To: Dataman
I think you missed my point. To clarify, the equation that you posit -- Hitler believed in social darwinism, therefore those who accept evolution are as evil as Hitler -- is invalid.
First, social darwinism is an aberration, a bastardization of the theory of evolution if you will. It has nothing to do with the legitimacy of the theory itself.
Second, Hitler's supposed adoption of this aberration as the basis for condemning those who accept a distinctly different concept is as irrelevant as condemning those who, in fact, have adopted theories or concepts that are identical to those adopted by Hitler. For example, Hitler's adoption and perfection of blitzkrieg as a military tactic is undisputed, as is the ultimate, evil effects of that tactic in the context of WWII. Would you condemn as evil our current military personnel because that tactic has found a remarkably permanent place in modern military training? I doubt it.
Whether Hitler adopted or believed in social darwinism simply has no relevance to either the character of those who accept the theory of evolution or the legitimacy of the theory itself. I think the argument is simply hyperbole, and that it adds nothing to the debate.
435 posted on
02/25/2003 5:05:05 PM PST by
atlaw
To: atlaw
To clarify, the equation that you posit -- Hitler believed in social darwinism, therefore those who accept evolution are as evil as Hitler -- is invalid. You can read, can't you? If you could read, then you would have read this:
If you think there is a connection between Hitler's atrocities and his belief system, you are correct. This is only denied by the blindest of fools. Did I or Dan say that all evolutionists are evil? You yourself made the connection. Logically it follows that if Hitler and Stalin and Mao and other enemies of the human race used social darwinism to justify their atrocities, that others may well do the same in the future. It does not, however, follow that all believers in evolution will do the same.
The post was addressed to you.
Do you represent the typical non-thinking defender of evolution or are you just exceptionally blind?
It's no wonder you're losing the battle in the classroom.
I hope you don't mind if I ignore you in the future. There's no point in communicating with you if you don't read the responses.
480 posted on
02/25/2003 6:57:43 PM PST by
Dataman
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