Clifford on creationism & generationism - slide 1 Clifford on creationism & generationism zAnne Clifford. “Biological Evolution and the Human Soul: A Theological Proposal for Generationism.” Science and Theology: The New Consonance. Ed. Ted Peters. Colorado: Westview Press, zClifford uses as her foil, Francis Crick’s The Astonishing Hypothesis (1994). âModern neurobiology has no need for soul. âHuman person can be fully explained in terms of neurology & evolution

Clifford on creationism & generationism - slide 2 Clifford on creationism & generationism âCrick admits that his position on soul is dependent on future scientific discoveries. âClifford’s comment on Crick’s hypothesis: yTreats soul as a thing which can be empirically verified. yClifford classifies Crick’s position as “reductionistic materialism” (163)

Clifford on creationism & generationism - slide 3 Clifford on creationism & generationism zJohn Paul II’s apparent defense of “creationism” âIn a 1993 address to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, JP II stated that yIn 1950, Pius XII stated that biological evolution by natural selection was still an open question. yJP II - is no longer the case.

Clifford on creationism & generationism - slide 4 Clifford on creationism & generationism äBiological evolution is now well- confirmed. The convergence of confirmations is as strong as that of any scientific theory. yThen turned to the “human spirit.” yThe human spirit could not have emerged solely from the forces of matter.

Clifford on creationism & generationism - slide 5 Clifford on creationism & generationism yThen quotes Pius XII that “souls are immediately created by God.” yEmphasizes the specialness of humans; they are they only creatures created in the image and likenss of God (imago Dei) (Gen. 2: 1: & 5:1 & 9:6)

Clifford on creationism & generationism - slide 6 Clifford on creationism & generationism yThen refers to Aquinas who proposes that the specialness of humans resides in the speculative intellect. âOn the origin of human soul, JP II falls back on Pius XII’s “creationism”: each human soul is specially created & infused into the body at the time of conception.

Clifford on creationism & generationism - slide 7 Clifford on creationism & generationism âCreationism has a long history in Western Christianity. yFirst proposed by Hilary of Poitiers (ca ca. 367). yAquinas ( ) defends it.

Clifford on creationism & generationism - slide 8 Clifford on creationism & generationism zThe biblical view of human nature âThe Jewish & Christian scriptures treat humans as a unity, not as a soul- body duality. [Perhaps Clifford should say, “for the most part.”] See Anderson for more on this.

Clifford on creationism & generationism - slide 9 Clifford on creationism & generationism âEarly Christianity yJustin Maryr (ca 110-ca. 160, active in Rome) described the human as a rational animal composed of soul and body (165). yAugustine ( ), under the influence of Neoplatonism, defended the notion of an immortal soul. Humans are unique because they have a rational soul.

Clifford on creationism & generationism - slide 10 Clifford on creationism & generationism yAquinas (Italian, 1224/5-1274) - the soul & body together make up a complete person. But the soul can exist by itself, albeit in an emaciated state. zA brief review of debates in contemporary paleoanthropology - 2 schools â1. Gradualism & multi-regionalism â2. Punctuated equilibrium & localized emergence of humans.

Clifford on creationism & generationism - slide 11 Clifford on creationism & generationism yHomo neanderthalensis co-existed with Homo sapiens for some time (ca. 35,000 years ago) âWhat caused the emergence of humans? Science has no answer now, but there is a good prospect that it will find an answer. yFor this reason, creationism could turn out to be a God of the gaps argument (168).

Clifford on creationism & generationism - slide 12 Clifford on creationism & generationism zOther arguments against creationism âIt is inconsistent with biblical anthropology which refers to human nature as a unity âPromotes dualism & as such tends to denigrate the bodily and physical âSeparates humans from the earth & this has affected the ecological crisis [Lynn White’s argument]

Clifford on creationism & generationism - slide 13 Clifford on creationism & generationism âConflicts with the geneticists’ finding that many mental traits (e.g., musical & mathematical talents) are linked to inheritance. âSuggests an interventionist God vs God is continually acting through natural processes

Clifford on creationism & generationism - slide 14 Clifford on creationism & generationism zClifford’s alternative to creationism -- generationism âWhat makes us human is our unique set of anatomical features and behavioral capacities [cf. Ayala], including the ability to engage in a relationship with God. Soul is best understood as a metaphorical naming of this set of unique human characteristics (169).

Clifford on creationism & generationism - slide 15 Clifford on creationism & generationism âAnd this set of characteristics is inherited from our parents & develops in interaction with our physical & social environment & these characteristics in turn evolved over many generations according to the factors described by evolutionary theory. âUpon conception, a human person results (not only a body)

Clifford on creationism & generationism - slide 16 Clifford on creationism & generationism âGod acts continuously in the world through natural processes vs interventionist God âHuman dignity is rooted in kinship with God (imago Dei), not in the insertion soul