![]() |
Alfred Russel Wallace, circa 1895 via Wikimedia Commons |
Wallace supported "Spiritualism" (really, it's spiritism) like A. Conan Doyle and other people in Victorian times. This spirit stuff detracted from the status of his work as a naturalist.
It is interesting that Wallace could be considered a forerunner of the Intelligent Design movement. I need to rein in a moment here and explain something. Biblical creationists tend to distance ourselves from the ID movement per se because their organizations reject unguided natural processes and believe that something, somewhere, was behind it. They do not proclaim the Creator as revealed in the Bible; their adherents include folks from several religions as well as agnostics. However, creationists use intelligent design examples and arguments quite frequently, but within a creationary framework. Seems that Alfred would have fit right in with some of the ID organizations that exist today.
It is interesting that Alfred rejected what is now the pseudoscience of astrobiology. When Percival Lowell said there was life on Mars and someone up there built canals, Wallace debunked the claims and also professed disbelief that life existed beyond Earth.
A few years ago, I posted material about Professor Michael Flannery, author of Alfred Russel Wallace: A Rediscovered Life and his short documentary, Darwin's Heretic. Now we have some new material for you. Flannery has a new book, Nature's Prophet, and he was on Real Science Radio for an interview. It's in two parts, totaling just over an hour. Free to listen online or download, and there is some additional information at the site:
- Stigler's Law Aside, Shouldn't Darwinism Be Wallacism?
- Stigler's Law Aside, Shouldn't Darwinism Be Wallacism? Pt 2
Looking for a comment area?
You can start your own conversation by using the buttons below!