Transcript Document

Science and Creationism
24. Morality
© Colin Frayn, 2008-2011
www.frayn.net
Evolution leads to immorality?
• Evolution is a scientific theory
• Science does not dictate morality
• Morality is irrelevant to truth
– These two things are totally separate
• What is true
• What you want to be true
– Which are you trying to ascertain?
• If you want to justify hatred and atrocities, you can do that
with evolution, religion, patriotism, sex, vegetarianism,
whatever…
• If you want to justify goodness and benevolence, you can
do that with evolution, religion, patriotism, sex,
vegetarianism, whatever…
© Colin Frayn, 2008-2011
www.frayn.net
Is Evolution a religion?
•
1.
re·li·gion (rĭ-lĭj'ən) n.
Religion
a.
b.
•
1.
Belief in and reverence for a supernatural power or powers
regarded as creator and governor of the universe.
A personal or institutionalized system grounded in such
belief and worship.
sci·ence (sī'əns) n.
Science
a.
The observation, identification, description, experimental
investigation, and theoretical explanation of phenomena.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
© Colin Frayn, 2008-2011
www.frayn.net
Do Evolutionists follow Darwin?
• Science works by evaluating theories
• The person proposing a theory is irrelevant
• A theory must:
– Possess good underlying models
– Provide strong supporting evidence
– Make provable (correct) predictions
• Scientists greatly admire Darwin
– He had an extremely important and courageous idea
• It revolutionised scientific thought
• It was the result of decades of painstaking hard work
– Darwin’s original theories have been modified, corrected and
updated over the last 150 years
• He would barely recognise modern biology!
– The amazing thing is that the basic thesis was so simple and
powerful that it needed very little correction
© Colin Frayn, 2008-2011
www.frayn.net
Does ‘Darwinism’ lead to evil?
• What leads to evil is almost always a failure to accept
rational free thought
• Here’s a list of the most evil people of the last century:
–
–
–
–
Adolf Hitler, Germany
Josef Stalin, Russia
Mao Tse Tung, China
Pol Pot, Cambodia
• Which of these was a society in which rational free thought
and civil liberties were encouraged, and political decisions
were based on well-documented scientific evidence?
• Or were they all societies in which free thought was
ruthlessly suppressed and people were forced to do and say
what they were told on pain of death?
• Were they, in short, religions with a human dictator at the
head?
© Colin Frayn, 2008-2011
www.frayn.net
Eugenics
• Eugenics: Systematically preventing certain ‘undesirable’
elements of the population from breeding in order to
improve the gene pool
• Is it based on natural selection?
– Yes, loosely.
• Is it morally right?
– Only a tiny minority of people still support eugenics.
• Does it even work?
– No, in most cases the traits that Eugenics was used to combat
were not even genetic.
– Many genetic traits can be carried recessively without any
external signs.
– Some genetic traits, when carried by both parents, can lead to
severe deformities in their children
• Many people think that it is sensible to screen for such rare
coincidences before children are conceived
© Colin Frayn, 2008-2011
www.frayn.net
Social Darwinism
• The discredited view that society should run the same way
as nature
– Allow the weak to die
– Support the strong
• Evolution explains how things work in nature
– It does not imply that this is how things should be in human
society
– Leave it to politicians to argue about that
• Actually, evolution beautifully explains why humans
cooperate
– Natural selection rewards cooperation
– Natural selection penalises antisocial behaviour
– We are all family!
© Colin Frayn, 2008-2011
www.frayn.net
A corrupt tree…
– “For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a
corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.” (Luke 6:43)
– “Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a
corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring
forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good
fruit.” (Matthew 7:17-18)
• Every good thing can be abused
– A misunderstanding of natural selection inspired eugenics.
– Religion directly inspired the Crusades, the Inquisition, suicide
bombings, suicide cults etc.
– The internal combustion engine led to pollution, destruction of
natural habitats and road traffic accidents.
– Sunshine leads to skin cancer.
– Electricity leads to electrocutions.
– Water leads to drowning.
– Oxygen leads to fatal house fires
© Colin Frayn, 2008-2011
www.frayn.net
Claims of superior races
• Evolution teaches us no race is superior
– All races have the exact same origin
• … in Africa
– Genetic differences are tiny
• Race accounts for around 10% of the average genetic
difference between two people picked at random
• Not one single genetic marker corresponds 100%
with race
– No one race was ever ‘preferred’ over any
other
– No race has a special place in any ‘plan’
• The only way we can know that all races are
equal is through understanding genetics
© Colin Frayn, 2008-2011
www.frayn.net
Can we be good without God?
• Yes… and we are!
• Morality doesn’t come from religion
– We judge religious claims, stories and doctrine using our
innate sense of right and wrong
• We are all capable of the same moral actions,
regardless of faith
• Acting because of compulsion is not moral
– Acting for reward is less moral than acting without
expectation of reward.
© Colin Frayn, 2008-2011
www.frayn.net
Evolution and Communism
• Communism is anti-Christian?
– “He hat put down the mighty from their seat, and the
rich he hath sent empty away” (Luke 1: 52, The Magnificat)
– “All the believers were together and had everything in
common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave
to anyone as he had need.” (Acts 2: 44-45)
– Sounds strikingly like Marx’s Communist Manifesto
• Evolution does not imply (or require) communism
– In fact, it explains why communism doesn’t work
• Yes, Communism is doomed and unworkable
– We know this because we understand
• Evolutionary psychology
• Game theory
• History
© Colin Frayn, 2008-2011
www.frayn.net