Hindu Perspectives on Evolution: Darwin, Dharma, and Design

by Brown; C. Mackenzie

• ISBN13: 9780415779708
• ISBN10: 0415779707
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2012-01-18
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

Providing new insights into the contemporary creationist-evolution debates, this book looks at the Hindu cultural-religious traditions of India, the Hindu Dharma traditions. By focusing on the interaction of religion and science in a Hindu context, it offers a global context for understanding contemporary creationist-evolution conflicts and tensions utilizing a critical analysis of Hindu perspectives on these issues. The critical analysis raises broad questions regarding the frequently alleged harmony of the Hindu Dharma traditions with modern science, and with Darwinian evolution in particular. Examining diverse elements of the Hindu Dharmic traditions that laid the groundwork for an ambivalent response to Darwinism when it first became known in India, the book highlights the significance of the colonial context. This is particularly illustrated by drawing parallels with Islamic responses to modern science and Darwinism. Analysing critically the question of compatibility between traditional Dharmic theories of knowledge and the epistemological assumptions underlying contemporary scientific methodology, the book demonstrates their implications for the alleged concord of Hinduism, the eternal Dharma, and modern science.

Table of Contents

List of tables and figures	p. ix
Preface	p. xi
Introduction: Design and Darwin in the Hindu Dharma traditions	p. 1
The classical background	p. 11
Creationism and evolutionism in the ancient and classical traditions	p. 13
Manifestation and apparent design in the Advaita Vedanta of Sankara	p. 27
Theism and atomistic design in the Nyaya-Vaisesika of Udayana	p. 37
Design discounted in the Visistadvaita Vedanta of Ramanuja	p. 48
The colonial period	p. 61
Design and Darwin in the colonial period	p. 63
The Vedantic Deism of Rammohan Roy	p. 79
Design and the intuitive theism of Debendranath Tagore	p. 91
Design and the religious evolutionism of Keshab Chandra Sen	p. 103
The Modern Vedic Creationism of Dayananda Saraswati	p. 117
The Modern Advaitic Evolutionism of Swami Vivekananda	p. 131
The Integrative Evolutionism of Sri Aurobindo Ghose	p. 155
The post-colonial period	p. 173
Design and Darwin in the post-colonial period	p. 175
Design and Darwin in the contemporary Hindu world	p. 202
Conclusion: What role for Brahma?	p. 228
The substantive survey questions regarding attitudes towards evolution and related issues	p. 236
Selected demographic data for respondents from completed surveys	p. 238
Notes	p. 242
Bibliography	p. 256
Index	p. 269
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