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abolitionist movement

Charles-Darwin
Image source: Discovery Institute.

Darwin’s Sacred Fiction

A book by Adrian Desmond and James Moore holds that Charles Darwin was significantly motivated in his scientific work by abolitionist sentiments. Read More ›
Spine_of_Darwin's_'The_Descent_of_Man'_Wellcome_L0051102
Image source: Wikimedia Commons.

Yet Another Scholar Seeks to Airbrush Darwin’s Racist Legacy

Racists for decades, down to today, have looked to Charles Darwin as a champion of their ideas, and if they’re right about anything, it’s that. Read More ›
Charles Darwin statue
Charles Darwin statue
Photo: Darwin statute at the Natural History Museum, by Alan Perestrello, via Flickr (cropped).

Robert Shedinger: Darwin’s Sacred Cause Is “Historical Fiction”

The effect of the book is to misrepresent Darwin in such a way as to make those who reject Darwinism appear to be opposing a saintly anti-abolitionist. Read More ›
William Wilberforce
Photo: William Wilberforce, depicted in a statue at his birthplace in Hull, England; by Steve F-E-Cameron (Merlin-UK), CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons.

A Failed Attempt to Turn Darwin into Wilberforce

Nice try, Desmond and Moore. But criticizing Darwinian evolution does not make one a racist. The real Darwin is a far more ambiguous and conflicted figure. Read More ›
Edward John Eyre
Photo: Edward John Eyre, by Jessamine Buxton, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Darwin and the “Eyre Affair”: A Speculative Tale

October 7, 1865, saw a revolt break out in Jamaica in which 18 officials and militia men were killed by members of the freed black population. Read More ›
HMS Beagle
Image: HMS Beagle at Tierra del Fuego.

“Sacred Cause”? Reconsidering Charles Darwin as Abolitionist

I offer a series of posts here designed to lay out the evidence in detail. It is not merely that Desmond and Moore are selective in the sources they cite. Read More ›
Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin
Photo: Charles Darwin in 1855, by Maull and Polyblank, Literary and Scientific Portrait Club, via Wikimedia Commons.

The Racism of Darwin and Darwinism

Not only racism, but racial extermination was an integral feature of Darwin’s theory from the start. Read More ›
PortlandElkStatue
Photo: Portland’s elk statue in better days, by Cacophony (photograph) / Public domain.

Elk Goes Down; Darwin Breathes a Sigh of Relief

What is the evolutionary argument against unapologetic racism and the supremacy of whatever race can climb to the top? Read More ›
PortlandElkStatue 2

Elk Goes Down; Darwin Breathes a Sigh of Relief

What is the evolutionary argument against unapologetic racism and the supremacy of whatever race can climb to the top? Read More ›

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