The Evolving God: Charles Darwin on the Naturalness of Religion

ISBN-13: 9781623562472 / Angielski / Miękka / 2013 / 192 str.

J David Pleins

Opis

In focusing on the story of Darwin's religious doubts, scholars too often overlook Darwin's positive contribution to the study of religion. J. David Pleins traces Darwin's journey in five steps. He begins with Darwin's global voyage, where his encounter with religious and cultural diversity transformed his understanding of religion. Surprisingly, Darwin wrestles with serious theological questions even as he uncovers the evolutionary layers of religion from savage roots. Next, we follow Darwin as his doubts about traditional biblical religion take root, affecting his career choice and marriage to Emma Wedgwood. Pleins then examines Darwin's secret notebooks as he searches for a materialist theory of religion. Again, other surprises loom as Darwin's reading of Comte's three stages of religion's development actually predate his reading of Malthus. Pleins explores how Darwin applied his discovery to the realm of ethics by formulating an evolutionary view of the "Golden Rule" in his Descent of Man. Finally, he considers Darwin's later reflections on the religion question, as he wrestled with whether his views led to atheism, agnosticism, or a new kind of theism. The Evolving God concludes by looking at some of the current religious debates surrounding Darwin and suggests the need for a deeper appreciation for Darwin as a religious thinker. Though he grew skeptical of traditional Christian dogma, Darwin made key discoveries concerning the role and function of religion as a natural evolutionary phenomenon.

Recenzje

For a thoroughly researched and readable account of Darwin's thinking about religion, this is a book that could hardly be bettered. It is authoritatively and attractively written. Darwin scholars will be familiar with most of the material, but it is recast with original insight and to good effect. [...] Darwin once said that to gain the approbation of one's fellow men is the "highest pleasure on this earth". On the strength of this book, it is a pleasure that Professor Pleins should certainly enjoy. John Hedley Brooke Reviews in Science and Religion

Spis treści

Preface: Charles Darwin and the Evolution of Religion 1. Unsettling Encounters: First Steps Toward an Evolutionary View of Religion2. A Painful Void: Darwin's Religious Doubts 3. Did Religion Evolve?: The Search for a Theory4. The Golden Rule: An Evolutionary Vision of Religion and Morality5. A Certain Sympathy: Darwin and the Creed of Science Conclusion: Reflecting on Darwin TodayBibliographyIndex

O autorze

J. David Pleins is Professor of Religious Studies at Santa Clara University, USA.