The Compatibility of Evolution and Design

Springer Verlag (2021)
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Abstract

This book challenges the widespread assumption of the incompatibility of evolution and the biological design argument. Kojonen analyzes the traditional arguments for incompatibility, and argues for salvaging the idea of design in a way that is fully compatible with evolutionary biology. Relating current views to their intellectual history, Kojonen steers a course that avoids common pitfalls such as the problems of the God of the gaps, the problem of natural evil, and the traditional Humean and Darwinian critiques. The resulting deconstruction of the opposition between evolution and design has the potential to transform this important debate.

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Chapters

Introduction: Paley’s Cosmic Temple and the Darwinian Critique

The assumption of an explanatory competition between evolution and design has had an enormous influence on discussions of creation and evolution both at the academic and the popular level. Nevertheless, in recent discussions, several philosophers and theologians have suggested the possibility that e... see more

Conclusion: From Teleology to Theology, and Back Again

This brief concluding chapter looks back on the results of the previous chapters, and reflects on how they might be further developed within a wider theology of nature. Some would see the development of a new philosophical design argument that is compatible with evolution as a boon, but others would... see more

Not by Selection Alone: Evolutionary Explanations and Their Requirements

The alleged opposition between design arguments and evolution goes back to the discussions between Darwin and Asa Gray, and this chapter analyzes both traditional and contemporary ways of formulating the opposition. The chapter shows how responses to contemporary anti-evolutionist objections and adv... see more

Indirect Design and the Revelatory Potential of Biology

This chapter develops a model for the compatibility of design and evolution as explanations, examining how the evidence from biology continues to support belief in design. It argues that we can save both the rationality of an intuitive design discourse and the rationality of seeing biological teleol... see more

From Teleological Arguments to Thought Experiments

Before being able to understand the claim that design arguments and evolution must be opposed, we must first understand how design arguments work in the first place. This chapter examines the debate between those who hold that philosophical considerations are sufficient to undermine the biological d... see more

Reclaiming the Biological Design Argument: A Preposterous and Dangerous Idea?

In light of the heavy criticisms that have historically been leveled against the design argument, the idea of salvaging something of value from the biological design argument can seem preposterous and even dangerous. Questions related to the problem of the God of the gaps, the relationship of faith ... see more

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Darwin and Design: Does Evolution Have a Purpose?Michael Ruse - 2003 - Cambridge, USA: Harvard University Press.
Darwinism, design, and public education.John Angus Campbell & Stephen C. Meyer (eds.) - 2003 - East Lansing: Michigan State University Press.
God, Evolution, and Design.Loren Haarsma - 2010 - In Melville Y. Stewart (ed.), Science and Religion in Dialogue. Oxford, UK: Wiley-Blackwell. pp. 168--180.
Explaining Top-Down Minds from the Bottom Up. [REVIEW]Sven Delarivière - 2017 - Constructivist Foundations 12 (3):369-372.

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