Monday 20 March 2006

Fewtril #79

I often get the feeling that many of those laymen who profess to be Darwinists have hardly the foggiest understanding of the theory of evolution through natural selection. It is as if the belief in it comes to them not through its scientific role in helping them to understand the natural world, but rather through its social role in helping them to appear no-nonsense and hard-headed at dinner parties.

3 comments:

The Pedant-General said...

"... but rather through its social role in helping them to appear no-nonsense and hard-headed at dinner parties."

which would, rather neatly, be a rather ironically natty example of Darwin's "survival of the fittest" if such a stance at said dinner party succeeds in getting the speaker laid...

Deogolwulf said...

Good point!

Anonymous said...

I'm not sure that having a hard head would necessarily lead to success!

And anyway, what chances for those of us who entertain severe doubts concerning much of the theory?