Evolutionary Theories: Creationism, Fixism, Lamarck, and Natural Selection
Evolutionary Theories
Opposing Theories to Evolution
Creationism
The arguments for creationism can be traced to Reverend William Paley’s Natural Theology. Creationism posits that the universe and its creatures were created by God. This involves the instant emergence of the universe, contrasting with the gradual modification of material elements. Paley’s watchmaker analogy suggests that the complexity of nature, like the human brain or an eagle’s eye, implies a divine creator.
Fixism
Fixism asserts that
Read MoreDescartes’ Philosophy: Method, Doubt, and Existence of God
Descartes’ Philosophical Method
Descartes starts by critically discarding traditional teachings, asserting that mathematics is the only science with clear reasoning. He bases his method on mathematical principles.
Descartes’ Method of Reasoning
Descartes posits that reason has two ways of knowing: inductively (ideas from one’s own reasoning) and deductively (combining simple ideas into complex ones). His method is a set of clear and easy ideas, based on mathematical operations, with four key tenets:
Read MoreOrtega y Gasset: Influence and Impact on 20th-Century Thought
Influence and Impact of Ortega y Gasset
Influences
The influence of previous philosophy on Ortega’s thought is organized in different ways, but all start from the conception that Ortega has of life as the key explanatory reality in relation to reason. Socrates, Aristotle, Descartes, Kant, and Hegel believed that there was only one reason or understanding, one and the same for all mankind. Ortega felt that there was no reason that was universal and unchanging, but the real reason is, in each case,
Read MoreDescartes’ Proof of God’s Existence: Innate Ideas
Descartes’ Proof of God’s Existence
Innate Ideas and the Concept of God
Following his consideration of innate ideas, Descartes turned his attention to the idea of God. He understood God as “an infinite, independent, highly intelligent, and powerful substance that had created him and anything that exists, if it exists.”
The Justification for a Finite Substance
The use of “finite substance” seems justified. After analyzing a series of ideas and checking their compliance with certain conditions, Descartes
Read MoreNietzsche’s Philosophy: God’s Death and Moral Critique
The Death of God and Nihilism
The Death of God and Nihilism is the first part of Thus Spoke Zarathustra. God is dead, and we killed him with rationalism and the Enlightenment because if science is the only true god, what is the point? But his shadow is long; that is, it is everywhere: in language, traditions, etc. Everything is God’s appearance. Nietzsche said that God’s death has provoked fear in the weak and that his place has quickly been filled by reason, the theoretical man. Now man abdicates
Read MoreNietzsche’s Zarathustra: Death of God and the Last Man
Thus Spoke Zarathustra: An Interpretation
Zoroaster and the Duality of Good and Evil
Zoroaster, also known as Zarathustra by the Greeks, was a Persian prophet who founded the religion known as Mazdaism or Parsiism. According to him, there are two conflicting realities: good and evil. These two principles are ontological, representing God and the anti-god. Hormuz, or Ahura Mazda, embodies good, while Ahriman, or Angra Mainyu, embodies evil. The struggle between these two forces was ultimately resolved
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