Darwin’s Shadow: Context and Reception in the Western World

Emerging from a particular European context, Darwin’s ideas have influenced all parts of the world. Two hundred years after his birth, Darwin  continues to cast a long shadow over fundamental beliefs and concepts of a large number of people. Many religious scholars have devised ways to accommodate Darwinism into their religious beliefs. These include religious scholars of all three monotheistic religions, for whom the notion of God is a central tenet, even though Darwinism appears to render superfluous the very notion of a Creator as conceived in this tradition.
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Supported by famous scientists, a multi-million dollar Darwin industry has emerged in the wake of Darwin’s 1859 influential book, On the Origin of Species. Not only modern biology, founded on Darwinian and neo-Darwinian theories, but also several other disciplines—such as anthropology, sociology, anatomy, geology, and history—have been affected by Darwinism.

This is the first of a three-part article on Darwin, natural selection, neo-Darwinism, and the philosophical  and  religious   responses   to   these   ideas. It focuses on the emergence of Darwinism and surveys Darwin’s reception  in  the  West.  Part  II  will deal with Darwin’s reception in the Muslim world and part III will examine Darwinism and neo-Darwinism from an Islamic perspective.
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Keywords: Darwin; evolution; natural selection; Darwin’s religious beliefs; history of science; nineteenth century science; biology; philosophy of science; science and religion.

Journal of Islam & Science, Vol. 6 (Winter 2008) No. 2​

Muzaffar Iqbal

Muzaffar Iqbal is the President of the Center for Islamic Sciences and the General Editor of the Integrated Encyclopedia of the Qurʾān.