The Christian's Dilemma: Organicism or Mechanism?

Abstract

Is organicism inherently Christian‐friendly, and for that matter, is mechanism inherently religion nonfriendly? They have tended to be, but the story is much more complicated. The long history of the intertwined metaphors of nature taken as an organism, versus that of nature as a machine, reveals that both metaphors have flourished in the endeavors of philosophers, scientists, and persons of faith alike. Different kinds of Christians have been receptive to both organicist and mechanistic models, just as various kinds of nonreligious scientists have been receptive to both holistic and machine metaphors. Although, it is true, organicism has been generally more attractive to persons of faith than mechanism (and vice versa), an overview of the rich and varied history of allegiances to these metaphors—religious and nonreligious alike—shows that debate is much more interesting and complex. A brief inspection of conversation surrounding recent scientific discoveries shows that this debate between metaphors is still very much alive today.

FOCUS AND FLEXIBILITY: ZYGON'S PROFILE AND PRACTICE

“…This does not exclude, of course publishing contributions on new developments and on interpretations not necessarily shared by the whole community. A recent example is a section on “The New Biology,” with seven articles on current discussions (Watts and Reiss ; Ruse ; Depew and Weber ; and others).…”

Developmental Biology, Natural Selection, and the Conceptual Boundaries of the Modern Evolutionary Synthesis

“…“Fitness at a single locus ripped from its interactive context,” Lewontin wrote, “is about as relevant to the real problems of evolutionary genetics as the study of the psychology of individuals isolated from their social context is to understanding man's sociopolitical evolution” (Lewontin , 318). The ecological holism about social insects that Wilson inherited from Benjamin Wheeler may have played a role in his subsequent abandonment of kin selection as an explanation of cooperation in social insects in favor a more game‐theoretically informed idea of group selection first proposed by David Sloan Wilson (on Edward O. Wilson's holism, see Ruse ; on his belated repudiation of kin selection, Nowak, Tarnita, and Wilson ; on trait‐group selection, Sober and D. S. Wilson ). This does not mean, however, that we should expect a deathbed rapprochement between Edward O. Wilson and Lewontin.…”

Holistic Biology: What It Is and Why It Matters

“…Most significantly, there are new empirical as well as conceptual developments that are increasingly driving a more holistic way of doing biology. The history of holistic biology is the focus of the next article in this special issue, by Michael Ruse ().…”