Jewish Tradition And the Challenge of Darwinism

Darwin's theory of evolution transformed the life sciences and made profound claims about human origins and the human condition, topics often viewed as the prerogative of religion. As a result, evolution has provoked a wide variety of religious responses, ranging from angry rejection to enthusiastic acceptance. While Christian responses to evolution have been studied extensively, little scholarly attention has been paid to Jewish reactions.Jewish Tradition and the Challenge of Darwinismis the first extended meditation on the Jewish engagement with this crucial and controversial theory. The contributors toJewish Tradition and the Challenge of Darwinismfrom several academic disciplines and two branches of the rabbinatepresent case studies showing how Jewish discussions of evolution have been shaped by the intersections of faith, science, philosophy, and ideology in specific historical contexts. Furthermore, they examine how evolutionary theory has been deployed when characterizing Jews as a race, both by Zionists and by anti-Semites.Jewish Tradition and the Challenge of Darwinismaddresses historical and contemporary, as well as progressive and Orthodox, responses to evolution in America, Europe, and Israel, ultimately extending the history of Darwinism into new religious domains.

Geoffrey Cantor is professor of the history of science at the University of Leeds. Marc Swetlitz has taught history of science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Oklahoma.