Re: [asa] Evolution - A Biological Law, a Social-Cultural Assumption

> TE's have much to give in concession because they have intertwined their
> theologies with evolutionary biology so deeply that they find it hard to
> admit there is ANYTHING that does not evolve (cf. discussion on ASA list
> last year). In this situation, aside from safely positing that the Creator
> doesn't evolve, they are just as guilty as E.O. Wilson, D. Dennett, R.
> Dawkins, S. Blackmore, M. & S. Harris and S. Pinker of elevating evolution
> into a world-view that is beyond its theoretical province. The REAL problem
> is that TEs and ECs have (perhaps unwittingly) intertwined their theologies
> with social-cultural evolution as well.

This conflates multiple questions: A) do things evolve? [includes
issues of defining evolution] B) to what extent is biological
evolution a useful analogy or governed by mathematically similar
patterns in comparison with other types of "evolution"? C) in the case
of social-cultural evolution, to what extent are the patterns dictated
or influenced by biological evolution?

For example, I would say that societies, cultures, etc. do show
non-cyclic change over time and can legitimately be said to evolve.
Some aspects of social and cultural evolution are amenable to analyses
similar to those applied to biological evolution, though others are
not. Many aspects of social and cultural evolution are influenced to
some degree by biological evolution, but very little is determined by
it or adequately explainable, even at a physical level, solely by
biological considerations (the only examples immediately coming to
mind being the physical and physiological properties of humans, which
place fairly wide but relatively fixed constraints on our behavior).

Another example comes from literature. Analyzing different
manuscripts of an ancient document (such as the Bible) can make use of
techniques similar to those used to analyze evolutionary
relationships, perhaps even using the same computer programs. In both
cases, a single original has been transmitted in imperfect copies. we
can use those changes to reconstruct the pattern of relationships
between the available samples and to try to reconstruct the most
likely original. However, apart from that there is little connection
between biological evolution and manuscript copying.

-- 
Dr. David Campbell
425 Scientific Collections
University of Alabama
"I think of my happy condition, surrounded by acres of clams"
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