Interpreting Evolution

Professor H. James Birx shows how the never-ending controversy of human evolution came to be. He details the events that caused thinkers like Charles Darwin to develop his theory of evolution, and what ideas caused some people to reconcile a somewhat mystical theology with a concrete model of the universe. He tells you how Darwin's work infuriated everybody from "God-fearing" Christians to the church heirarchies.

Birx explains how scientific advances and philosophical arguments have made beliefs about divine intervention as the origin of man a moot point. He shows how creationism ignores proven scientific facts, and how human evolution remains a much sounder truth. You'll read how some western religions are starting to accept evolution as the process which creates life on earth. You'll also learn why scientific evolution and creationism have not been accepted together and how bold attempts to merge the two ideas have failed miserably.

Darwin's work on evolution is well respected, for it provides the unifying principle of modern biology. The philosophical works of the controversial Jesuit scientist/philosopher/mystic de Chardin, which attempt to synthesize theology and evolution, have not fared as well. In this book, anthropologist Birx summarizes and critiques the work of these two important figures, placing their work in the context of other studies of evolution. This book is similar to Birx's Theories of Evolution (C.C. Thomas, 1984), differing mainly in the attention paid to Darwin and de Chardin and the inclusion of many newer references. For informed laypersons and scholarly audiences.
- Joseph Hannibal, Cleveland Museum of Natural History
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.