Evolution and Christians by Philip G. Fothergill, F. R. S. E. (review)

BOOK REVIEWS 165 Evolution and Christians. By PHILIP G. FoTHERGILL, F.R.S. E. London, Longmans, Green and Co., Ltd., 1961. Pp. 840, with bibliography and index. $9.50. In his introduction, the author states that his book " brings together information about evolution and its relation to parts of philosophy and theology which is generally available only in separate and diverse volumes." This represents, I believe, a succinct understatement of the excellence of Dr. Fothergill's latest contribution to the field of evolutionary literature. A complete account of evolutionary theory, simply as a scientific theory, necessitates excursions into paleontology, geology, anthropology, anatomy, embryology, biochemistry and genetics, to mention only the broader areas of investigation; a study of the implications of evolutionary theory carries the student on into Biblical science, theology, philosophy, the history of ideas, sociology, etc., until the hope of ever arriving at a sufficiently balanced and penetrating understanding of the matter begins to fade for all but the professional evolutionist. Even within the strictest confines of evolutionary thought itself, the grasp of the various sub-theories and hypotheses, the particular or limited principles, laws, trends and generalizations already present a formidable challenge to ordinary students. Dr. Fothergill attempts and achieves a comprehensive summary of this extensive and heterogeneous corpus of theory, fact and implication. The book is frankly intended for the serious student rather than the casual reader. It presumes familiarity with scientific terminology and does not attempt to bypass intricate reasoning and complex analyses of data. Nevertheless, for .the student who wishes a more than superficial knowledge of evolutionary theory, or, more especially, for the teacher who wants a thorough grasp of its many areas somewhere this side of the expertise of the professional evolutionist, this is the book. To my knowledge, there is no other book which covers the subject so broadly and competently. The main strength of the book is in the presentation of the many facets of the scientific endeavor vis-a-vis evolutionary theory. All the aspects of the data are offered at least by way of example, and the variety of particular interpretations held by different evolutionists regarding different points of fact or implication are presented very fairly and generously. Such is not always the case in books of this sort. As the core o~ his broader intellectual stance, Dr. Fothergill has indeed certain cardinal theological and philosophical positions of his own, which he openly professes and ably maintains. His merit is in this, that these positions do not color his scientific judgments, leaving him able to sustain a fine deference towards opposition opinion at the scientific level. However, as has been indicated, besides the presentation of evolutionary theory in its purely scientific dimensions, Dr. Fothergill wishes to place the 166 BOOK REVIEWS contemporary state of the theory within a historical context, and within the context also of philosophy and Catholic theology. The historical sections of the book, however, are brief, especially for earlier periods, and in their brevity sometimes timd to over-simplify a historical position. It does not seem right, for instance, to say that Aristotle's theory of hylomorphism precludes evolutionary theory because it entails an immutability of species. Some contemporary Aristotelians hold that hylomorphism is an ideal philosophical position within which to develop a scientific theory of evolution ; St. Thomas Aquinas, in the thirteenth century, allowed the possibility of the development of new species from old, within the framework of hylomorphism . It i11 true to say that some of the Church Fathers eSpoused evolutionary theories, but these theories must be taken in their proper context. The Fathers arrived at these opinions through theological considerations , because the exigencies of Scriptural interpretation led them to conceive the possibility that all things were not created from the beginning in their fullest, actual form. Their ideas, then, not being generated out of a oonsideration of paleontological or genetic data, would seem to be of a different genre from contemporary evolutionary theories. When we come, then, to a consideration of St. Thomas' thoughts on evolution, it is not precisely correct to say simply that he opposed evolutionary ideas. That he did. not feel compelled to follow the Fathers in their theologically inspired views...