Many of us have heard a wearisome amount of commentary about whether the Expelled film should have – or should not have – dwelt on the Darwin-driven Nazi extermination of “inferior” peoples.
Scholar Richard Weikart, who knows more than anyone alive about the Nazis and Darwin, writes to say,
The point about showing the social and ethical impact of Darwinism is not to *disprove* Darwinism. However, many people fail to understand that Darwinism necessarily has ethical implications, in ways that other sciences do not, because it makes claims about the origins of morality (at least Darwin in Descent of Man made such claims, as have myriads of Darwinists thereafter).
However, while not disproving Darwinism, pointing out the ethical implications and impacts of Darwinism is nonetheless important, as I have learned from reactions to my book, From Darwin to Hitler, and to lectures I have given. Some individuals have told me that before learning about my work on the intersection of Darwinism and bioethics, they didn’t think Darwinism was all that important—they saw it as irrelevant, a mere intellectual curiosity. Darwinism, however, makes claims about life and death issues—indeed, about the very meaning of life and death (in addition to its claims about the origins of morality). Granted, there are various ways philosophically to try to meet these challenges, but knowing the directions that Darwinism has taken historically can help clarify the philosophical issues, it seems to me. For those who think that the social implications have only been felt by Nazi Germany, get John West’s excellent book, _Darwin Day in America_, where he shows the way that Darwinism has impacted many diverse fields in the US.
I do not disbelieve in Darwinism because of its ethical and social consequences. I disbelieve in Darwinism because it is inconsistent with the available evidence. It simply is not true. Showing that people have been (and are being!!) killed in the name of Darwinism, however, lends poignancy and urgency to exposing the falsehood.
If I did not have any other reason to believe Weikart, I need only look at the rubbish at Wikipedia on the subject.
Surely no one sends their students there? It is nothing but a whitewash of Darwin’s racism and the inevitable consequences of same. It will be instructive to see Barack Obama’s campaign get hold of this stuff and turn it into something really slick.
Meanwhile, key news from the north:
Killer insects and intelligent design
Intellectual freedom in Canada: Friends fear the comics won’t dare be funny in ways that matter
Louisiana Academic Freedom Bill: White lab coats to take refuge behind black law robes?
Was the bison’s peculiar chest a design feature … to help Native North Americans survive?
Intellectual freedom in Canada: … Look out, PC bigots! The True North strong and free is shaking off your chains …
What happens if Darwinism is subjected to natural selection in the Louisiana bayou?
Darwin’s co-founder Wallace accepted intelligent design?
Canadian comics rally for freedom: Let’s
LAUGH Canada’s “human rights” commissions out of existence!
What I think about common descent – answer to a reader’s question