Is societies resistance to evolution analogous to rejection of a sun centered universe?

Question

Ive been reading Hawkings "Brief History of Time" and it occured to me how comparable modern day resistance to evolution is with previous resistance to Galieo's model of the Universe.

Follow me here....the main reason 'sun centered' models were rejected was because they implied an 'insignificance' to our little slot of space in the universe. Understanably, people thought that the earth was the center of the entire cosmos and the entire cosmos was no bigger than several planets.

So, the resistance was largely due to the spirtual ramifications or the larger philisophical question about mans significance. If earth is the center, and the universe is only so many plants long, then humans must have some great purpose or significance...all revolves around us.

How difficult it was to finally realize that the stars twinkling in the sky...WERE ACTUALLY SUNS FROM OTHER UNIVERSES! Ahh...our significance is diminished.

See the analog to evolution here?

Correction --- "OTHER SOLAR SYSTEMS"

Answer 1

Yes, I think humans as a race are too self-absorbed. Very good question!

Answer 2

Generations ago some may have resisted man's place in the universe; but I don't think there is either rejection or resistance today. The psychological need for a "supreme purpose" has been studied and dissected by some of the most significant minds of all time. There is no conclusion that can be presented as evidentiary. I happen to think the psychology of the mind is much more complex than any theory put forth to date. Man will insist in diminishing everything into a box within our understanding. Until we can provide proof positive on man's existence, life and thought, we cannot simplify within reason. It won't happen. Theories are interesting... but they are just theories.

Answer 3

Those man made space vehicles... going way, way, out there... way out there... there was nothing out there until the space vehicle got there and whatever the people connected in any way with the vehicle thought would or would not be there was created the moment that the vehicle sent the information back to earth.

If a so called insignificant one says or does the right kind thing, at the right moment, in the right place, at the right time, to the right person... a hundred years from now.... world peace. One sure can be most much the significant little creature, hun?

RICHARD

Answer 4

Yup. You've hit it on the nose. Everything we find in science moves us further and further from being the center of the universe. Some people are too scared to stand before the vast universe and say, "You make me insignificant, so I shall make myself significant."

and to the guy below me who claims evolution puts us at the top is wrong. Evolution is not a building up process, like you have fish then reptile then mammal then man. It's a branching process. It's not a heirarchy, it's a tree, all branches equal.

Answer 5

That's only partially true. The earth revolving around the sun is also counter intuitive. After all, anyone who looks at the sky can see quite clearly that the sun and moon are moving....and anyone who studies starcharts can see that they move too. That was the cause of a lot of the resistance as well.

Answer 6

yup.. we individuals are realizing - thanks to science- that we are not all that significant. ( we aint the centre of the universe)

and that's y ppl today are making or creating their own universe or world to themselves where they seem a bit more significant when compared to others around them..

we all live in small solar systems of our own.. so that we have a feeling of being important and coz of this ppl dont always end up treating ppl in the right way....

compared to the yest-er centuries nowadays, this attitude has made ppl change their morale values and their priorities in their lives ....

now when someone tells someone who already has v high inferiority complex that u came from a family of apes, no wonder ppl tend to resent it .. coz that makes them even more insignificant... therefore the resistance to the theory of evolution....

but one thing is that its jus one of the possibility.. there may be also a theory which says that we descended on earth from heaven above.. if there were a heaven....

thank u.. its a nice food for thot....

Answer 7

Good to have you back, Steve. I missed your questions. :)

I prefer the simpler answer to the Sun Centered Universe theory. a man looks up and sees stars on all sides of him, there for he must be in the center.

And yes, I do see a comparison to evolution there. I believe that evolution was just one of God's tools. Of course the bible doesn't specifically say that, so it's not a widely accepted theory amongst Christians.

As for man's importance, I tend to hear the words of Master Splinter, " Do not confuse Origin with Self worth "
But yes, I do agree that for man to feel good about himself, he did need to glorify his origins some. As well as his place in the universe.

Answer 8

I fail to see your reasoning. Evolution is ethnocentric, making man the crowning achievement of the universe and the most evolved being. Creationism is theocentric and places God at the center. So it would seem that Evolution is more like the ancient belief that earth/man is the center of the universe.

Answer 9

Many scientists were threatened or killed by the Christians. They simply stated that the Earth revolved around the Sun. This was even prior to the time of Galileo or Copernicus.

Answer 10

Yes, they were both discredited not by science but by idealouges bent on continuing their dominance over their flocks. Religion has always been the enemy of science.

Good book, "Brief History of Time". Hawkings is brilliant.

Answer 11

The main argument Christians use is the argument from ignorance. As our ignorance diminishes it is only natural that they find that they need to change their battlefield. The most ignorant of the Christians are just unaware that many battlefields have already been lost.