Why Darwin rejected intelligent design |
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Authors: | Frank J Sulloway |
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Institution: | (1) Institute of Personality and Social Research, University of California, 4125 Tolman Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720-5050, USA |
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Abstract: | As a Cambridge University undergraduate Charles Darwin was fascinated and convinced by the argument for intelligent design,
as set forth in William Paley’s 1802 classic, Natural Theology. Subsequently, during his five-year voyage on HMS Beagle (1831–1836), Darwin interpreted his biological findings through a creationist lens, including the thought-provoking evidence
he encountered during his historic visit to the Galápagos Islands in September and October 1835. After his return to England
in 1836 and his subsequent conversion to the idea of organic evolution in March 1837, Darwin searched for a theory that would
explain both the fact of evolution and the widespread appearance of intelligent design. His insight into the process of natural
selection, which occurred in September 1838, provided this alternative explanation. Darwin’s Origin of Species (1859) exemplifies his skillful deployment of the hypothetico-deductive method in testing and refuting the arguments for
intelligent design that he had once so ardently admired. |
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Keywords: | Charles Darwin intelligent design natural selection Origin of Species scientific method |
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