Wyniki wyszukiwania - Biblioteka Nauki

1

Vědecký status darwinismu

100%

Havlík V.

Filosofický časopis (Philosophical Journal)

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2009

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tom 57

|

nr 6

837-853

EN

The philosophical attempt to explain the scientific status of Darwinism has been given significant attention in the methodology of science. Darwinism, unlike the physical theories which act as the model of what is scientific, does not meet the usual mathematical-experimental requirements and, due to this exceptional character, raises the philosophical question of how we might either reformulate the what it means for theories to be scientific or deny the scientific status of Darwinism. The aim of this paper is review some of discussions of this question in the philosophy of science, to find an acceptable and defensible position in the spectrum of opinion, and to assess the future perspective for this evolutionary process of philosophical reflection. This paper endeavours to show, on the basis of a critique of M. Ruse, that Darwin’s theory, the core of Darwinism, is fully axiomisable and that, as such, it fits the traditional hypothetico-deductive model of scientific theories. At the same time, however, we show the reason why it has a scientific character that is exceptional and specific – we point here to the much more complex and multi-levelled theoretical synthesis of Darwinism, which is unparalleled in contemporary natural science. It is for this reason that it difficult to find methodological standards for the estimation of the scientificality of Darwinism in philosophico-methodological reflection.

2

T. G. Masaryk tváří v tvář darwinismu a evolučnímu způsobu myšlení

100%

Pospíšil C. V.

Studia theologica

|

2020

|

tom 2

137-159

EN

The main contribution of this study lies in the chronologically ordered analysis of the texts in which Tomáš G. Masaryk writes about the problematics of the evolution and Darwinism. Although there are strong anticlerical motives in his work, his thoughts show surprising affinity to the contemporary Catholic theologians who were open to the possibility of the creation of the species and the human being through the evolution. Masaryk has no doubts about the key role of the Creator in the process of the origin of the species and the human being, about the immortality of the human soul which is, in his opinion, not deducible from purely evolutionary processes, about intelligent design of these processes. Inspirational sources of this stand may be only estimated, but it is very probable that confirmation of Masaryk’s invariable stands were strongly influenced by Matěj Procházka, his secondary school teacher at Brno, and Franz Brentano, an excellent professor at Vienna Faculty of Art.

3

The Change in William I. Thomas’s View of Biology

88%

Remisiewicz Ł.

Stan Rzeczy

|

2018

|

nr 2(15) The Polish Peasant from the Perspective of a Century

75-94

EN

In this article the author shows how the exploding role of biology in William Thomas’s sociology and social psychology has changed. Since the beginning of his career, this researcher addressed numerous topics that involved both biological and social factors – he commented on the nature of gender, race, instincts, prejudice and evolution. His departure point was biologism, which proclaimed that innate predispositions are a variable independent of social processes. In the following years, Thomas changed his beliefs, recognising that it was culture and society that left its mark on physiological and psychological development. The changes in Thomas’s reasoning are described by the author against the background of past and present views on the relationship between society and the brain, claiming that his late views could resonate with today’s approaches.

4

MIŁOŚĆ I NIENAWIŚĆ JAKO CZYNNIKI HISTORYCZNE

88%

Garlicki A. , Pudłocki T.

Rocznik Przemyski

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2016

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tom 52

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nr 2(20): Literatura i Język

197-218

EN

The article by Apolinary Garlicki, a history and geography teacher from Przemyśl, and later a member of parliament during the Second Polish Republic, was published in installments right before the outbreak of the First World War in the local periodical “Ziemia Przemyska”. A lecture which was an incentive to write that article had been delivered by Garlicki on 17 May 1914 at the city hall in Przemyśl during the meeting of the Adam Mickiewicz Folk University. The essay is written from the point of view of a historiosopher. One can see here a reflection on the books that Garlicki read. They were not only the works by Adam Smith, from which he started his discussion, but also books by the theoreticians of progressive education, a trend in pedagogy at the turn of the 20th century, focusing largely on the significance of the environment in the practical upbringing of children and youth. The author leads the reader through various historical periods and makes references to many contemporary events – the social policy of the USA, the increasing significance of Japan, the Balkan wars etc. Garlicki discusses with ease not only the meanders of history but also the latest issues in sociology, psychology, economy, political science, making no attempts to hide his fascination with Darwinism and presenting its results in the growing nationalism and competition between nations in the early 20th century. The lecture helped Garlicki to write two books on the then fashionable theme of eugenics: Co to jest eugenika? [What is eugenics?] (1917) and Zagadnienia biologiczne-społeczne [Biological and social issues] (1924).

5

L’hérédité de l’acquis, une hypothèse fausse mais récurrente (1958–2018)

88%

Grimoult C.

Organon

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2018

|

tom 50

101-122

EN

The inheritance of acquired characteristics seems to be a trendy hypothesis in the fields of biological and cultural evolution, despite the fact that it has already been refuted many times, and has been shown inconsistent with all the available knowledge accumulated. This paper presents its failure, and its logical and factual inferiority to multilevel selection, offering new hypotheses explaining its attractive power. The argumentation aims to prove that the biological variations (genetic mutations) and cultural variations (intellectual innovations) are certainly not changes directed by the environment, but are analogous to stochastic changes which are closely channeled by many selective screens, according to the synergic theory of evolution and the synergic theory of the human sciences and their core, multilevel selection.

6

Jak myśli wiersz? Czesław Miłosz: Nad strumieniem

87%

Zach J.

Poznańskie Studia Polonistyczne. Seria Literacka

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2014

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nr 24

243-254

EN

The subject of the analysis is the poem by Czesław Miłosz from the volume To, entitled “Nad strumieniem”. The task the author embarked upon boils down to the answer to the question: how does a specific idea(its hidden mental message) develop in this poem and what results from it for the idea as well as for the poem. The proposed reading takes place at three levels. Preliminary reconnaissance is made by naive reading consisting in the reconstruction of the situation portrayed in the poem, in the recreation of that which can be fund, so to say, on the “surface” of the poem. Next, the author launches these contexts which in Miłosz’s representation of the attitude of man towards nature allow one to notice balance and harmony, coming to terms with life and wisdom, which is based on distance and silence. At the third reading level, the author refers to the image crowning opus magnum by Charles Darwin, in which a similar situation-contemplation in the open nature-leads to the formulation of the answer to the question about the sense of “fight in nature, famine and death”. This answer is juxtaposed with the ending of Czesław Miłosz’s poem: „Wydaje mi się, że słyszę głos demiurga:/ Albo nieme skały jak w pierwszym dniu stworzenia,/ albo życie, którego warunkiem jest śmierć,/ i to upajające ciebie piękno”. („It seems to me that I hear the voice of demiurge:/ Either silent rocks as on the first day of creation, / or life, whose condition is death,/ and this beauty engulfing you”).

7

Literát Antonio Fogazzaro (1842–1911) a biskup Geremia Bonomelli (1831–1914) – průkopníci katolické recepce evolučního vzniku člověka

75%

Pospíšil C. V.

Studia theologica

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2018

|

tom 3

145-167

EN

In this paper, the author discusses Darwinism and evolutionism in an Italian context. It also presents two personages of Catholic thinking in Italy in the 1890s who were open to the idea of the evolutionary origin of man. Antonio Fogazzaro (1842–1911), a Catholic writer, anticipated in his vision what can later be found in the work of P. Teilhard de Chardin. Bishop Geremia Bonomelli (1831–1914) accepted the thesis of the American pioneer of the Catholic concept of the evolutionary origin of man, John Augustine Zahm. It is of interest that none of the above mentioned authors mentions Raffaello Caverni, who spoke in the same spirit as early as 1877. G. Mivart, an English pioneer in the Catholic reception of the evolutionary origin of man, is also not recalled. Fogazzaro does point out, however, the heritage of Antonio Rosmini, who anticipated in some way the possibility of the evolutionary origin of man in the first half of the nineteenth century. Although Fogazzaro and Bonomelli did not have any influence on the Czech theological scene at the turn of the twentieth century, the literary works of Fogazzaro were widely translated into Czech.

8

Classical Metaphysics and Theistic Evolution: Why Are They Incompatible?

75%

Chaberek M.

Studia Gilsoniana

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2019

|

tom 8

|

nr 1

47-81

EN

This paper explores the arguments against the compatibility of classical metaphysics (Aristotelian-Thomistic) and theistic evolution. It begins with presenting the line of division between theists and atheistic evolutionists regarding the origin of the universe. Next, it moves to definitions of the terms evolution and species. The core of the paper consists of the five reasons why theistic evolution is excluded by Thomistic metaphysics. Among these are the problem of sufficient cause, accidental changes generating substantial changes, the reduction of causality in theistic evolution and the problem of the order in the universe. This is followed by a presentation of the positive teaching of Aquinas on the origin of species. Finally, the article responds to the three common arguments put forward by theistic evolutionists who seek to either accommodate or dismiss classical metaphysics.

9

Erich Wasmann a jeho přínos k teorii evoluce

75%

Krumpolc E.

Studia theologica

|

2017

|

tom 1

45-59

EN

The aim of this paper is to examine the life and work of the Austrian priest, Jesuit and biologist Erich Wasmann (1859–1931) and specifically his contribution to a deeper understanding of the theory of evolution and its reception by Catholic theology. The biography of the person of Erich Wasmann is presented first, followed by his work, biological research, concept of evolution, the possibility of its application to man, its philosophical and sociological consequences and the controversies between Erich Wasmann and Ernst Haeckel, a protagonist of monism and materialism, are described. In conclusion it is argued that Wasmann was a resolute supporter of biological evolution, and also open to the possibility of its extension to man, as far as it concerns the evolution of the human body, if this would be confirmed by paleontological findings. He emphasized, however, the essential differences between man and animals in the mental and spiritual region that could not be spanned by evolution, but which would require a certain ontological leap, as it has been recognised by contemporary theological anthropology.

10

Víra a přírodní vědy (1850–1950): Časopis Národního muzea, Museum – list bohoslovců českomoravských, další doplňky a upřesnění

75%

Pospíšil C. V.

Studia theologica

|

2014

|

tom 4

139-167

EN

In this paper the author presents publications which are significant for revealing the attitudes of Czech Catholic theologians to the challenges of the natural sciences in the period 1850–1950, published in the periodicals Časopis Národního musea and Museum bohoslovců českomoravských. He subsequently evaluates in detail the so-called Braun thesis introduced by an important exponent of evolutional thinking in Bohemia of the second half of the 19th century J. L. Čelakovský and points out to the risk of an inclination to pantheism connected with it. Finally, the not‑contradictoriness between the definition of man as “an animal capable of sin” on the one hand and the Christological principle of Jesus’ impossibility to sin on the other is clarified. Through all these steps the previously edited monograph: C. V. Pospíšil, Zápolení o naději a lidskou důstojnost. Česká katolická teologie 1850‑1950 a výzvy přírodních věd v širším světovém kontextu, Olomouc: University of Olomouc Press, 2014, is renewed. The results of further research do not result in any changes to the conclusions reached by the author in the above mentioned book, nevertheless the collection of found publications is enriched and certain appraisals of thought are specificied in further detail.

11

Totalitarianisms as systems of lawlessness (Miłosz’s remarks)

75%

Kaźmierczyk Z.

Acta Universitatis Lodziensis. Folia Litteraria Polonica

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2017

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tom 45

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nr 7

113-138

EN

The article accounts for the gnostic individualism in Miłosz’s records. It shows that its essence is not freedom, but self-will. It argues that its premises are existential. Among them we can find the fundamental data of existence: the passage of time, death, growing old of the body, the decomposition of matter, experiencing biological drives as violence and the laws of nature and history as necessity. If existence is experienced that way it bears self-will. The author argues that Miłosz fell into a crisis of gnostic self-will as he realized it leads to the inner split between the evil world and the ideal super-world. He was also aware that this duality implies the aversion to the earthly life and nihilism. The author shows that the experience of self-will served as a tool in the Nobel laureate’s writings to study totalitarianisms. From this perspective Nazism seems to be the self-will inspired by Darwinism, while Communism – the quintessence of Enlightenment idealism. As a result of the deviation of freedom the Nazi Germany and the Bolshevik Russia became the mine of genocide.

12

Katolický evolucionista St. George J. Mivart o původu lidského těla a duše

75%

Opatrný D.

Studia theologica

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2017

|

tom 1

127-141

EN

St. George Jackson Mivart (1827–1900) dedicated a great deal of his life to the struggle to prove that the theory of evolution and the Catholic faith are not mutually exclusive. Especially important is his idea that God created the human soul of the first person directly, but infused it into the human body created through secondary causes (i.e. evolution). The aim of this article is to demonstrate how this thesis is connected to the whole of Mivart’s ontology.

13

A więc sądzisz, że jesteś darwinistą?

63%

Stove D.

Filozoficzne Aspekty Genezy

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2009/2010

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tom 6-7

77-90

PL

Myślę, że w dzisiejszych czasach większość ludzi wykształconych uważa się za darwinistów. Jeśli tak jest w istocie, dzieje się to za sprawą niedostatecznej wiedzy na temat darwinizmu i tego, o czym on mówi. Mówi on bowiem o wielu rzeczach, które zwłaszcza w odniesieniu do naszego gatunku są w sposób zbyt oczywisty fałszywe, aby ktoś wykształcony, a przynajmniej posiadający zdolność krytycznego myślenia, mógł w nie uwierzyć. Obecnie większość ludzi wykształconych to, oczywiście, darwiniści w tym sensie, że wierzą oni, iż nasz gatunek powstał wskutek ewolucji zwierząt, a nie został powołany do życia aktem boskiej woli. Ale sama akceptacja tego przekonania to za mało, żeby uznać kogoś naprawdę za darwinistę. Z historii biologii wiemy, że wielu przyjmowało ten pogląd na długo przed narodzinami Darwina i powstaniem samego darwinizmu. Aby uznać kogoś za zwolennika danej szkoły myślenia, konieczna jest z jego strony wiara we wszystkie, bądź prawie wszystkie, twierdzenia właściwe dla tejże szkoły i wyznawane przez wszystkich lub przynajmniej najskrajniejszych jej zwolenników. W każdej dużej szkole myślenia znajdzie się mniejszość, przywiązująca szczególną wagę do najbardziej charakterystycznych dla niej twierdzeń. Ludzi z tego kręgu nazywa się „purystami” bądź „ultrasami”. Dla uczynienia kogoś darwinistą konieczna i wystarczająca jest wiara we wszystkie, bądź prawie wszystkie, twierdzenia właściwe darwinistom i przez nich, a przynajmniej przez ultradarwinistów, uznawane. Podaję dziesięć twierdzeń, które są przekonaniami darwinowskimi w sensie, jaki przed chwilą wyszczególniłem. Każde z nich jest bez wątpienia fałszywe: albo bezpośrednio fałszywe, jeśli mówi o naszym gatunku, albo jeśli ma ogólny charakter, jest wyraźnie fałszywe w odniesieniu do naszego gatunku.

EN

Most educated people nowadays, I believe, think of themselves as Darwinians. If they do, however, it can only be from ignorance: from not knowing enough about what Darwinism says. For Darwinism says many things, especially about our species, which are too obviously false to be believed by any educated person; or at least by an educated person who retains any capacity at all for critical thought on the subject of Darwinism. Of course most educated people now are Darwinians, in the sense that they believe our species to have originated, not in a creative act of the Divine Will, but by evolution from other animals. But believing that proposition is not enough to make someone a Darwinian. It had been believed, as may be learnt from any history of biology, by very many people long before Darwinism, or Darwin, was born. What is needed to make someone an adherent of a certain school of thought is belief in all or most of the propositions which are peculiar to that school, and are believed either by all of its adherents, or at least by the more thoroughgoing ones. In any large school of thought, there is always a minority who adhere more exclusively than most to the characteristic beliefs of the school: they are the "purists" or "ultras" of that school. What is needed and sufficient, then, to make a person a Darwinian, is belief in all or most of the propositions which are peculiar to Darwinians, and believed either by all of them, or at least by ultra-Darwinians. I give ten propositions which are all Darwinian beliefs in the sense just specified. Each of them is obviously false: either a direct falsity about our species or, where the proposition is a general one, obviously false in the case of our species, at least.

14

Filozoficzne konsekwencje przyjęcia paradygmatu ewolucyjnego w badaniach nad umysłem

63%

Stępnik A.

Studia Philosophiae Christianae

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2012

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tom 48

|

nr 1

105-127

EN

The aim of the article is to consider the philosophical consequences of the evolutionary paradigm in mind examination and to examine some methodological problems connected with evolutionary explanations. The article consists of four parts. The theory of evolution and contemporary controversies related to it are outlined in the first part. The second concerns the evolutionary paradigm applied to mind examination, especially from the methodological perspective. The third is entirely dedicated to an analysis of the philosophical consequences of the evolutionary paradigm, and the last is a summary. The result is the recognition of the evolutionary paradigm as an interesting perspective, which doesn’t demand far-reaching ontological assumptions, which allows for the rejection of some views concerning the mind-body problem. But the evolutionary paradigm cannot be the only universal paradigm, and some of the evolutionary explanations are nothing more than hypotheses or speculations.

PL

Celem artykułu jest rozważenie filozoficznych konsekwencji, jakie niesie za sobą przyjęcie paradygmatu ewolucyjnego w badaniach nad umysłem, a także zbadanie metodologicznych trudności związanych z generowaniem wyjaśnień ewolucyjnych. Artykuł składa się z czterech części. W pierwszej zarysowana zostaje teoria ewolucji i współczesne kontrowersje wokół niej, w szczególności wokół jej statusu. W drugiej omawia się paradygmat ewolucyjny w badaniach nad umysłem, a także pewne aspekty metodologiczne z nim związane. Trzecia poświęcona jest analizie filozoficznych konsekwencji przyjęcia paradygmatu ewolucyjnego, a czwarta stanowi próbę oceny jego głównych wad i zalet, z odniesieniem do przyszłości badań nad umysłem i dociekań z zakresu filozofii umysłu. Rezultatem jest stwierdzenie, że paradygmat ewolucyjny stanowi interesującą perspektywę badawczą, nie nakładającą zbytnich zobowiązań ontologicznych i pozwalającą na odrzucenie niektórych stanowisk odnoszących się do problemu psychofizycznego. Jednakże ze względu na trudności metodologiczne nie może być to paradygmat jedyny i uniwersalny, a do wielu wyjaśnień ewolucyjnych należy podchodzić z odpowiednią rezerwą.

15

W poszukiwaniu socjologicznej „genetyki” religii

63%

Kaczmarek K.

Przegląd Socjologiczny

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2013

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tom 62

|

nr 4

95 - 113

PL

Neodarwinowska genetyka populacyjna, interpretująca ewolucję w kategoriach dziedziczności, modyfikacji i selekcji informacji zainspirowała szereg prób selekcjonistycznego ujęcia zmiany socjokulturowej. Autor artykułu argumentuje, iż źródłem ich niepowodzeń są uproszczenia tkwiące już w ujęciu przez genetykę populacyjną genu w wysoce abstrakcyjny, oderwany od kontekstu sposób. Kluczem do przezwyciężenia tej słabości jest uwzględnienie drugiego poziomu izomorfizmów zachodzących właśnie na poziomie kontekstu (genotypu, organizmu i gatunku). Pozwala to precyzyjnie określić ewolucyjną rolę kulturowej mutacji, rekombinacji i dryfu, co autor demonstruje na przykładzie religii. Z tej perspektywy organizacje eklezjastyczne stanowią izomorficzny z gatunkiem instrument ochrony zharmonizowanych systemów idei religijnych. Posiadają też jednak izomorficzne z organizmami właściwości umożliwiające znaczną redukcję wpływu mutacji, transdukcji i dryfu na system religijny.

EN

The Neo-Darwinian population genetics, interpreting the evolution in terms of heredity, modification and selection of information, inspired a number of attempts to formulate the sociocultural change in selectionist way. The author argues that the key source of their failures, is oversimplification in highly abstract and context-ignoring concept of a gene used by population genetics. To overcome this weakness one should include a second level isomorphisms, that occurs at the level of context (genotype, organism and species). This enables to define more precisely the role of mutation, recombination and drift in cultural evolution, as the author demonstrates an example of religion. From this perspective, ecclesiastical organizations are tools for the protection of a harmonized systems of religious ideas, which are isomorphic to the species. They have also, however, properties isomorphic to organisms that enable a significant reduction of the impact of mutations, transductions and drift on religious system.

16

Johann Baptist Göttsberger (1868–1958), svědek zásadních proměn postoje katolické teologie k teorii evolučního vzniku člověka

63%

Pospíšil C. V.

Studia theologica

|

2017

|

tom 3

61-75

EN

This paper is part of a larger scholar project focused on Catholic theologians and scientists between 1871 and 1910 who accepted the evolutionary origin of the human body in accordance with so-called Mivart’s theory, or rejected it. The author presents the life and work of an important German Biblical scholar Johann Baptist Göttsberger (1868–1958), focusing mainly on his 1910 book Adam und Eva. Göttsberger describes the contemporary scene very well providing information about an entire range of authors who showed a great openness to the evolutionary origin of man. Surprisingly we encounter here for the first time authors who hypothesised the possibility of also applying the evolutionary model to creation – the origin of the human spirit, what is also true in some sense about Göttsberger himself. It turns out that at least in German Catholic theology, the year 1910 is a turning point, because after this date authors showing an openness to the evolutionary theory of the origin of man cannot be considered pioneers. These authors formed a numerous and still growing group.

17

Michał Jakub Wagner, „Interpretacje rozwoju biologii ewolucyjnej na przełomie XIX i XX wieku”, Liber Libri, Warszawa 2020, ss. 332 (rec.)

63%

Świeżyński A.

Studia Philosophiae Christianae

|

2021

|

tom 57

|

nr 2

169-182

EN

The author of this publication undertook the task of analyzing the interpretations of the “eclipse of Darwinism” proposed so far in order to determine to what extent they correspond to reality. Having made his findings in this regard, he concluded that none of them adequately accounted for the collapse that struck Darwin’s theory during that period. Therefore, he decided to propose his own interpretation of the “eclipse of Darwinism,” he refers mainly to philosophical determinants of the Darwinian theory of evolution. --------------- Received: 04/08/2021. Reviewed: 19/08/2021. Accepted: 06/09/2021.

PL

Autor omawianej publikacji podjął się zadania przeanalizowania zaproponowanych dotąd interpretacji „zaćmienia darwinizmu”, chcąc ustalić, w jakim stopniu odpowiadają one rzeczywistości. Po dokonaniu ustaleń w tym zakresie doszedł do wniosku, że żadna z nich nie wyjaśnia w sposób adekwatny załamania się, jakie dotknęło teorię Darwina we wspomnianym okresie. Dlatego postanowił zaproponować własną interpretację „zaćmienia darwinizmu”, w której odwołuje się przede wszystkim do filozoficznych uwarunkowań darwinowskiej teorii ewolucji. --------------- Zgłoszono: 04/08/2021. Zrecenzowano: 19/08/2021. Zaakceptowano do publikacji: 06/09/2021.

18

Konstantin Hasert (1851–1923), průkopník katolické recepce evolučního vzniku lidského těla

63%

Pospíšil C. V.

Studia theologica

|

2016

|

tom 4

47-61

EN

This paper is part of an academic project focused on Catholic theologians and scholars who either adopted the origin of the human body according to Mivart’s thesis in 1871–1910 or declined it. The author presents the forgotten Austrian apologist K. Hasert (1851–1923) and reconstructs elementary data about his biography on the basis of research into certain sources. The analysis of two monographs by the author demonstrates the openness to Mivart’s thesis with, however, certain reservations. It is rare evidence of the fact that the Catholic world was not divided predominantly between extreme advocates and opponents of Mivart’s thesis. It is probable that many were attracted by Mivart’s thesis, though they were also aware of its problems and waited for more solid data from contemporary palaeography.

19

Do Species Want to Evolve?

63%

Turner J. S.

Filozoficzne Aspekty Genezy

|

2022

|

tom 19

|

nr 2

EN

Darwinism, in all its various forms, seeks to explain evolution without the intervention of intelligence, purposefulness or in tentionality: in short, via the abolition of purpose. Yet life is arguably a profoundly purposeful phenomenon, most evident in the phenomenon of adaptation. Modern Darwinism fails because it has no coherent theory of adaptation, and hence no coherent theory of life. Without this, it cannot claim to be a coherent theory of evolution. Here, I argue that a coherent theory of evolution will arrive when the inherent purposefulness of life can be reincorporated into our evolutionary thinking. Life's fundamental property of homeostasis, coupled with the expanding conception of hereditary memory emerging from epigenetics and niche construction theory, can credibly restore purpose to our thinking about evolution. The evolution of lineages will no longer then be under the control of natural selection, but rather imbued with striving and intentionality: with “wanting” to evolve.

20

Gilson, Darwin, and Intelligent Design

63%

FitzGerald D. J.

Studia Gilsoniana

|

2015

|

tom 4

|

nr 4

349-361

EN

The article starts with stating the fact that today there is an increasing recognition of difficulties with Darwinism accompanied by vigorous responses on the part of Darwin’s defenders; among the instances of challenge to the dominant theory, one can find a book of Gilson, From Aristotle to Darwin and Back Again, and those behind the Intelligent Design movement. In relating the book of Gilson to the ID proponents, the author concludes that, while in some ways they are on the same side in opposing the anti-creation thrust of Darwinism, Gilson is neutral on the validity or truth of Darwin’s biological hypothesis. Gilson, however, whose book preceded the ID movement by some twenty years, seeks to analyze Darwinism from the perspective of the classical philosophy of nature. He well understands that, according to modern scientific method, final causes are excluded from consideration, but he calls for a biophilosophy which will be open to the reality of human experience as Aristotle was and recognize that teleology is present in nature. According to him, even if teleology seems to be a contestable explanation, chance as understood by Darwinists is the pure absence of explanation.