More Darwin

Today in class we talked more about the Darwin and Paley readings. Rein asked us more about why we thought evolution remains controversial to this day. I said it had a lot to do with the fact that, at least in some peoples' minds, "reducing" people to animals subjected to the forces of nature just like any other can wreak havoc with systems of morality and ethics, especially religiously based ones. This not to say one cannot have both evolution and traditional morality. Quite the contrary, all it takes is reanalysis and reinterpretation. One may even say one's beliefs would be stronger for it.