I say, have Darwin Day and celebrate science. Use Darwin Day to educate evolutionary evidence.
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