An excellent book on the philosophical(as opposed to “scientific”) basis for the theory of evolution is Benjamin Wiker’s MORAL DARWINISM.
In his book, Wiker makes it quite clear that the major impulse behind this philosophical basis is the desire to “prove” that life—whether on earth or not— has no Creator, and our human drama no Author.
IOW, it uses a pre-conceived conclusion for its theory instead of scientific data.
I think that is exactly right.
And you can see it any time “new evidence” is found which upsets some timeline or some supposed pathway of descent. The Evolutionists don’t miss a beat. No need to question the theory. Their conclusion comes first and it is inviolable. They simply massage the data on hand so that it tells the story they want it to tell. And that story is always: There is no God.