Word: darwins
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 2000-2009
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...between evolution and intelligent design and then encourage public schools to “teach the debate.” But among the most damaging tactics is to refer to those who accept evolution as Darwinists, because it feeds off the sense of awe many scientists genuinely feel toward Darwin. American creationists use it to imply that believers in evolution form little more than a religious sect, owing irrational fealty to a charismatic spiritual leader. It doesn’t help that the term Darwinism is actually used by scientists, although only to differentiate between early evolutionary hypotheses...
...idea that scientists have an irrational reverence for Darwin is false. His work is seen as incomplete at best: Darwin knew nothing about genes or DNA, and yet today it would be impossible to teach evolution without discussing them. Further, although Darwin developed his theory first, it was Alfred Wallace’s independent conclusions that finally spurred Darwin to publish his findings...
...Still, many scientists continue to honor Darwin, certainly out of honest admiration but perhaps also to reinforce the significance of his findings on evolution. But too much praise gives the general public the impression that scientists are all a bunch of Darwin-worshippers. It’s bad enough that books have just been published with titles like Darwin’s Sacred Cause by Adrian Desmond and James Moore, assessing Darwin’s abolitionist tendencies, or Angels and Ages, by Adam Gopnik, which compares Darwin to Lincoln. Worse, these views are often evangelized in the popular press. Even...
...legacy without attracting the whiff of religious fanaticism? Point out simple inconsistencies in dinner-table debate. (Individuals don’t evolve, populations do.) Remind others that evolution is overwhelmingly uncontroversial among scientists. But, for crying out loud, don’t wax poetic about the genius of Charles Darwin or his noble purpose. You’d be doing your entire species a disservice...
This column incorrectly stated that the UK-based organization Darwin 200 had prepared an educational evolution display in the Science Center in February. In fact, the panels were put together by students from the Harvard Undergraduate Biological Sciences Society and the Organismic and Evolutionary Undergraduate Group. The Crimson regrets the error...