The American Spectator

Reader Mail

(Page 6 of 9)

NEW DISCOVERY br> Re: Richard Weikart's Darwin and the Nazis : /p>

It's perfectly appropriate for Richard Weikart (whose bio in TAS Online omits the fact that he is a fellow of the Discovery Institute) to describe plausible historical links between Darwinism and Nazism.

Just as it's appropriate to talk about how Christianity (American Protestantism in particular) for centuries taught the doctrine of racial inferiority based on the "curse of Cain."

p>Both these topics are valid for discussion in the fields of political and religious history. They are in every way irrelevant to whether the universe is six thousand or fourteen billion years old, or to whether life evolved at random or was manipulated into being by a supposed "designer." br> -- Bob Danielson /p>

Author Weikart's piece gets near the heart of a key problem for Darwinists, when he writes:

"One aspect of Expelled that troubles Dawkins and some of his colleagues is its treatment of the ethical implications of Darwinism, especially its discussion of the historical connections between Darwinism and Nazism. Isn't this a bit over-the-top, suggesting that Darwinism has something to do with Nazism? After all, Darwinists today are not Nazis, and Darwinism has nothing to do with anti-Semitism."

Given that Darwinists have no fixed ethical boundaries founded upon religious beliefs and/or reason, one cannot help but wonder why they are concerned about the comparison. To paraphrase Jonah Goldberg, "Aside from the genocide and the bigotry, what parts of the Nazi's overall program do you find troubling?" As Weikart notes, Darwin himself clearly had no particular problem with genocide, so long as it contributes to producing "higher animals."

So, precisely what is it that makes Darwinists uncomfortable about the clear connection between their worldview and that of the Nazis, as well as some of the turn-of-the-century eugenics advocates? If they are so convinced of the correctness of their worldview, they surely ought not care about how others view them. Is this merely a worry about bad press? Or could it be that some of them realize ethics may be more than "an illusion fobbed off on us by our genes."

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