Thomas Henry Huxley

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Running athletes - Focus at the running tracks

Charles Darwin vs. Richard Owen on Race

On this episode of ID the Future, Mike Keas interviews science historian and bioethicist Michael Flannery about his recent article on Charles Darwin and archrival Richard Owen. Owen was an evolutionist, too, but of a different stripe. Unlike Darwin, he believed that evolution was guided by teleology or purpose, and he saw humans as different from animals not only in degree but in kind. This led him to reject Darwin’s conclusion of a “hierarchy of races,” as well as Darwin’s expectation that the supposedly “less fit” races of humankind ultimately would be exterminated by the so-called “superior” white race. Most Darwinists today aren’t racist, but Darwinism did grease the skids into a dubious scientific racism that became widespread, encouraging racist Read More ›

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Nancy Pearcey on the Politics of Darwinism, Then and Now

On this episode of ID the Future, Nancy Pearcey, professor and scholar in residence at Houston Baptist University, tells more of the political history of Darwinism, and how the same troubling issues persist today.

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Photo by Alex Block on Unsplash

Nancy Pearcey Explains the Surprising Early History of Darwinism

On this episode of ID the Future, Nancy Pearcey, author of numerous books, including Love Thy Body: Answering Hard Questions about Life and Sexuality, challenges the common belief that Darwin’s leading early supporters were convinced of the main pillars of his theory.

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Pearcey on Darwin and Huxley: Philosophy, Not Evidence, Drove Them to Their Conclusions

On this episode of ID the Future, Nancy Pearcey returns to explain what historians know, but few of the rest of us do: If anything, Charles Darwin’s science grew out of his naturalistic philosophy, not the other way around. One historian said Darwin’s naturalism came first, and “only later did he find a theory to validate his convictions.” Read More ›