Upon first diving into Summer for the Gods, I couldn’t help be continue to draw parallels between the Scopes Trial and Galileo’s trial. This ‘Religion v. Science’ debate seems to span the ages and yet we as humans never seem to learn…
In 1633, Galileo Galilee was put on trial for his support in a heliocentric universe. At the time, this went against the Roman Catholic teaching of a Geocentric universe and thus earned him a one way ticket to center stage in a crucial time during the Scientific Revolution. Although a professed man of God, Galileo used science based evidence to support and present his new world view and even tried to show it PROVED his God did in fact exist. The Catholic Church saw it otherwise and ultimately this led to his condemnation. (If you’re at all interested in Scientific Revolution specifically pertaining to Galileo, I highly recommend Galileo’s Telescope: A European Story by Massimo Buccianti as well as Galileo’s Daughter by Dava Sobel and The Copernican Revolution by Thomas Khun)
Although we are just diving into this trial, I’d venture to say Darwin (like Galileo and countless academics before him) was simply presenting the world with a new scientifically based view about a topic that just so happened to be built on the core foundations of the then currently accepted religious beliefs. The intent was never to point fingers and say ‘You church believers have it wrong’. Unfortunately, this is how it was interpreted and thus continuing the seemingly never ending battle between science and religion.
Hi Sarah!
ReplyDeleteReligion got its innings first, so science is always in the position of seeming to pick a fight or at least stage a comeback. But you're right, Galileo and Darwin were just doing their work and, finally, reporting it.
Any initial impressions of "Trials of the Monkey"?
DeleteHi Sarah,
ReplyDeleteInterestingly, Darwin's long-term goal when he returned from his voyage on the Beagle was to be a minister. He had already taken some of the necessary training. What he experienced on his voyage, the specimens he collected, the observations he made created a great internal conflict for him. His wife was deeply religious and as he reflected on his findings he realized that publishing them would cause her a great amount of stress. This was probably the main reason for his delay in publishing. There is even some thought that if Wallace had not sent him his thoughts on evolution to Darwin, that Darwin might never have publish them and society would be poorer as a result. I think many people today in America are similarly conflicted and that is what the PEW surveys reveal. Those who have been taught from an early age that human beings were a divine creation struggle with what they are taught about evolution and what they observe. This may be a little less true today than what it was in 1925, but not by much. Some of the great humorists like Mark Twain see that conflict and write about it in a sometimes amusing ways. Are we descended from a lower order of primates? Monkeys and apes say, "Don't blame us for your problems!"