Download PDF by William J. Meyer: Darwin in a New Key: Evolution and the Question of Value

Can one coherently combine Darwin's view of evolution with an confirmation of the price of lifestyles? during this clean, lean, and important quantity, William Meyer addresses this significant query. by way of rigorously examining Darwin's personal writings and by means of drawing at the philosophical views of William James, Alfred North Whitehead, and others, Meyer persuasively redirects the cultural dialog approximately Darwin clear of the retrospective query of origins towards the possible query about the final value of evolutionary lifestyles. As James well-known, the query concerning the truth of God is extra serious for the forward-looking query of worth than it truly is for the backward-looking query of origins. Darwin was once a theist looking for a greater theism, and since theology had no longer but stuck as much as him, he turned more and more agnostic and stuck among his mechanistic realizing of nature, at the one hand, and his confirmation of the worth and wonder of the area, at the different. Whitehead's philosophy of organism bargains how to combine Darwin's evolutionary insights together with his confirmation of the grandeur of nature. Meyer's sincerely written and richly argued booklet allows us to combine our evolutionary figuring out of the realm with our event of price inside of it.

"William Meyer is among the sharpest and clearest philosophers writing approximately evolution and God, and during this centred quantity he deals an unique interpretation of Darwin that permits us to combine evolution with an confirmation of the which means and cost of lifestyles. this is often an incredible thesis, conscientiously argued, that merits to be learn widely."
--Kevin Schilbrack, Chair, Deparment of Philosophy and faith, Appalachian nation University

Meyer convinces me that the arguments of Daniel Dennett, Paul Davies, Richard Dawkins and different medical materialists are incorrect as they forget about the real voice of Charles Darwin, a voice that speaks not just of survival and replica, but in addition of good looks. to any extent further, i'll view typical choice as having much less sharp tooth and claws.
--D. Andrew Crain, Professor of Biology, Maryville College

"Giving striking proof that evolution on Darwin's account comprises the purpose at price, this ebook concerns an incisive problem to any who declare him for an solely mechanistic or physicalist account of life's species. either transparent and concise all through, Meyer additionally deftly outlines a theistic metaphysics most likely unknown to Darwin and during which a teleology of worth is in line with causation by means of the past."
--Franklin I. Gamwell, Shailer Mathews unique provider Professor Emeritus, the Divinity college, collage of Chicago; writer of Religion between We the folk: Conversations on Democracy and the Divine Good

William J. Meyer is Professor of Philosophy and the Ralph W. Beeson Professor of faith at Maryville university in Maryville, Tennessee. he's the writer of Metaphysics and the way forward for Theology (2010).