Darwinists protesting too much
Telling signs of a worldview in trouble
By Subby Szterszky | July 23, 2013
When atheist philosopher Thomas Nagel published his recent book, Mind and Cosmos: Why the Materialist Neo-Darwinian Conception of Nature is Almost Certainly False, it forced Darwinist critics into a quandary. After all, Nagel was ostensibly one of their own who had broken ranks. How to respond without coming off as contentious or petty? One option was to damn Nagel with faint praise, to condescendingly admit he was a “once-great thinker” who had somehow lost it.
No such scruples were necessary, apparently, when it came to Stephen Meyer, a Cambridge-educated philosopher of science and advocate for intelligent design. Meyer’s latest book, Darwin’s Doubt: The Explosive Origin of Animal Life and the Case for Intelligent Design, hadn’t even been published before the Darwinian establishment bared its teeth and claws.
Meyer’s book addresses the problem of the “Cambrian explosion,” the abrupt appearance in the fossil record of virtually all major animal phyla without any apparent evolutionary precursors. This has been a key difficulty for Darwinian theory from the outset, acknowledged as such by Darwin himself. Meyer argues that the phenomenon is best explained by intelligent design instead of random unguided evolution. Although his discussion is rooted in scientific evidence rather than religious doctrine, this hasn’t stopped some prominent Darwinists from getting predictably upset at him.
Jerry Coyne, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Chicago who runs a blog called Why Evolution Is True, has been among those leading the charge. Two months before Darwin’s Doubt was published, Coyne posted a critical “review” based on what he assumed the book might contain. The tone is unremittingly sarcastic, laced with grumbling against intelligent design and disrespect towards Meyer. Coyne dismisses HarperCollins, the book’s publisher, as “(formerly) reputable” and concludes with a mocking snipe against the Christian faith, “Yes, baby Jesus made the phyla!”
Joe Felsenstein, a geneticist at the University of Washington, and Larry Moran, a biochemist at the University of Toronto, took a similar approach, deploying sarcasm and ad hominem attacks to “critique” a book that hadn’t been published yet. Their online followers echo the disrespect in even harsher tones; any rare voice of dissent in support of Meyer is promptly browbeaten into silence. The attitude is not unlike a bunch of insecure schoolyard bullies, closing ranks and reassuring each other by trading insults aimed at the uncool kid across the yard.
Such bullying tactics aren’t restricted to online book reviews; they bleed over onto university campuses where they impinge on academic freedom. Witness the case of Eric Hedin, a physicist at Ball State University who teaches a course called “Boundaries of Science,” which explores alternatives to evolutionary theory including intelligent design. Jerry Coyne (once again), this time in concert with the aggressively atheist Freedom From Religion Foundation, sought to pressure the university into dropping the course and disciplining Hedin for teaching it.
Despite this, several students, including the student body president, spoke out in Hedin’s defense. They praised his course for teaching them to think critically and broadening their perspective. In the event, even some of Coyne’s fellow ID critics such as Moran and PZ Myers cited him for being out of line in trying to curtail Hedin’s academic freedom.
But there’s a question that shouts louder than the angry bloggers and militant atheists: Why all the animus against those who doubt Darwin? If one is secure in the belief that evolution is true, why get so worked up over those who disagree? Moreover, if one firmly believes that reality is a meaningless accident, what does it matter what anyone else might believe about it? Who cares anyway?
Darwinists claim they’re defending the integrity of science and education, which all sounds very high-minded. But on closer examination, it makes the Darwin lobby look uncomfortably like the ancient Athenians who condemned Socrates for questioning orthodoxy and corrupting the youth, and forced him to drink the hemlock.
Back in 1937, Aldous Huxley offered a more honest rationale for his atheism and Darwinism in his book, Ends and Means:
For myself, as, no doubt, for most of my contemporaries, the philosophy of meaninglessness was essentially an instrument of liberation. The liberation we desired was simultaneously liberation from a certain political and economic system and liberation from a certain system of morality. We objected to the morality because it interfered with our sexual freedom; . . . There was one admirably simple method of confuting these people [Christians] and at the same time justifying ourselves in our political and erotic revolt: we could deny that the world had any meaning whatsoever.
More recently, Thomas Nagel, who rejects Darwinism but remains an atheist, expressed similarly unguarded sentiments in his book, The Last Word:
I want atheism to be true and am made uneasy by the fact that some of the most intelligent and well-informed people I know are religious believers. . . . It isn’t just that I don’t believe in God and, naturally, hope that I’m right in my belief. It’s that I hope there is no God! I don’t want there to be a God; I don’t want the universe to be like that.
Perhaps Jerry Coyne, in a similar gesture of intellectual honesty, might consider renaming his blog, “Why I Desperately Want Evolution To Be True.”
More than a scientific theory, Darwinism is a full-fledged worldview, and its adherents understand this. They realize the implications if it were demonstrated to be false. They would lose their perceived moral autonomy in a meaningless world and become creatures answerable to their Creator. Small wonder some of them defend their faith with the tenacious zeal of a grand inquisitor.
And yet, such desperation often bodes ill for a belief system. When people protest too much, it’s a fair indicator that they lack the courage of their convictions. At some level, they recognize their position is becoming increasingly untenable. Whether it happens sooner or later, if meaningless materialism should wind up on the scrap heap of rejected scientific theories, it will be a cause for meaningful celebration.
Sources and further reading
Jerry Coyne, “A (formerly) reputable publisher sells out to creationists,” Why Evolution Is True, April 17, 2013. whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com 
William A. Dembski, “Before they’ve even seen Stephen Meyer’s new book, Darwinists waste no time in criticizing Darwin’s Doubt,” Evolution News and Views, April 4, 2013. evolutionnews.org
Joe Felsenstein, “Stephen Meyer needs your help,” Panda’s Thumb, March 26, 2013. pandasthumb.org
Aldous Huxley, Ends and Means: An Enquiry Into the Nature of Ideals and Into the Methods Employed for Their Realization, (London: Chatto & Windus, 1937), p. 273.
Scott Jaschik, “Science or Religion?” Inside Higher Ed, May 17, 2013. insidehighered.com
David Klinghoffer, “In advance of Darwin’s Doubt publication, gripe-fest turns surreal,” Evolution News and Views, April 19, 2013. evolutionnews.org
David Klinghoffer, “At Ball State University, intimidation campaign against physicist gets troubling results,” Evolution News and Views, May 22, 2013. evolutionnews.org
Stephen C. Meyer, Darwin’s Doubt: The Explosive Origin of Animal Life and the Case for Intelligent Design, (New York: HarperCollins, 2013).
Larry Moran, “Darwin doubters want to have their cake and eat it too,” Sandwalk, April 18, 2013. sandwalk.blogspot.ca
Thomas Nagel, The Last Word, (New York: Oxford University Press, 1997), pp. 130-131.
Thomas Nagel, Mind and Cosmos: Why the Materialist Neo-Darwinian Conception of Nature is Almost Certainly False, (New York, Oxford University Press, 2012).
Malachi W. Randolph, “One student’s opinion,” The Star Press, July 9, 2013. thestarpress.com
Subby Szterszky, “When atheists break ranks: Thomas Nagel’s new book creates a headache for materialists,” Focus Insights, March 26, 2013. focusinsights.org
Justin Taylor, “Darwin’s Doubt: An interview with Stephen C. Meyer,” Between Two Worlds, May 30, 2013. thegospelcoalition.org
John G. West, “Misrepresenting the facts about Eric Hedin's ‘reading list’,” Evolution News and Views, July 11, 2013. evolutionnews.org
Joshua Youngkin, “Dr. Hedin’s student could teach Ball State University a thing or two,” Evolution News and Views, July 16, 2013. evolutionnews.org
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