This book challenges the widespread assumption of the incompatibility of evolution and the biological design argument. Kojonen analyzes the traditional arguments for incompatibility, and argues for salvaging the idea of design in a way that is fully compatible with evolutionary biology. Relating current views to their intellectual history, Kojonen steers a course that avoids common pitfalls such as the problems of the God of the gaps, the problem of natural evil, and the traditional Humean and Darwinian critiques. The resulting deconstruction of the opposition between evolution and design has the potential to transform this important debate.

Challenges the common assumption of the incompatibility of evolution and the biological design argument Examines the traditional arguments in favor of viewing design and evolution as incompatible Steers a course that avoids common pitfalls such as the problems of the God of the gaps, the problem of natural evil, and the traditional Humean and Darwinian critiques

Autorentext

E.V.R. Kojonen is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Helsinki, Finland. He is also the author of The Intelligent Design Debate and the Temptation of Scientism (2016).

Inhalt

Chapter 1. Introduction: Paley's Cosmic Temple and the Darwinian Critique.- Chapter 2. Reclaiming the Biological Design Argument: A Preposterous and Dangerous Idea?.- Chapter 3. From Teleological Arguments to Thought Experiments.- Chapter 4. Not by Selection Alone: Evolutionary Explanations and Their Requirements.- Chapter 5. Indirect Design and the Revelatory Potential of Biology.- Chapter 6. Conclusion: From Teleology to Theology, and Back Again.