Darwinism and the Divine – Evolutionary Thought and Natural Theology

List of Figures x
<p>Preface xii</p>
<p>Acknowledgments xv</p>
<p>Introduction 1</p>
<p>Part I Conceptual Clarifications: On the meaning of terms 9</p>
<p>1 Natural Theology: A Deeper Structure to the Natural World 11</p>
<p>Natural Theology in the Classical Tradition 13</p>
<p>The Conceptual Fluidity of Natural Theology 15</p>
<p>The Eternal Return of Natural Theology 18</p>
<p>2 Darwinism: A Narrative of Evolution 27</p>
<p>Darwinism: A Defensible Term? 28</p>
<p>Darwinism as an Ideology 32</p>
<p>The Metaphysical Inflation of Evolutionary Thought 36</p>
<p>Conclusion to Part I 40</p>
<p>Part II Historical Exposition: Darwin and the English natural theology tradition 47</p>
<p>3 English Natural Theology of the Augustan Age, 1690 1745 49</p>
<p>The Emergence of English Natural Theology 50</p>
<p>Newtonian Physics and Natural Theology 53</p>
<p>The Protestant Assumptions of English Natural Theology 56</p>
<p>A Foundation for Consensus: The Doctrine of Creation 61</p>
<p>Physico–theology: The Appeal to Contrivance 63</p>
<p>Natural Theology and the Beauty of Nature 72</p>
<p>The Problem of Development within Nature 74</p>
<p>Assessing Evidence: Changing Public Perceptions 75</p>
<p>4 A Popular Classic: William Paley s Natural Theology (1802) 85</p>
<p>Introducing Paley′s Natural Theology 85</p>
<p>Paley′s Source: Bernard Nieuwentyt′s Religious Philosopher (1718) 88</p>
<p>The Watch Analogy: The Concept of Contrivance 91</p>
<p>Paley on Intermediary Causes within Nature 97</p>
<p>The Vulnerability of Paley′s Approach 99</p>
<p>5 Beyond Paley: Shifts in English Natural Theology, 1802 52 108</p>
<p>The Impact of Geology upon Paley′s Natural Theology 110</p>
<p>Henry Brougham: A Natural Theology of the Mind 112</p>
<p>Evidence, Testimony, and Proof: A Shifting Context 115</p>
<p>A New Approach: The Bridgewater Treatises 119</p>
<p>John Henry Newman: The Theological Deficiencies of Paley 127</p>
<p>Robert Browning s "Caliban Upon Setebos": A Literary Critique of Paley 130</p>
<p>English Natural Theology on the Eve of the Darwinian Revolution 133</p>
<p>6 Charles Darwin, Natural Selection, and Natural Theology 143</p>
<p>The Development of Darwin′s Views on Natural Selection 146</p>
<p>Problems, Prediction, and Proof: The Challenge of Natural Selection 150</p>
<p>Natural Selection and Natural Theology: An Assessment of Darwin s Impact 155</p>
<p>Conclusion to Part II 171</p>
<p>Part III Contemporary Discussion: Darwinism and natural theology 183</p>
<p>7 A Wider Teleology: Design, Evolution, and Natural Theology 185</p>
<p>Directionality within the Natural World 187</p>
<p>Teleology: Introducing an Idea 188</p>
<p>Chance, Contingency, and Evolutionary Goals 191</p>
<p>The Wider Teleology of Evolution 194</p>
<p>The Inference of Design and Natural Theology 197</p>
<p>Suffering, Evolution, and Natural Theology 202</p>
<p>8 The Concept of Creation: Reflections and Reconsiderations 217</p>
<p>The Seventeenth Century: The Regnant Theology of Creation 218</p>
<p>Creation as Event and Process: Augustine of Hippo 222</p>
<p>Evolution and an Emergent Creation 230</p>
<p>God′s Action within the Evolutionary Process 233</p>
<p>9 Universal Darwinism: Natural Theology as an Evolutionary Outcome? 247</p>
<p>The Darwinian Paradigm and Cultural Development 249</p>
<p>The God–Meme: Natural Theology and Cultural Replicators 254</p>
<p>Religion: Evolutionary Adaptation or Spandrel? 262</p>
<p>Natural Theology and Evolutionary Theories of the Origins of Religion 265</p>
<p>Conclusion to Part III 267</p>
<p>Part IV Conclusion 277</p>
<p>10 The Prospects for Natural Theology 279</p>
<p>Natural Theology and the Human Evolutionary Past 281</p>
<p>Natural Theology, Observational Traction, and the Best Explanation 283</p>
<p>A Community of Discernment: The Church and Natural Theology 285</p>
<p>In Quest of Meaning 288</p>
<p>Index 294</p>