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Evolution, Naturalism, and Theism: an Inconsistent Triad? David H

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Evolution, Naturalism, and Theism: an Inconsistent Triad? David H Marquette University e-Publications@Marquette Dissertations (2009 -) Dissertations, Theses, and Professional Projects Evolution, Naturalism, and Theism: An Inconsistent Triad? David H. Gordon Marquette University Recommended Citation Gordon, David H., "Evolution, Naturalism, and Theism: An Inconsistent Triad?" (2018). Dissertations (2009 -). 761. https://epublications.marquette.edu/dissertations_mu/761 EVOLUTION, NATURALISM, AND THEISM: AN INCONSISTENT TRIAD? by David H. Gordon, B.A., M.A. A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School, Marquette University, in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Milwaukee, Wisconsin May 2018 ABSTRACT EVOLUTION, NATURALISM, AND THEISM: AN INCONSISTENT TRIAD? David H. Gordon, B.A., M.A. Marquette University, 2018 Philosophy in the 19th century experienced a ‘turn from idealism,’ when idealist philosophies were largely abandoned for materialist ones. Scientific naturalism is now considered by many analytic philosophers to be the new orthodoxy, largely in part due to the success of the scientific method. The New Atheists, such as Daniel Dennett and Richard Dawkins, claim it is Darwin in particular who deserves much of the credit for repudiating the traditional Mind-first world view. Some, like Alvin Plantinga and Michael Behe, maintain the opposite, that evolution casts doubt on naturalism and supports theism. This dissertation seeks to determine just what exactly the logical implications of evolutionary theory are. Is evolution incompatible with theism? Does the acceptance of evolution necessarily entail naturalism and preclude theism? Is it possible, as naturalism maintains, that everything can be reduced to physical processes, or are there too many recalcitrant phenomena that defy reduction? Answering these involves a detailed analysis of the concepts, ‘evolution,’ ‘naturalism,’ and ‘theism.’ Just what exactly does accepting evolutionary theory entail? How is it different from Darwinism? Is evolution guided or unguided? What is naturalism? There are many different types of metaphysical naturalists: eliminative materialists, physicalists, and emergent property dualists. What is the relationship between metaphysical naturalism and methodological naturalism? Theism affirms a creator God who sustains all being, who is transcendent and yet immanent. So if theism posits a God who is active in the world, does this mean that scientific investigation may at times have to admit supernatural explanations when natural ones fail? My general conclusion is a type of mitigated skepticism – that given evolution, neither naturalism nor theism logically follows. As to whether evolution is guided or unguided, the only correct position is ‘undetermined.’ In this instance metaphysical positions may fill in the gaps in knowledge by projection, but cannot fulfill the necessary and sufficient conditions required for knowledge. Metaphysical naturalism and theism are worldviews that an individual adopts as the most overall coherent explanation of the wide variety of experiences, intuitions, and reflections on their life. Whether evolution offers evidence for one and against the other is often based upon one’s prior metaphysical assumptions, since all facts are theory laden. The underdetermination of theory allows for multiple theories to cover the same phenomena, with each offering an epistemically adequate explanation. However, numerous recalcitrant anomalies which defy scientific explanation and reduction present problems for the strict naturalist. While neither naturalism nor theism can be determined to be objectively true, one can offer reasons for choosing one or the other on the basis of overall coherence. i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS David H. Gordon, B.A., M.A. The seeds of this dissertation were sown when I was in sixth grade and our class watched a film describing the 1974 fossil find of the remains of Lucy, a 3 million year old hominin, in the Rift Valley in Ethiopia. As a result, I have probably believed in evolution longer than I have believed in God. However, I have never found the two mutually incompatible. When I started teaching Introductory Philosophy classes, which offered a chronological overview of the history of philosophy, I noticed that the latter half of the 19th century experiences a strong shift towards materialist philosophies. Yet nothing in the philosophies themselves really explained this shift. I came to believe that one of the primary reasons for this shift is Darwinism. As Darwin is a biologist, and not a philosopher, he is left out of most philosophy anthologies. So I began supplementing the textbook with readings on evolution and included lectures on Darwin. I also started reading some of the philosophy of biology literature, namely that of Dennett and Dawkins, who felt that Darwinism disproves the existence of God. This too, confirmed my belief that evolutionary theory was a primary influence fueling the shift towards materialism. However, while I share with these people the premise that Darwin helped fuel this shift, I did not accept their conclusion that Darwinism results in metaphysical naturalism. Like Plantinga, I see naturalism as an overlay onto evolutionary theory, rather than its logical outcome. For this reason, I would like to thank all my teachers and students who have helped me research and refine my position on this topic. They would be too numerous to list here. I will just try to briefly mention some. I would like to thank especially Marquette University and its professors for allowing me to pursue my research interests and for providing me with an office as well as a study carrel in the library. I would particularly like to thank my dissertation director, Dr. Michael Wreen, for the many years he has helped guide this project. I would also like to thank my committee members, Dr. Noel Adams, Dr. Stan Harrison, Dr. Bill Starr, and Dr. Lee Rice, as well as the rest of the faculty and staff in the Philosophy department. I would also like to thank the Philosophy department faculty, staff, students, and librarians at the six colleges I have taught at while writing it: Loyola University Maryland, Aurora University, Concordia University Wisconsin, Lake Forest College, the University of Wisconsin Green Bay, and Marquette University. I would also like to thank my family, friends, the Young Pups, and fellow graduate students for all their support. Last, I would like to thank anyone who is willing to put the time and energy into reading this. It represents over three decades of work in philosophy, and hopefully it provides a resolution to a difficult issue which is a topic of much current debate. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS i CHAPTER I. THE PROBLEM: RECONCILING SEEMINGLY INCOMPATIBLES – THEISM AND EVOLUTION…………………………………………….............. 1 1. The Problem: The Conflict Thesis…………………………………….. 2 2. Mapping the Possible Implications Evolutionary Theory Might Have… 5 3. Models the relationship between Religion and Science might take…… 10 4. The Historical Origins of Science and the ‘Continuity Problem’……… 14 5. The Medieval Scholastic Synthesis and Counter reactions……………. 21 6. Rise of the Scientific Revolution: Galileo and the Copernican Revolution…………………………… 28 7. Darwin’s Implications for the Western Philosophic Tradition: the Death of Essentialism?................................................................ 32 8. Has Darwin refuted the Bible?................................................................. 35 9. Conclusion: There is Philosophical and Scientific Continuity with Religion……………………………………………37 II. A CONTEMPORARY SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM: NATURALISM.. 40 1. Defining Naturalism…………………………………………………… 41 2. Types of Naturalism…………………………………………………… 46 3. Examples of Naturalists……………………………………………….. 54 3.1 Nietzsche’s ‘Promiscuous Naturalism’………………………. 54 3.2 Dennett: the ‘Evangelist of Unbelief’………………………… 60 3.3 Dawkins: Religion is Bad Science…………………………… 66 3.4 Hitchens: The Case for ‘Antitheism’………………………… 71 3.5 Harris’s Evidentialism………………………………………… 77 3.6 The Churchlands: Eliminative Materialism………………….. 84 4. Was Darwin a Naturalist?......................................................................... 89 III. EVOLUTIONARY THEORY: DARWINISM AND THE MODERN EVOLUTIONARY SYNTHESIS…………………………………………. 98 1. The Origin as ‘One Long Argument’ – An Argument against Special Creation……………………………. 99 2. The Origin as ‘One Long Argument’ – An Argument for Natural Selection……………………………….. 108 3. Pangenesis: Darwin’s Attempt to Explain the ‘Laws’ of Variation and Inheritance………………………………………….. 113 iii 4. The Descent of Man and Sexual Selection…………………………….. 118 5. The Eclipse of Darwin: Alternatives to Natural Selection as the Source of Species Origination…………………………………….. 125 5.1 Lamarckism…………………………………………………… 128 5.2 Orthogenesis…………………………………………………... 130 5.3 Saltationism…………………………………………………… 132 6.The Rediscovery of Mendel ……………………………………………... 136 7. The Modern Evolutionary Synthesis…………………………………… 139 IV. THEISM: TO BE A THEIST IS TO BE COMMITTED TO WHAT?............. 146 1. What is Theism?....................................................................................... 147 2. The Attributes of a Theistic God……………………………………….. 148 3. Is Theism Coherent? The Limits of Language and the via negativa…... 152 4. The Origins of Theism: Religious Realism versus Constructivism…… 155 5. Natural Theology and Reason: Arguments for the Existence of God… 158 5.1 Existential…………………………………………………….. 161 5.2 Ontological…………………………………………………….
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