Hindu Perspectives on Evolution

Description

This book provides new insights into the contemporary creationist-evolution debates by looking at the Hindu cultural-religious traditions of India, the Hindu Dharma traditions. Focusing on the interaction of religion and science in a Hindu context, this book 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 author 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 demonstrate their implications for the alleged concord of Hinduism, the eternal Dharma, and modern science.

Contents

1. Introduction: Design and Darwin in the Hindu Dharma Traditions Part 1: The Ancient and Classical Background 2. Creationism and Evolutionism in the Ancient and Classical Traditions 3. Apparent Manifestation and Design in the Advaita Vedanta of Samkara 4. Atomistic Design in the Nyaya-Vaisesika of Udayana 5. Chapter Four: Design Dismissed in the Vishistadvaita of Ramanuja Part 2: Design in Colonial and Post-Colonial India 6. Design and Evolution in a Colonial Context 7. Design in the Desitic Vedanta of Rammohun Roy 8. Design and Its Demotion in the Brahmo Samaj: Debendranath Tagore’s Intuitive Theism 9. Design and Darwin in the Brahmo Samaj: Keshab Chandra Sen’s Evolutionary Dispensations 10. Design and Darwin in Dayananda Saraswati and the Arya Samaj 11. Design and Darwin in Vivekananda’s Critique of Theism and Evolution 12. Neo-Hindu Evolutionism in Aurobindo Ghose, Sarvepalli Radhakrishna, and Rabindranath Tagore 13. Hindu Anti-evolutionism in the Post-Colonial Period 14. Conclusion: Traditional Dharmic Theories of Knowledge and Modern Scientific Method

Author Bio

C. Mackenzie Brown is professor of Asian Religions and Religion and Science at Trinity University, USA.

Related Subjects

1. South Asian Studies
2. Asian Religions
3. Religion & Science
4. Hinduism
5. Asian Religion