How Darwin & Lincoln shaped us

[SFG75]

I had no idea that these guys shared the same birthday, an excellent read.

How Darwin and Lincoln Shaped Us | Newsweek Politics | Newsweek.com

 

[beer good]

Interesting article. I can't say I agree with his comparison at the end (though in fairness, he admits that it's ridiculous - "Santa vs Superman" indeed), especially given that it seems to limit the question to "who was the greater man for US interests alone?" Lincoln revolutionised a country, Darwin ushered in a brand new way of thinking that revolutionised science for the whole world. In retrospect, I'm not sure either of them did anything that wouldn't have been done sooner or later anyway - if not as well as they did it. They were both products of their time; you might even say their ideas evolved.

 

[beer good]

Speaking of Darwin's bicentennial, I thought this was interesting:

Charles Darwin to receive apology from the Church of England for rejecting evolution - Telegraph

And it only took them 150 years! :innocent: Seriously, good to see that at least one major church is coming out against creationism.

 

[sparkchaser]

The Catholic Church has done that too.

Evolution and the Roman Catholic Church - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I like this quote:

"Intelligent design isn't science even though it pretends to be. If you want to teach it in schools, intelligent design should be taught when religion or cultural history is taught, not science." - Vatican's former chief astronomer, Fr. George Coyne

 

[SFG75]

I can't say I agree with his comparison at the end (though in fairness, he admits that it's ridiculous - "Santa vs Superman" indeed), especially given that it seems to limit the question to "who was the greater man for US interests alone?" Lincoln revolutionised a country, Darwin ushered in a brand new way of thinking that revolutionised science for the whole world. In retrospect, I'm not sure either of them did anything that wouldn't have been done sooner or later anyway - if not as well as they did it. They were both products of their time; you might even say their ideas evolved.

When I thought about such a comparison, I was favoring Darwin early on. Revolutionized the study of science?....check. Revolutionized how we think about ourselves and what we know about the majority of human actions and development?.....check. Then I thought about Lincoln and the list was equally as impressive. Saved a nation from splitting into two?.....check. Looks really radical on the side of Mount Rushmore?......check.

 

[tristanj]

The church just didn't agree with the theory of Charles Darwin because I've read in an article somewhere that Darwin stated that we evolved from apes. If we evolved from apes, I wonder why are there still apes. The church believed that God created the world and that man was the crown of creation. Darwin has a humble imagination and Lincoln filled a country with revolutionary principles.

 

[sparkchaser]

The church just didn't agree with the theory of Charles Darwin because I've read in an article somewhere that Darwin stated that we evolved from apes. If we evolved from apes, I wonder why are there still apes. The church believed that God created the world and that man was the crown of creation. Darwin has a humble imagination and Lincoln filled a country with revolutionary principles.

1. Darwin never said that.

2. We didn't evolve from apes. Apes and humans share a common ancestor which was neither man nor ape.