Ian Ramsey Centre
for science and religion in the University of Oxford

From the perspective of a Catholic-oriented theology there are two main elements that seem disturbing in the Darwinian Evolution theory:

•  The absence of any “direction” in evolution.

•  The role played by random mutation and environmental accidents.

About the first point, it is surely true that it is impossible to find any form of evidence that growing complexification of the organisms or other similar parameters give a finality to evolution. And this seems to clash with the Divine Providence and especially with the role assigned to humans. However, three elements are here fundamental:

•  According to the Catholic tradition, it is important to distinguish between God as the First Cause and secondary causes. The latter ones possess a certain autonomy and several natural happenings can fit in a Providential framework at a second level.

•  To assume that evolution has a finality would suggest that biological species are sort of subjects (danger of hypostatization).

•  Recent results especially about convergence phenomena in evolution, show that a process that has no finality in itself could be canalized along certain directions. Moreover, intelligence is adaptive: A more intelligent organism is able to control far more environmental resources than a less intelligent one, so that, even if man is a result of a contingent evolution, there are perhaps also some constraints acting into this direction.

About the second point, again there remarks:

•  Phenomena like convergence reduce the role of chance.

•  The independence between environment and organisms amounts to a rejection of any instructivism. This is not only in accordance with a materialist point of view but also with traditional philosophical views like Platonism.

•  Chance is a very important category especially if integrated in a general philosophical and theological understanding of contingency. Here, especially the contribution of John Duns Scot can be very relevant.