I’m currently reading Shankar Vendantam’s Useful Delusions; one of his continuing points throughout the book is that human beings depend on stories as much as on data and facts in order to orient themselves to and understand the world in which we find ourselves. Vendantam writes that
Science itself . . . relies on stories. The frames and metaphors we use to understand the world shape the scientific discoveries we make; they even shape what we see . . . Darwin’s theory of evolution transformed how we think of ourselves; it rewrote the story of the role of human beings in creation . . . In order for logic and rationaligy, for logos, to achieve its vision of a better world, it needs to work with mythosthe world of stories, symbols and myths.
It is no surprise, then, that coming in at #4 in the most-read essay in the nine history of this blog is an imaginary conversation between Charles Darwin and God, a conversation that begins with some speculation about why Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection has been so difficult for many people of religious faith to accept. Enjoy!
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