Ideological and Metaphysical Dimensions of Modern Biology: A Review of Biology and Ideology from Descartes to Dawkins
Abstract
Biology and Ideology from Descartes to Dawkins (The University of Chicago Press, 2010), a 454-page edited volume by Denis R. Alexander and Ronald L. Numbers, explores the dynamic interplay between science, religion, and ideology in a continuous historical framework. Comprising thirteen scholarly essays, the book examines how biology interacts with theological and philosophical domains of meaning. Employing a historical-analytical methodology, it demonstrates that biology has evolved not merely as an explanatory science of nature but also as an intellectual framework that functions as an ideological authority—constituting a significant contribution to the contemporary literature on science–religion relations.
Keywords
Biology, Ideology, Science-Religion relationship, Evolution, Naturalism, Theology
Supporting Institution
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Ethical Statement
The author declares that all procedures followed in the preparation of this article comply with the principles of research and publication ethics. No ethical misconduct such as plagiarism, fabrication, falsification, duplicate publication, or unjustified authorship has been committed. All sources have been properly cited and referenced.
This study does not require ethics committee approval as it does not involve human or animal subjects.
References
- Alexander, Denis R. - Numbers, Ronald L. “Introduction”. Biology and Ideology from Descartes to Dawkins. ed. Denis R. Alexander - Ronald L. Numbers. 1-10. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2010.
- Darwin, Charles. The Origin of Species. New York: P. F. Collier & Son, 1909.
- Dawkins, Richard. The Blind Watchmaker: Why the Evidence of Evolution Reveals a Universe without Design. New York: Norton, 1996.
- Harrison, Peter. “The Cultural Authority of Natural History in Early Modern Europe”. Biology and Ideology from Descartes to Dawkins. ed. Denis R. Alexander - Ronald L. Numbers. 11-35. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2010.
- Johnson, Phillip E. Defeating Darwinism by Opening Minds: An Easy-to-Understand Guide. Downers Grove, Ill: InterVarsity Press, 1997.
- McGrath, Alister. “The Ideological Uses of Evolutionary Biology in Recent Atheist Apologetics”. Biology and Ideology from Descartes to Dawkins. ed. Denis R. Alexander - Ronald L. Numbers. 329-352. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2010.
- Milam, Erika Lorraine. “Beauty and the Beast? Conceptualizing Sex in Evolutionary Narratives”. Biology and Ideology from Descartes to Dawkins. ed. Denis Alexander - Ronald L. Numbers. 276-301. Chicago ; London: The University of Chicago Press, 2010.
- Numbers, Ronald L. “Creationism, Intelligent Design, and Modern Biology”. Biology and Ideology from Descartes to Dawkins. ed. Denis R. Alexander - Ronald L. Numbers. 302-328. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2010.
- Paley, William. Natural Theology. ed. Matthew D. Eddy - David Knight. Oxford: Oxford University Press, UK, 2006.
- Rupke, Nicolaas. “Darwin’s Choice”. Biology and Ideology from Descartes to Dawkins. ed. Ronald L. Numbers. 139-164. Chicago: University of Chicago press, 2010.