I’m not referring to Thomistic casues (did I remember that right?).
I’m referrning to cause (what is a better word?) in the Darwinian sense. His followers seem stuck.
Perhaps you weren’t. But another argument here, depended on conflating different categories of causes.
Barbarian observes:
See “Communion and Stewardship” report submitted by Cardinal Ratzinger. Yes, since the evolution of humans, the soul can affect our evolution.
With the development of the human brain, the nature and rate of evolution were permanently altered: with the introduction of the uniquely human factors of consciousness, intentionality, freedom and creativity, biological evolution was recast as social and cultural evolution.
INTERNATIONAL THEOLOGICAL COMMISSION
COMMUNION AND STEWARDSHIP:
Human Persons Created in the Image of God
I’d like to read the above and below paragraphs to get a sense of what is being talked about.
Hmm…
**Since it has been demonstrated that all living organisms on earth are genetically related, it is virtually certain that all living organisms have descended from this first organism. Converging evidence from many studies in the physical and biological sciences furnishes mounting support for some theory of evolution to account for the development and diversification of life on earth, while controversy continues over the pace and mechanisms of evolution.
While the story of human origins is complex and subject to revision, physical anthropology and molecular biology combine to make a convincing case for the origin of the human species in Africa about 150,000 years ago in a humanoid population of common genetic lineage. However it is to be explained, the decisive factor in human origins was a continually increasing brain size, culminating in that of homo sapiens. With the development of the human brain, the nature and rate of evolution were permanently altered: with the introduction of the uniquely human factors of consciousness, intentionality, freedom and creativity, biological evolution was recast as social and cultural evolution.
- Pope John Paul II stated some years ago that “new knowledge leads to the recognition of the theory of evolution as more than a hypothesis. It is indeed remarkable that this theory has been progressively accepted by researchers following a series of discoveries in various fields of knowledge”(“Message to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences on Evolution”1996).**
I read brain in the above section. I don’t think brain and soul can be interchanged.
No, but what happens with your soul does affect the mind, and the mind does affect behavior, which is what causes cultural evolution as Cardinal Ratzinger wrote.
Barbarian, regarding why there is only one surviving theory of evolution:
Evidence. All the evidence points to it. None of the evidence points away from it.
That is because evolutionists are not looking for evidence.
Notice that a huge body of evidence has been located, as tests of evolutionary theory. It’s the way science works.
They prefer riding the coat tails of Darwin.
If that were true, we wouldn’t have the modern synthesis or genetics, or punctuated equilibrium, or population genetics, or…
(long list of new theory since Darwin) Notice that John Paul II alludes to it. He knew what he was talking about.