Jewish Tradition and the Challenge of Darwinism

Cantor, Geoffrey and Marc Swetlitz, edited

ISBN 10: 0226092771 / ISBN 13: 9780226092775

Published by University of Chicago Press, 2006

About this Item

2006. History of Science, Evolutionary studies, Judaica. University of Chicago Press. Very good paperback but with sun fading to spine and parts of front cover 260p.

Seller Inventory # 13604

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Jewish Tradition and the Challenge of Darwinism
• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Publication Date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0226092771
• ISBN 13: 9780226092775
• Binding: Soft cover

About this title

Synopsis

Darwin’s theory of evolution transformed the life sciences and made profound claims about human origins and the human condition, topics often viewed as the prerogative of religion. As a result, evolution has provoked a wide variety of religious responses, ranging from angry rejection to enthusiastic acceptance. While Christian responses to evolution have been studied extensively, little scholarly attention has been paid to Jewish reactions. Jewish Tradition and the Challenge of Darwinism is the first extended meditation on the Jewish engagement with this crucial and controversial theory.

The contributors to Jewish Tradition and the Challenge of Darwinism—from several academic disciplines and two branches of the rabbinate—present case studies showing how Jewish discussions of evolution have been shaped by the intersections of faith, science, philosophy, and ideology in specific historical contexts. Furthermore, they examine how evolutionary theory has been deployed when characterizing Jews as a race, both by Zionists and by anti-Semites. Jewish Tradition and the Challenge of Darwinism addresses historical and contemporary, as well as progressive and Orthodox, responses to evolution in America, Europe, and Israel, ultimately extending the history of Darwinism into new religious domains.

About the Authors

Geoffrey Cantor is professor of the history of science at the University of Leeds.

Marc Swetlitz has taught history of science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Oklahoma.