{"id":1038,"date":"2015-11-01T23:46:10","date_gmt":"2015-11-01T23:46:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lordre\/?p=1038"},"modified":"2015-11-01T23:58:20","modified_gmt":"2015-11-01T23:58:20","slug":"evolution-is-immoral-but-its-still-real","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lordre\/2015\/11\/evolution-is-immoral-but-its-still-real.html","title":{"rendered":"Evolution is immoral, but it’s still real"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"evolution<\/p>\n

A point made by many proponents of the Biblical creation story over modern scientific explanations\u00a0for\u00a0the diversity of life will use the argument that evolution lays the basis for an “immoral” view of the world.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Supporters of the accepted scientific model will hit back that the above\u00a0argument is simply a logical fallacy. That is true. There is nothing in an argument saying “evolution is immoral”\u00a0that would show evolution to have not created us,\u00a0any more than there is scientific merit in saying we think lava is\u00a0too harmful and violent to be the source of rocks. Lots of things are immoral, unconscionable. It doesn’t mean those things don’t exist and\u00a0should be denied.<\/p>\n

Morality is not tied to\u00a0nature, and simply stems from human feelings and philosophy. Those latter things are good, and they actively battle against nature<\/a>, quite literally. Morality doesn’t govern the animal kingdom and is not observed throughout the universe. It certainly doesn’t exist outside of areas governed by humans, it absolutely doesn’t exist on Mars. It certainly had no part in the origin of life,\u00a0when it first arose on a barren planet.<\/p>\n

However, despite it being a fallacy, and a rather ridiculous one as I have demonstrated, the assertion that knowing about evolution<\/em> could be the basis of an immoral worldview does have at least some merit. Discoveries about the origin of the species did lead to the wantonly unethical practice of eugenics, although that practice is in no way firmly advocated in the writings of Charles Darwin.<\/p>\n

Eugenics is about trying to create a so-called superior human, usually a superior race, through selective breeding. Darwin actually lamented\u00a0that selective breeding in animals had been\u00a0absolutely useless in creating any kind of superior animal because the process of artificial selection (as opposed to natural selection)\u00a0can only ever be governed by superficiality\u00a0and human affections. Breeders\u00a0lack the kind of omniscience that nature itself has when it comes to selecting against a creature’s weaknesses and selecting for its strengths. It’s only when the force of nature is the executioner, Darwin would argue, that animals truly adapt and become better survivors.<\/p>\n

Evolution is perceived wrongly by almost everyone, whether they are fans or haters of Darwin. Much of what Darwin wrote was indeed incorrect, by the way, and modern biologists are in no way “Darwinist”. Their understanding\u00a0of evolution is much greater, and is largely based on genetics<\/a> instead of\u00a0the crude sorts of theory\u00a0used\u00a0in Darwin’s very old book.<\/p>\n

Evolution is the result of an incomprehensible number of\u00a0deaths and births by innumerable creatures, suffering multiplied trillions of times. It was those deaths of weaker creatures that pressured\u00a0organisms, including humans, to take their form with a sufficient number of\u00a0generations.\u00a0It is indeed immoral and it is discomforting to think about.\u00a0To\u00a0think we creatures\u00a0only live\u00a0because we\u00a0made something else die. But I also wouldn’t say\u00a0being bolted together\u00a0and brought to life\u00a0like Pinnochio\u00a0is any more comforting or more moral. Almost any creation story or fact about humans\u00a0will seem\u00a0perverse to humans, but that is irrelevant to whether or not such things are accurate.<\/p>\n

No aspect of any religion is threatened by, or in turn threatens<\/a>, existing biological theories. As already mentioned, all\u00a0the political and religious fascinations\u00a0about evolution or “Darwinism”, whether for or against, are simply based on not even knowing what these things mean in the first place, or exaggerating them.<\/p>\n

\"hjb<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A point made by many proponents of the Biblical creation story over modern scientific explanations\u00a0for\u00a0the diversity of life will use the argument that evolution lays the basis for an “immoral” view of the world. Supporters of the accepted scientific model will hit back that the above\u00a0argument is simply a logical fallacy. That is true. There…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":577,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,61],"tags":[1267,1268,1265,1266,1263,976,1209,1269,1488],"class_list":["post-1038","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-religious-studies","category-science","tag-creation","tag-creationism","tag-darwin","tag-darwinism","tag-evolution","tag-morality","tag-nature","tag-origin-of-species","tag-science"],"yoast_head":"\nEvolution is immoral, but it's still real - L'Ordre<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Evolution is immoral, but it was not anyone's idea. 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Bentham","description":"Harry J. Bentham is a British futurist blogger who has been a contributor at a number of think tanks including the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies since 2013. His work at Press TV and the L'Ordre blog featured at the multi-faith Beliefnet website has gained increasing attention and praise, including in the international media. Commentaries on political and ethical controversies by Bentham have been published at the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies, H+ Magazine, Dissident Voice and numerous other publications. 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