Why do Republicans believe in Darwinism except when it comes

[Pryderi]

to evolution?

[andym]

1. cognitive dissonance?

They sure like survival of the fittest (natural selection) when it comes to the economy.

Of course, in real darwinism, advatage can be gained by intra and inter species cooperation. There's where another GOP peculiarity show up. To the GOP way of thinking, group action is good when it is self-organized into corporations, but not when it is organized into the federal government. However, in both cases the group can subsume the individual (which happens in evolution as well-- for example, look at the slime mold dictostelium where from apparently equivalent cells, some individual cells sacrifice themselves to become a stalk for other cells (spores) to take off from.)

[Luminous Animal]

2. Because social darwinism is an unscientific mean spirited fantasy.

[the other one]

3. Survival of the fittest is not Darwinism

Darwin's theory was Evolution based on Natural Selection.

Survival of the Fittest was a term that Darwinists used to mock evolution; it was meant to imply a world without God, a cold place where nature was "red in tooth and nail" according to Tennyson.

[trotsky]

7. Actually "fittest" was used with a different meaning.

It simply meant that organism which the most fit for its environment. Not necessarily the strongest, smartest, fastest, etc. Just whatever was best at exploiting an ecological niche.

Social darwinists try to use "fittest" to mean "best" or "most superior," and that's just not correct.

[LAGC]

4. I'm stealing your avatar.

:toast:

[Pryderi]

8. +99%! I hope everyone here steals it. :) n/t

[no_hypocrisy]

5. Political expediency.

Hate to put it this way as it's very cynical.

A huge chunk of "the Base" doesn't believe in evolution and explains natural, scientific phenomena by their version of the Bible. It doesn't affect Republican candidates as they don't have to prove they too share this belief. All they have to do is agree.

Here's the real cynicism. If "the Base" accepts biblical principles and stories as truth without proof, that is, on faith alone, then the republican strategists and candidates know that "the Base" will also accept whatever they are told. They're primed to accept whatever they're told, no matter how unbelievable it seems on its face.

In sum, the republican party likes anti-evolution as it encourages the mindset that keeps the money coming in and the votes tallied. Win/Win.

[Puzzledtraveller]

6. I would say conservatives more likely

Several members of my family are republicans, or atleast have consistently voted that way in the past, including my father who is in fact a registered Democrat, growing up we had a brass bust of JFK in our living room, it's still there last I saw. Anyway, most of them who I know have supported Republicans and may still do have never appeared to deny evolution. I do however have a fundies step-grandfather, evangelical right wing consverative who firmly believes Jesus had pet dinosaurs, or something like that. It's awlways fun when they visit for holidays, I try to find my ANCIENT ALIEN programs to watch while we are all gathered in the den. }(

[nadinbrzezinski]

9. You mean Jesus was an alien?

:evilgrin:

[Odin2005]

10. They don't even realize they are doing it.

[AnneD]

11. The very fact that....

there are working class that call themselves Republicans disputes the very theory of Darwin.

As a person that is a science geek, it really hurts me to admit it but Darwin was wrong. :cry: