Celebrations have been planned.
Today marks the 198th birthday of Charles Robert Darwin (February 12, 1809 - April 19, 1882), perhaps the ultimate FreeThoughtAction hero.
According to Wikipedia, Darwin "was an eminent English naturalist who achieved lasting fame by convincing the scientific community that species develop over time from a common origin. His theories explaining this phenomenon through natural and sexual selection are central to the modern understanding of evolution as the unifying theory of the life sciences, essential in biology and important in other disciplines such as anthropology, psychology and philosophy."
Darwin's 1859 publication of On the Origin of Species and his 1871 The Descent of Man not only unified the life sciences, it revolutionized human thought, overturning the argument from design (or teleological argument), that had prevailed for thousands of years.
Once every aspect of the argument from design could be explained by natural selection, there was no longer any need to look to supernaturalism and essentialism for answers.
Darwin also explained how altruistic ethical systems could evolve through natural selection, providing a scientific foundation for ethics that didn't require divine guidance, punishment, or reward.
Overall, his influence on humanity spread into many areas and fields. It is all too much to cover in one post like this, but it is probably impossible to overstate his impact.
While Darwin's theories have been refined over time, and questions remain regarding some unresolved points, the basic "theory" has been well confirmed as valid, and is backed-up and supported by the current research into genetics. Most (if not all) serious, educated people treat the theory of evolution as fact.
Nevertheless, arguments from ignorance continue to be waged against it by religious fundamentalists, who see these ideas as a direct challenge to literal interpretations of divine origins in their religious texts. They also have a problem with the whole idea of common descent (which runs counter to their religious conceit of being fashioned in the image of the divine) and the idea that they can be good without God. They have resorted to spreading misinformation and false propaganda about the theory of evolution, as well as intimidating school boards, teachers, and legislators to sow the seeds of doubt about the validity of the theory in the minds of the general public. Their attempts have met with mixed results, but the battle has been joined and some of us are drawing a line in the sand....
Speaking of which...
Richard Dawkins will be appearing tonight at 8pm EST with Paula Zahn on CNN.
Also worth mentioning is this about Evolution Sunday, where "Flocks of the Christian faithful in the US [held] special services celebrating Charles Darwin's theory of evolution."
Today also marks the 198th birthday of freethinker Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 - April 15, 1865), who was born on the same day and year as Darwin.
Finally, today also marks the anniversary of the deaths of two other notable freethinkers.
Ethan Allen (January 21, 1738 - February 12, 1789)
Charles Monroe Schulz (November 26, 1922 - February 12, 2000)
