From Aristotle to Darwin and Back Again

Étienne Gilson (13 June 1884 – 19 September 1978) was a French philosopher and historian of philosophy. A scholar of medieval philosophy, he originally specialised in the thought of Descartes, yet also philosophized in the tradition of Thomas Aquinas, although he did not consider himself either a neo-Scholastic or neo-Thomist philosopher.John Lyon is emeritus professor of liberal studies at the University of Notre Dame.

"The work goes to the heart of the clash between the Aristotelian and Darwinian explanations of design in nature. Gilson sees his first task as philosopher to distinguish philosophical from scientific and theological issues. Leaving aside scientific and theological questions, he concentrates on articulating a concern so many have had with evolutionary theory: finding it incredible that natural forces, themselves without intrinsic direction, could by natural selection alone create the order so manifest in organic nature. Gilson is at home with Aristotle's thought. Concerning evolutionary theory and its history he depends heavily on sources in the French tradition, which, it should be noted, remains . . . to this day largely antithetic toward Darwinian evolutionary theory. Though he does not pretend to an extensive knowledge of biology, he has read Darwin closely and perceptively. There are a number of discussions that will interest Darwin scholars. Gilson proposes, for example, the interesting thesis that Spencer's evolutionary philosophy has become subtly incorporated into Darwin's purportedly scientific theory. The translation is meticulous, even correcting quotations against original sources and noting corrections. Though evolutionists will view Gilson as failing to understand properly the process of natural selection, some of the conceptual problems he raises are relevant to contemporary controversies in evolutionary theory itself. —Choice (Choice)