What Darwin day means

Of all 19th-century natural philosophers, Charles Darwin alone continues to inspire as much public controversy as scientific progress. Even as some of us choose to celebrate his work Thursday, on his 200th birthday, many will remain unaware that such a celebration is even occurring.

According to Gallup polls from 2007 and 2008, 46 percent of Americans believe that a god created humans in their present form, and 39 percent believe that this event happened within the last 10,000 years. America stands in stark contrast with other post-industrial nations such as the United Kingdom, where Darwin’s portrait appears on 10-pound notes.

Why does his theory of natural selection remain so controversial? Having followed the debate for a decade, I’ve come to see that the core issue is a clash between naturalistic and supernaturalistic modes of thought.

Outside departments of theology, supernaturalism is nearly always a mediation between personal experience and tradition. Wherever supernaturalism is not simply a display, its driving engine is the emotion evoked by conversion experiences, synchronous events surrounding rituals such as prayer, and the association of the supernatural with community history and values. So strong is the connection that many religious people imagine nontheistic life as one of little meaning or morality despite all evidence to the contrary.

Tradition determines the interpretation of experience, and the cause of supernaturalistic practices, such as faith healing, is always identified in terms of the local culture.

At the foundation of naturalism lies a healthy skepticism toward the reliability of experience and tradition. Science, the primary product of naturalism, requires that one surrender final judgment to present and future communities. Like the fractional progress of Achilles in Zeno’s Paradox, naturalism is the history of people continuously being marginally more right than their predecessors without any assurance that they have reached the end of the race.

One could argue that naturalism is doubt. This idea is sometimes seen as a fault by supernaturalists, but it is the success of naturalism in the face of doubt that propels it forward. Doubt is a key component of the mind set that allows scientists working in different times and places to confirm or reject the same hypotheses, as Darwin himself rejected opposing views on the mechanism of evolution.

When I was asked to write a piece for Darwin Day, I expected that the result would be a summary of evolutionary research as exemplified in Jerry Coyne’s “Why Evolution Is True”’ but I realized that one cannot accept the research without a proper understanding of what science is, how it works and how mere theories can be reliable.

Darwin Day matters not because evolution is widely accepted by biologists, but because of why it is accepted. Darwin Day isn’t the celebration of one man and his work; it is a celebration of how humble, self-doubting naturalism can explain our world and our place in it.

It is possible to accept both evolution and the supernatural, as at least 24 percent of Americans do. Unlike Christopher Hitchens, I do not mean to suggest that “religion poisons everything,” but when experience and tradition are your foundation, you find yourself in a position where contrary evidence can ultimately bear no argumentative weight.

When theists are asked what evidence would persuade them that their beliefs are wrong, many deny such evidence is even possible because their faith is so strong. If nontheistic naturalism is to contribute meaningfully to an exchange of ideas, it is not the facts uncovered by science that matter, but the reasons those facts are accepted. If believers truly wish to have both, they must be willing to surrender themselves to doubt and to radically change their beliefs as evidence demands. This, I believe, is the reason Darwin remains controversial.

Various departments and the Secular Alliance of IU are holding lectures and other events on evolution and creationism this week. If you are at all interested in joining the discussion, I recommend that you visit saiu.org for a list of events.