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Frontiers of Philosophy in China

ISSN 1673-3436

ISSN 1673-355X(Online)

CN 11-5743/B

Postal Subscription Code 80-983

Front Phil Chin    2011, Vol. 6 Issue (3) : 465-479    https://doi.org/10.1007/s11466-011-0150-6
research-article
What Does Fodor’s “Anti-Darwinism” Mean to Natural Theology?
XU Yingjin()
School of Philosophy, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
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Abstract

In the current dialogue of “science and religion,” it is widely assumed that the thoughts of Darwinists and that of atheists overlap. However, Jerry Fodor, a full-fledged atheist, recently announced a war against Darwinism with his atheistic campaign. Prima facie, this “civil war” might offer a chance for theists: If Fodor is right, Darwinistic atheism will lose the cover of Darwinism and become less tenable. This paper provides a more pessimistic evaluation of the situation by explaining the following: Fodor’s criticism of adaptationism (as the backbone of Darwinism), viz., his refutation of any counterfactual-supporting laws on the macro-evolutionary level, implies that a law-maker is dispensable on this level. This will either encourage skepticism against the omniscience (at least that concerning the future of macro-evolution) of the Creator, or render the notion of God less appealing.

Keywords adaptationism      algorithm      atheism      counterfactual-supporting laws      Darwinism      Fodor      law-maker      natural theology     
Corresponding Author(s): XU Yingjin,Email:yjxu@fudan.edu.cn   
Issue Date: 05 September 2011
 Cite this article:   
XU Yingjin. What Does Fodor’s “Anti-Darwinism” Mean to Natural Theology?[J]. Front Phil Chin, 2011, 6(3): 465-479.
 URL:  
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fpc/EN/10.1007/s11466-011-0150-6
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fpc/EN/Y2011/V6/I3/465
[1] XU Yingjin. Does Wittgenstein Actually Undermine the Foundation of Artificial Intelligence?[J]. Front. Philos. China, 2016, 11(1): 3-20.
[2] Jonathan Israel. The Battle over Confucius and Classical Chinese Philosophy in European Early Enlightenment Thought (1670-1730)[J]. Front Phil Chin, 2013, 8(2): 183-198.
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