Evolution quotes 31 May 2010 Evolution itself, it must be remembered, does not necessarily mean, applied to society, the movement of man to a desirable goal. It is a neutral, scientific conception, compatible either with optimism or with pessimism. According to different estimates it may appear to be a cruel sentence or a guarantee of steady amelioration. And it has been actually interpreted in both ways. In order to base Progress on Evolution two distinct arguments are required. If it could be shown that social life obeys the same general laws of evolution as nature, and also that the process involves an increase of happiness, then Progress would be as valid a hypothesis as the evolution of living forms. … In fact, upon the neutral fact of evolution a theory of pessimism may be built up as speciously as a theory of optimism. [John Bagnell Bury, The idea of progress; an inquiry into its origin and growth, 1920] Evolution History Philosophy Quotes Social evolution EvolutionHistoryPhilosophyQuotes
Ecology and Biodiversity 50 words for snow 7: taxing attacks on taxa 1 Jan 2018 We should consider in each case what Question it is that is proposed, and what answer to it would, in the instance before us, be the most opposite or contrasted to the one to be examined. E.G. “You will find this doctrine in Bacon” may be contrasted, either with “You… Read More
Epistemology Atheism, agnosticism and theism 3: Knowledge claims about gods 20 Jul 201122 Jun 2018 Previous posts in this series: One and Two . In an influential book, W. V. O. Quine, one of the leading philosophers of the twentieth century, wrote with his student: It is important to distinguish between disbelief and nonbelief – between believing a sentence false and merely not believing it true…. Read More
Evolution Why do they kill? 10 Dec 2007 Just to head off the obvious: Do people kill because their religion or ideology tells them that nonbelievers are subhuman? Yes. Do people go to war because their religion or ideology tells them it is their patriotic duty? Yes. Do people walk into a church or missionary school and kill… Read More
Reminiscent of T.H. Huxley’s famous line: “Let us understand, once and for all, that the ethical progress of society depends, not on imitating the cosmic process, still less in running away from it, but in combating it.”