It’s true that Darwinian thinking undermines the traditional (and common sense) idea that human beings have an exceptional status in the world. But saying as much almost doesn’t go far enough. With some influential evolutionists there’s a barely hidden loathing of people.
In the third and final part of a series of ID the Future episodes, John West describes the Darwinian roots of this kind of — what shall we call it? detestation? — of the idea that humans may be special. Dr. West spoke at a recent conference on human origins. Look here for Part 1 and Part 2.
Download the episode by clicking here:
It’s an evolutionary misanthropy — not the witty Florence King style of misanthropy but an inhuman, often seething sort that can’t wait to pull people down from their pedestal.
It’s hard to disentangle cause and effect. To what extent does Darwinism feed this phenomenon? Or instead does it perhaps have an independent source yet also a strong commonality with evolutionary thinking that draws the two threads of sentiment together?
Listen and consider the question for yourself.
Image: Pieter Bruegel, The Misanthrope (1568), via Wikicommons.
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