A Modern Theory of Evolution

The Uniformatarian philosophy of Sir Charles Lyell in geology and Sir Charles Darwin in biological evolution gave upper-class of Victorian England a secularized version of Judeo-Christian tradition. As an intellectual thesis Darwinism was dead by the end of the 20th century. The most advanced speculation was occurring in Germany where modern biology was born. Darwinism survived because its political associations. In the form of Social Darwinism it had a natural affinity with the Nationalism in the 19th and 20th centuries. Darwinism then joined with Capitalism on one side of the Cold War dialectic versus Lamarckism and Marxism.

An all-star cast of modern biologists has deconstructed Darwinism until almost nothing remains. The intellectual revolution begun in subatomic and astrophysics is ready to be completed in biology. Standing in the way is Darwinism. When we put all the pieces together a stunning vision of evolution comes out of the fog virtually of its own accord. And we see why Darwinism is the rule that must be obeyed, why the academy, as Stephen J. Gould summed it up, is not capable of change at this time. Darwinism politely covers up what we care not to know about life. The question arises, does the value of a broader intelligence outweigh the limitations of a threadbare, but comfortable tradition?