Review of Darwin Day
| Posted On: 02/03/08 02:57:32 PM |
Age 72, AR |
Individually and collectively, we humans would understand ourselves, our relationships with other humans and our placement and status in the overall scheme of things if we all accepted that we are indeed animals. We would better understand the words and actions of medical professionals when any element within our body malfunctioned. We would even better understand how and why our actions vis-a-vis other individuals and groups affect both us and the others. Darwin is not a figure to be feared as much as this vituperative review, and presumably the book it touts, advocate. Darwin, for one, did not originate the idea of evolution of living things from the simpler to the more complex. He, rather, applied his original explanation of "natural selection" as one of the elements in the process. Likewise, evolution has evolved so extensively in the past century and a half that Charles Darwin can only be credited with the ideas embodied in the undefinable term "Darwinism" and can no more be blamed or credited for the present state of knowledge of evolution, the coming and going of species, or natural selection, the method by which they perpetuate themselves or fall by the wayside, than Orville and Wilbur Wright can be credited with every technicality of mach-three jet fighters or intercontinental passenger airliners. Evolution is not something to be feared, and it certainly requires no faith in the sense that religion demands. It is simply another piece of the puzzle called knowledge that requires learning, like three times three is nine while three plus three is six. Recognizing that humans are animals makes understanding easier. In no way does it detract from our status as humans, as animals with the most complex culture of any animal. To say that any animals are "mere" or calling man a machine is self-delusion.
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