Many of us find Darwin admirable not because it's politically correct to do so, but because he was an extraordinary scientist and a courageous man.
As a scientist, he combined the talents of the observational naturalist, the experimentalist, and the theoretician to a degree unrivalled in the history of biology. His treatises on everything from orchids to barnacles are still consulted by experts. Thirty years ago, my college senior research project was an experimental study of the cellular mechanism of geotropism: the ability of plants to sense gravity and grow in the opposite direction. Darwin's work in this area was still state-of-art, more than one hundred years after he had done it.
Every biologist I know is astounded by his ability to assimilate a huge amount of information, derived from both personal observation and the work of others, and use it to synthesize a theory so robust that it continues to bear practical and intellectual fruit every day. For example, evolutionary theory provides the intellectual framework to understand the emergence of drug-resistant forms of HIV, tuberculosis, Staphylococcus, etc., as well as to devise strategies to contain these killers.
As a man, Darwin courageously faced family tragedies, chronic illness, self-doubt, and a titanic inner struggle to reconcile his science with his faith. He endured all of this while working at a pace which would have destroyed most people, and certainly damaged his already fragile health. The result of his labor was a body of work profound in its implications, and expressed in some of the most graceful prose ever written by a scientist.
Whatever one thinks of Darwin's theory, one must stand in awe of Darwin the man.
I quite agree, Jeff. I admire Darwin himself and I have no problem with evolution as an explanation of how species came about. In other words, Darwin's achievements were great enough to not require any exaggeration. That said, some of his fans do tend to go overboard and I think many do his ideas a disservice by trying to apply them in areas he never intended for them to applicable. Evolutionary explanations of art, religion and haute cuisine strike me as more or less daft. Next time you see one, note the number of "coulds" and "perhapses" and the like. So: Evolution is a scientific theory. Let's leave it that way. It is not a religion.
Many of us find Darwin admirable not because it's politically correct to do so, but because he was an extraordinary scientist and a courageous man.
ReplyDeleteAs a scientist, he combined the talents of the observational naturalist, the experimentalist, and the theoretician to a degree unrivalled in the history of biology. His treatises on everything from orchids to barnacles are still consulted by experts. Thirty years ago, my college senior research project was an experimental study of the cellular mechanism of geotropism: the ability of plants to sense gravity and grow in the opposite direction. Darwin's work in this area was still state-of-art, more than one hundred years after he had done it.
Every biologist I know is astounded by his ability to assimilate a huge amount of information, derived from both personal observation and the work of others, and use it to synthesize a theory so robust that it continues to bear practical and intellectual fruit every day. For example, evolutionary theory provides the intellectual framework to understand the emergence of drug-resistant forms of HIV, tuberculosis, Staphylococcus, etc., as well as to devise strategies to contain these killers.
As a man, Darwin courageously faced family tragedies, chronic illness, self-doubt, and a titanic inner struggle to reconcile his science with his faith. He endured all of this while working at a pace which would have destroyed most people, and certainly damaged his already fragile health. The result of his labor was a body of work profound in its implications, and expressed in some of the most graceful prose ever written by a scientist.
Whatever one thinks of Darwin's theory, one must stand in awe of Darwin the man.
I quite agree, Jeff. I admire Darwin himself and I have no problem with evolution as an explanation of how species came about. In other words, Darwin's achievements were great enough to not require any exaggeration.
ReplyDeleteThat said, some of his fans do tend to go overboard and I think many do his ideas a disservice by trying to apply them in areas he never intended for them to applicable. Evolutionary explanations of art, religion and haute cuisine strike me as more or less daft. Next time you see one, note the number of "coulds" and "perhapses" and the like.
So: Evolution is a scientific theory. Let's leave it that way. It is not a religion.