Charles Darwin Was Born On February 12, 1809

Charles Darwin:

Charles Robert Darwin, February 12, 1809 – April, 19 1882) was an English naturalist and geologist, best known for his contributions to evolutionary theory. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestors, and in a joint publication with Alfred Russel Wallace introduced his scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection, in which the struggle for existence has a similar effect to the artificial selection involved in selective breeding.

Darwin published his theory of evolution with compelling evidence in his 1859 book On the Origin of Species, overcoming scientific rejection of earlier concepts of transmutation of species. By the 1870s, the scientific community and much of the general public had accepted evolution as a fact. However, many favoured competing explanations and it was not until the emergence of the modern evolutionary synthesis from the 1930s to the 1950s that a broad consensus developed in which natural selection was the basic mechanism of evolution. In modified form, Darwin's scientific discovery is the unifying theory of the life sciences, explaining the diversity of life.

Charles Darwin

Letter in which Charles Darwin admits to being an atheist sells for £125,000:

A private letter in which Charles Darwin admits to being an atheist has sold for £125,000.

Charles Darwin is best known for groundbreaking work On The Origin of Species, which set out his theories on evolution and natural selection.

Unsurprisingly, due to the nature of these theories, the British naturalist was dogged by rumous and speculation as to his religious beliefs – of lack of them – however he always shied away from confirming his feelings either way.

Which is why the letter, which has just sold for an astonishing £125,000 at auction in New York, is so fascinating.

In it Darwin unequivocally states that he is an atheist, writing: ‘Dear Sir, I am sorry to have to inform you that I do not believe in the Bible as a divine revelation and therefore not in Jesus Christ as the son of God. Yours faithfully Ch. Darwin.’

Quote Of Note - Charles Darwin

"If the misery of the poor be caused not by the laws of nature, but by our institutions, great is our sin." - Charles Darwin

Abe And Charlie

Happy 200th birthday to Abraham Lincoln and to Charles Darwin.

“…government of the people, by the people, for the people…” Abraham Lincoln

“Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge…” Charles Darwin

Charles Darwin And Adam Smith

From The Natural Order Of Things by Matt Ridley:

Today, generally, Adam Smith is claimed by the Right, Darwin by the Left. In the American South and Midwest, where Smith’s individualist, libertarian, small-government philosophy is all the rage, Darwin is reviled for his contradiction of creation. Yet if the market needs no central planner, why should life need an intelligent designer?

Dirigisme has a place, of course, in the regulation and operation if not the design of institutions. A school cannot work without a teacher, a firm without a manager, or an army without a general — just as a body is directed by a brain in its everyday operations. But hubristic human beings tend to exaggerate the degree to which they are in charge of, rather than at the mercy of, organizations.

Dirigisme? I had to look it up. It means “economic planning and control by the state.”

If ever there was an argument against No Child Left Behind this seems to be it. No Child Left Behind puts the concept of learning into a tiny box and excludes multitudes of influences that could have an effect on how and what someone learns.

Apologies

In the 17th century the Catholic Church didn’t much like Galileo Galilei. It took until 1992 for the Catholic Church to acknowledge that the Earth was not stationary and express regret for how the Galileo affair was handled.

Charles Darwin died in 1882. Creationists still hate him today. Thanks to The Rev. Malcolm Brown perhaps there is some hope that more will see the light of truth and science.

From Cleric: Church owes Darwin an apology:

The Church of England owes Charles Darwin an apology for its hostile 19th-century reaction to the naturalist's theory of evolution, a cleric wrote on an Anglican Web site launched Monday.

The Rev. Malcolm Brown, who heads the church's public affairs department, issued the statement to mark Darwin's bicentenary and the 150th anniversary of the seminal work "On the Origin of Species," both of which fall next year.

Brown said the Church of England should say it is sorry for misunderstanding him at the time he released his findings and, "by getting our first reaction wrong, encouraging others to misunderstand (Darwin) still."

The Church of England said Brown's statement reflected its position on Darwin but did not constitute an official apology.

The church's stance sets it apart from fundamentalist Christians, who believe evolutionary theory is incompatible with the biblical story of the Earth's creation.

Read the rest here.

It is 2008. Nearly all religious people seem to hate Richard Dawkins. Perhaps one day in the future, apologies will appear in the news from all the major religious leaders saying that Dawkins was right all along, and maybe they had gotten that God thing wrong.