Darwin, Social Theory, and the Sociology of Scientific Knowledge

This essay considers ways in which Darwin's account of natural processes was influenced by economic, ethical, and natural-theological theories in his own day. It argues that the Anabaptist concept of “the gospel of all creatures” calls into question alliances between evolutionary theory and soc...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Zygon
Main Author: Murphy, Nancey C. 1951- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Wiley-Blackwell 1999
In: Zygon
Further subjects:B Religion and science
B Social Darwinism
B Thomas Malthus
B nonreductive physicalism
B Charles Darwin
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Parallel Edition:Non-electronic
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Summary:This essay considers ways in which Darwin's account of natural processes was influenced by economic, ethical, and natural-theological theories in his own day. It argues that the Anabaptist concept of “the gospel of all creatures” calls into question alliances between evolutionary theory and social policy that are based on the dominance of conflictual images such as “the survival of the fittest” and questions the negative images of both nature and God that Darwinism has been taken to sponsor. The essay also considers developments in biology that have called into question dualist accounts of human nature as body and soul, thus reminding us that we are fully a part of the natural world and thus contributing, in turn, to a better theological grasp of God's relation to nature.
ISSN:1467-9744
Contains:Enthalten in: Zygon
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1111/0591-2385.00237