Richard Weikart
Richard Weikart is a Christian creationist and history professor at California State University, Stanislaus. He is also a senior fellow for the Center for Science and Culture of the Discovery Institute and has devoted his career to elucidating the supposed immoral consequences of evolution.
For Weikart, the materialistic basis of evolutionary theory is responsible for the devaluation of human life in general and the "survival of the fittest" mindset only leads to a completely immoral society. Weikart focuses heavily on the history of Nazi Germany and Hitler, trying to portray them as "Darwinists" and moral relativists, while simultaneously promoting Christianity positively. For instance, Weikart argues that Darwinism promotes racism whereas ""Christian theology taught the universal brotherhood of all races, who descended from common ancestors -- Adam and Eve."[1] However, the claim of a historical Christian "brotherhood of races" is easily refuted historically and biblically. The curse of Ham in (Genesis 9:25-27) and the story of the Nephilim as a separately created race (that was later killed or imprisoned by the Israelites) have both promoted racism for centuries. Darwin also refuted the doctrine of "polygenism" (i.e., the belief that different races are separate species, heavily promoted by the "scientific racists") in Descent of Man.
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[edit] Criticisms
Weikart's most infamous work is his book-length argumentum ad Hitlerum entitled From Darwin to Hitler: Evolutionary Ethics, Eugenics, and Racism in Germany. Numerous reviews have accused Weikart of selectively viewing his rich primary material, ignoring political, social, psychological, and economic factors that may have played key roles in the post-Darwinian development of Nazi eugenics and racism. Since there is no clear and unique line from Darwinian naturalism to Nazi atrocities, useful causal relationships are difficult to infer; thus, as Robert J. Richards observes, 'it can only be a tendentious and dogmatically driven assessment that would condemn Darwin for the crimes of the Nazis'."[2]
To understand why Weikart and his ilk continue to peddle the Darwin-Hitler connection, one should understand creationism as embedded in a larger religious ethical system. A scientific theory that contradicts the Bible can be seen as "godless" and thus immoral. In addition, the popular misconception that evolution necessarily implies social Darwinism makes this an easy rhetorical tactic. Even though these accusations are not true, creationism can be turned on its head by showing that it is not a moral system and has for centuries justified many evil acts such as genocide.[3]
[edit] Publications
- The Myth of Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Is His Theology Evangelical? (1997)
- Socialist Darwinism: Evolution in German Socialist Thought from Marx to Bernstein (1999)
- From Darwin to Hitler: Evolutionary Ethics, Eugenics, and Racism in Germany (2004)
- Hitler's Ethic: The Nazi Pursuit of Evolutionary Progress (2009)
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Faculty page
- Darwin on Trial Again, H-Net
- Review of From Darwin to Hitler in the Journal of Modern History
- Review by Larry Arnhart
- Review at Evilution is Good For You
- Severing the Link Between Darwin and Nazism, Philadelphia Inquirer
- Was Hitler a Darwinian? by Robert J. Richards
[edit] Footnotes
- ↑ Weikart, From Darwin to Hitler, 102
- ↑ Gooday et al. Does Science Education Need the History of Science? Isis, vol. 99, no. 2, Jun. 2008
- ↑ Creationists for Genocide, Talk Reason