Monday, November 2, 2015
The Relevance of Evolution
One important scientific development unavailable to David Hume or any of his fictional interlocutors is the theory of evolution. For many people today, both theists and atheists, religious believers, scientists and intellectuals, the truth of evolution is bound up with the truth of theism. So what is the significance of evolution for the design argument? Does is it provide evidence for either side of the debate? On this 156th anniversary of the publication of Darwin's seminal Origin of Species, it is fitting to ask: where might a discussion of Darwin have fit into Hume's Dialogues?
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Darwin’s theory of evolution creates a problem for the pro-theistic arguments raised in Hume’s dialogues. In the dialogues, arguments are raised that paint God’s existence in our universe as a grand designer/engineer, in particular the machine argument. It states that everything in our universe is designed to fulfill specific functions in specific ways, and that God is the the one who created all of the inventions of the world, both natural and ‘man-made,’ since everything fulfills its purpose perfectly. However, there is another argument raised in the book that is brought up in direct opposition to the machine analogy; the argument that the universe is not like a machine but instead like a vegetable or an animal, which grows and adapts as it needs to in order to survive. Darwin’s theory of evolution provides a substantial base for the organism argument to thrive, as we see with examples such as the panda’s thumb. The panda bear has a ‘false thumb’ which is really just an extension of its wrist bone which it uses to eat and hold bamboo with ease. If there was a perfect God who designed everything to work perfectly, why would the panda need to develop a new bone out of its wrist in order to function as a species? So Darwin’s evolutionary principles overall support the atheistic arguments in Hume’s dialogues.
ReplyDeleteTruthfully, it is very difficult to say what impact the Theory of Evolution would have on Hume’s Dialogues because it doesn’t disprove Hume’s design argument for God’s existence. Hume first argues that the universe is like a machine, made by someone. Second, because the universe is much larger than an ordinary machine, the creator of the universe must have much larger faculties. If that is the case, then that creator must be God. As such, God exists. Essentially, God has designed everything like a machine from the start. The Theory of Evolution asserts that all species developed over long periods of time into what they are now. Therefore, one might conclude that there is no preset design for them because they evolve. That would be one logical response to the design argument taking into account evolution. But, like any good engineer or designer, wouldn’t one keep developing their products into newer and more complex forms? One could argue that the creator designed the original creatures and also put into place a mechanism for improvement or evolution. As such, the Theory of Evolution wouldn’t really disprove the design argument. In fact, one could argue that Evolution provides evidence both for and against Hume’s design argument. However, because it is not particularly clear where Evolution would sway the argument, Hume in response could use it to defend his own points, saying that God is evolving his designs and improving them, not only showing his existence, but also that he has the power to do so. At the same time, this argument would demonstrate why Evolution is a reason that God does exist.
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