A Response to Scott Gilbert's essay "Finding a Mate for Evolution"Scott Gilbert's " young, lonesome stud 'Evolution' --'Evo' to his friends--
who is in search of a mate of suitable temperament" offers a definite
challenge for a matchmaker. Evo must understand his limitations and be
realistic about who will be suitable for him. If he desires a True mate he
must be willing to do some self-evaluation. So here is some advice from one
who has a slightly different perspective on the "Interpreting Evolution"
Conference held at Haverford College.:
Evo should be aware of his limitations. His boasting that he can do it all
reveals a strong underlying egomania. Alternatively he could suffer from
partial blindness. The poor fellow is like a shadow boxer who constantly
misses the reality that is there but nevertheless continues to pretend that
there is meaning and purpose to what he is doing. This has lead to a state
of denial of what his natural intuition tells him. Repeating his mantra
"there is no need for God--- there is no rneed for God- he goes on living in
a world that constantly confronts him with the fact he is denying.
Evo's best quality is his rational capacity, however even in this he goes to
extremes and attempts to rationalize everything to fit his needs. His
narrow, materialistic, approach to reality severely limits his ability to
appreciate the more subtle spiritual nature of life.
Don't give up hope however. Although prospects may seem slim to find a mate
who will over look these faults, clearly history has proven there are plenty
who have. He should always use his rational powers to detract critics from
his faults. The cloak of Science provides an excellent disguise for his
true philosophical nature.
My best advice for Evo is to look for a mate of the same faith. Do not get
involved with theists. Such relationships will eventually turn sour due to
irreconcilable differences. Also, the offspring of such a
union--theistic-evolutionists- will be repugnant to both parents. Although
he may decide to court Intelligent Design, for appearance sake, I predict he
will find her too domineering.
No, find him a true blue naturalist --the materialist kind-- if you want to
propagate his myth. Even if he does not find a mate he need not fear being
alone in Western society, where minds have been programmed to think the way
he does. Also, since a large segment of humankind desires to be free of the
restraints of religion he will always have friends in this life.
Donald Ewert, Ph.D., a biomedical research scientist and Director of Research
Administration at the Wistar Institute in Philadelphia