Darwinism And The Divine - Evolutionary Thought And Natural Theology

• Questions whether Darwin's theory of natural selection really shook our fundamental beliefs, or whether they served to transform and illuminate our views on the origins and meaning of life
• Identifies the forms of natural theology that emerged in 19th-century England and how they were affected by Darwinism
• The most detailed study yet of the intellectual background to William Paley's famous and influential approach to natural theology, set out in 1802
• Brings together material from a variety of disciplines, including the history of ideas, historical and systematic theology, evolutionary biology, anthropology, sociology, and the cognitive science of religion
• Considers how Christian belief has adapted to Darwinism, and asks whether there is a place for design both in the world of science and the world of theology
• A thought-provoking exploration of 21st-century views on evolutionary thought and natural theology, written by the world-renowned theologian and bestselling author

Preface.

Acknowledgments.

Introduction.

Part I: Conceptual Clarifications: On the meaning of terms.

1. Natural Theology: A Deeper Structure to the Natural World.

Natural Theology in the Classical Tradition.

The Conceptual Fluidity of Natural Theology.

The Eternal Return of Natural Theology.

2. Darwinism: A Narrative of Evolution.

Darwinism: A Defensible Term?.

Darwinism as an Ideology.

The Metaphysical Inflation of Evolutionary Thought.

Conclusion to Part I.

Part II: Historical Exposition: Darwin and the English natural theology tradition.

3. English Natural Theology of the Augustan Age, 1690–1745.

The Emergence of English Natural Theology.

Newtonian Physics and Natural Theology.

The Protestant Assumptions of English Natural Theology.

A Foundation for Consensus: The Doctrine of Creation.

Physico-theology: The Appeal to Contrivance.

Natural Theology and the Beauty of Nature.

The Problem of Development within Nature.

Assessing Evidence: Changing Public Perceptions.

4. A Popular Classic: William Paley’s Natural Theology (1802).

Introducing Paley’s Natural Theology.

Paley’s Source: Bernard Nieuwentyt’s Religious Philosopher (1718).

The Watch Analogy: The Concept of Contrivance.

Paley on Intermediary Causes within Nature.

The Vulnerability of Paley’s Approach.

5. Beyond Paley: English Natural Theology, 1802–52.

The Impact of Geology upon Paley’s Natural Theology.

Henry Brougham: A Natural Theology of the Mind.

Evidence, Testimony, and Proof: A Shifting Context.

A New Approach: The Bridgewater Treatises.

John Henry Newman: The Theological Deficiencies of Paley.

Robert Browning’s “Caliban Upon Setebos”: A Literary Critique of Paley.

English Natural Theology on the Eve of the Darwinian Revolution.

6. Charles Darwin, Natural Selection, and Natural Theology.

The Development of Darwin’s Views on Natural Selection.

Problems, Prediction, and Proof: The Challenge of Natural Selection.

Natural Selection and Natural Theology: An Assessment of Darwin’s Impact.

Conclusion to Part II.

Part III: Contemporary Discussion: Darwinism and natural theology.

7. A Wider Teleology: Design, Evolution, and Natural Theology.

Directionality within the Natural World.

Teleology: Introducing an Idea.

Chance, Contingency, and Evolutionary Goals.

The “Wider Teleology” of Evolution.

The Inference of Design and Natural Theology.

Suffering, Evolution, and Natural Theology.

8. The Concept of Creation: Reflections and Reconsiderations.

The Seventeenth Century: The Regnant Theology of Creation.

Creation as Event and Process: Augustine of Hippo.

Evolution and an Emergent Creation.

God’s Action within the Evolutionary Process.

9. Universal Darwinism: Natural Theology as an Evolutionary Outcome?.

The Darwinian Paradigm and Cultural Development.

The God-Meme: Natural Theology and Cultural Replicators.

Religion: Evolutionary Adaptation or Spandrel?.

Natural Theology and Evolutionary Theories of the Origins of Religion.

Conclusion to Part III.

Part IV: Conclusion.

10. The Prospects for Natural Theology.

Natural Theology and the Human Evolutionary Past.

Natural Theology, Observational Traction, and the Best Explanation.

A Community of Discernment: The Church and Natural Theology.

In Quest of Meaning.

Index.