There’s a Darwin Exhibit running at the Franklin Institute from October 6 to December 31 that I will try to get to. Darwin is arguably the most influential thinker of the past two centuries and his theories continue to be a rich source of inspiration and controversy. I’m not sure the exhibit will be as “astonishing” as the Franklin Institute self-reports but certainly worth seeing. Museums have become a bit like theme parks so get ready for plenty of rides, games, and make-believe as you enter Chuckie D’s world. Getting back to the real world, the University of Cambridge’s Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences, and Humanities is hosting The Complete Works of Charles Darwin Online, described as the “largest collection of Darwin’s writings ever published”. Thanks to science librarian Kathy Szigeti for pointing this site out for me. Check it out, it looks very impressive.
You might also take a look at some of the books the library has from Richard Dawkins and the late Stephen Jay Gould, two scientists who have done much to make Darwin accessbile to popular audiences. William A. Dembski has written a lot in support of Intelligent Design. Here’s a review in the Skeptic magazine of five different books (including one edited by Dembski) that challenge evolutionary theory. As the name suggests, the Skeptic is all about debunking, in this case Creationism/Intelligent Design. Here John C. Polkinghorne, physicist and theologian, critiques “Darwinian thinking” run amok. Mary Midgley is a philosopher who has written some interesting stuff on the religion in science.
Finally, we are often romantically inclined to see Big Ideas as the result of some lone genius working his magic, the paradigmatic cases in science being Newton and Einstein. It’s important to remember in this case that Darwin was not the only one who was thinking about the principles and lines of evidence that would lead to the theory of evolution. Alfred Russell Wallace came up with the mechanism of natural selection about the same time that Darwin did, which just goes to show that Big Ideas are often “in the air”.
Also, take a look at my Science and Religion subject guide for more resources on the intersection of science and religion.