How did darwin lose his faith?

[Kiljan Arslan]

I don't know if this should go here but it seems like the right place.

I was wondering if its true that the reason darwin lost his faith and became a athiest was that he lost his daughter?

[finsternis]

What I heard was that he lost faith when his daughter died but not all. Then when he found the whole evolution thing, then he lost it all. Or the other way around, I don't remember which came first.

[MaximiIian]

What I heard was that he lost faith when his daughter died but not all. Then when he found the whole evolution thing, then he lost it all. Or the other way around, I don't remember which came first.

Other way around. His research into evolution (1831 to 1859) eroded his faith in Christianity, and he became a Unitarian, meaning he still believed in a monotheistic entity. But after his daughter's death in the late 1850's, he lost all faith in the idea of a benevolent god. Though he was not and never was an atheist; merely agnostic on the subject. A malevolent deity's existence, he was quite open to considering.
Up until his daughter's death, he believed steadfastly that some intelligent power existed which guided nature into selection. But after that tragedy, his faith in a benevolent force was eradicated.

[Kiljan Arslan]

according to wikipedia it was his daughter.who died after the "origin of species" also it says that before that he was still a theist. You see I just watched dawkins rather disingenuously "documentary" "On the Genius of Darwin" and Dawkins apparently is claiming that it was Darwins discovery of evolution that did it.

[LegionnaireX]

Did he lose his faith? Evolution certainly turned him from the fundementalist Christianity he had before held, but there is no record to my knowledge that he became an athiest.

[Kiljan Arslan]

Sorry about my little rant that documentry though really just pissed me off because to me it did Darwin a disservice.

[Cluny the Scourge]

Perhaps he lost his faith in much the same way most people do - not for any one reason, but simply through the cumulative, gradual wearing-down of indoctrinated preconceptions by the realities of the world around them.

[saglam2000]

because god doesn't exist, and he grew a brain.

[MrMofo]

Darwin never lost his faith as far as i know. He put off publishing his theories for years because of his faith and the turmoil he knew it would cause. It was only when he caught wind of another scientist, Wallace who was about to publish something similar that he stepped up and (iirc) the two published together.

Although, seems to me, underlying this thread is the idea that one can't believe in God and evolution at the same time, and that is utter bullcrap.

[Syron]

What does it matter?

Sorry about my little rant that documentry though really just pissed me off because to me it did Darwin a disservice.

Or it did a disservice to your idea of Darwin and who he was......

[Kiljan Arslan]

Disservice in the fact to my knowledge Darwin wasn't some evangelical atheist, because the program ammounted to in my opinion half program about a great man named dartwin, whilst the other half was made up of some intolerant prick going on about why you shouldn't believe in god.

[jman47]

darwin did lose his faith like many others do in todays world, the legacy of his theory and the death of his daughter combined made him practically have to be at least agnostic, as at the time his theory of evolution completely contradicted what the church had taught for 1000 years, and all it took was one tragic event for him to lose his faith.

the pressures of society and hardships in life could possibly be the greatest killer of faith of any kind in this world. all i can say to this is the bible verse- 'if the Lord is with you, who can be against you?' its too bad he lost his faith, and even pondered thoughts of a malevolent god. you cannot blame god for the bad things in this world, it is sin that causes all of the worlds problems, not god.

[Kiljan Arslan]

I wonder if making light that he lost his faith through personal tragedy not evolution would warm up some of the fundamentalists?

[MrMofo]

i thnk darwin published because he'd studied the topic extensively over a number of years to reach a testable hypothesis, and not because he had turned to believe in a malevolent god.

[Kiljan Arslan]

mofo this is about his loss of faith not "On the origin species".

Although what inspired me was a rather bad in my veiw documentry by richard dawkins which I had the misfortune of seeing.

[ThiudareiksGunthigg]

mofo this is about his loss of faith not "On the origin species".

Although what inspired me was a rather bad in my veiw documentry by richard dawkins which I had the misfortune of seeing.

I haven't seen the documentary by Dawkins yet, but this summary of Darwin's changing religious beliefs makes it quite clear that his theory clearly played a substantial part in his move from believer to agnostic.

[MaximiIian]

Of course it did. Kiljan isn't saying that it didn't. He is stating the factual and rational conclusion that his studies alone did not do it, and that it was his daughter's untimely death that nailed the coffin shut, so to speak, on Darwin's faith in a benevolent deity.

[neoptolemos]

The proof that Darwin didn't lost his faith was that his book "The Origin of species" was intended to be published after his death.
He was aware that his conclusion would have been a possible "blow" to faith,something a pious person like him,didn't wanted to happen

[MaximiIian]

his book "The Origin of species" was published after his death

What the are you talking about?
On The Origin of Species was published in 1859. Darwin didn't die until over 20 years later, in 1882.

[Syron]

The proof that Darwin didn't lost his faith was that his book "The Origin of species" was published after his death.

No it wasn't, try again.