Why has Darwin’s theory of evolution succeeded so dramatically? The official story, of course, is that it provides a sweeping and complete explanation of the development of life on Earth, with the claim that it’s rock solid because it’s grounded in an abundance of evidence. But when we take a closer look at that official story, we see that it actually resembles more of a myth, a legendary origin story that has been championed and propped up successfully for over 160 years. On an episode of ID the Future, I treat you to a reading from False Messiah, a book by Neil Thomas recently published by Discovery Institute Press. The book provides valuable insight about the mythology of Darwinism as well as the mythical figure of Charles Darwin himself.
Darwinism and Its Frailties
The evidence for intelligent design in nature is mounting by the year, and collectively that evidence provides a formidable challenge to neo-Darwinian claims. But another way to understand why Darwinism is inadequate is to look more closely at its frailties. Enter Neil Thomas, a recently retired professor of English and a longtime supporter of Darwinism who now felt he had the freedom to take a fresh, critical look at the theory’s rise to dominance. Thomas first signaled his break with orthodox thinking in his previous book Taking Leave of Darwin, where he challenged key aspects of the theory. False Messiah is his follow-up, where he digs deeper into the cultural and intellectual forces that propelled Darwinism’s success.
In False Messiah, we learn that mid 19th century Europe was already becoming a fertile seed bed for scientific materialism, and Darwin’s idea arrived at the right moment to take advantage of that. Here was all that skeptical agnostic elites needed to make sense of everything: a seemingly sweeping and unifying scientific explanation that finally ushered God out of the picture and offered a comprehensive explanation of life. It was a way to explain the obvious design without a designer, a way to gain a non-teleological account of life.
Thomas makes a case that the rise of Darwin’s theory owes as much if not more to cultural timing, philosophical appeal, and persuasive storytelling as it does to scientific demonstration. So, to help us understand why Darwinism has persisted for so long, it’s helpful to take a closer look at the forces that moved it forward and upheld it, lest we be tempted to think it has succeed purely on the strength of its scientific arguments. Download the podcast or listen to it here.
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