Darwin, God and the meaning of life : how evolutionary theory undermines everything you thought you knew / Steve Stewart-Williams.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Stewart-Williams, Steve, 1971- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Evolution (Biology)--Philosophy.

Evolution (Biology).

Evolution (Biology)--Religious aspects.

Evolution (Biology)--Moral and ethical aspects.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (x, 341 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Other Title:

Darwin, God & the Meaning of Life

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2010.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

If you accept evolutionary theory, can you also believe in God? Are human beings superior to other animals, or is this just a human prejudice? Does Darwin have implications for heated issues like euthanasia and animal rights? Does evolution tell us the purpose of life, or does it imply that life has no ultimate purpose? Does evolution tell us what is morally right and wrong, or does it imply that ultimately 'nothing' is right or wrong? In this fascinating and intriguing book, Steve Stewart-Williams addresses these and other fundamental philosophical questions raised by evolutionary theory and the exciting new field of evolutionary psychology. Drawing on biology, psychology and philosophy, he argues that Darwinian science supports a view of a godless universe devoid of ultimate purpose or moral structure, but that we can still live a good life and a happy life within the confines of this view.

Contents:

Darwin and the big questions

Darwin gets religion. Clash of the Titans

Design after Darwin

Darwin's god

God as gap filler

Darwin and the problem of evil

Wrapping up religion

Life after Darwin. Human beings and their place in the universe

The status of human beings among the animals

Meaning of life, RIP?

Morality stripped of superstition. Evolving good

Remaking morality

Uprooting the doctrine of human dignity

Evolution and the death of right and wrong.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0-511-85062-X

1-107-20821-1

1-282-77146-9

9786612771460

0-511-77882-1

0-511-90134-8

0-511-90213-1

0-511-79898-9

0-511-79758-3

0-511-90055-4

OCLC:

663861947