Tag Archive

Bad Bongo!: Are Chimps Moral? (Part 3 of 3)

Published on April 13, 2010 By sirrahc

Last time (Part 1 & Part 2), Beckwith & Koukl demonstrated how the evolutionary approach to explaining morality actually denies it. Now, for an even bigger problem… Why Should I? This third observation uncovers the third and most serious objection to the idea that evolution is adequate to explain morality. One question can never be […]

Bad Bongo!: Are Chimps Moral? (Part 2 of 3)

Published on April 12, 2010 By sirrahc

In my last post (Part 1), Koukl & Beckwith explained why morality entails more than mere conduct; motive and intent are also parts of the equation. Denial by Neo-Darwin This leads us to the second problem, which runs much deeper than the first. When morality is reduced to patterns of behavior chosen by natural selection […]

Bad Bongo!: Are Chimps Moral? (Part 1 of 3)

Published on April 11, 2010 By sirrahc

Every once in awhile, you hear someone trying to describe how evolution/Darwinism — really, the Neo-Darwinian Synthesis — explains “morality”. Often the explanations involve recent observations of “morals” (or the rudiments thereof) among one or another type of animal — elephants, whales, birds, cats, dogs, apes, etc. But, IMHO, there is always something missing. The […]

Final(?) Word on Ida

Published on March 21, 2010 By sirrahc

She’s back in the news, but just barely. That 47 million-years-old skeleton of what may be the earliest-known primate, Darwinius masillae (aka “Ida”), is getting some more attention — at least, in scientific circles. As you may recall (go here, then come back), there was a lot of hype last year when Ida was revealed […]

Much Ado about Ida: The Missing Link that Wasn’t

Published on November 1, 2009 By sirrahc

Do you remember the introduction to the world of “Ida” this past May? The media frenzy and hype around this small, 47 million-year-old primate went far beyond the usual, even when it comes to the intriguing & controversial issue of human evolution. In addition to publication of the scientific paper itself in PLoS ONE, within […]