"Darwinism is not merely a support for naturalistic philosophy: it is a product of naturalistic philosophy"
- Phillip E. Johnson
About this Quote
Phillip E. Johnson's quote recommends that Darwinism is not simply a tool to support naturalistic viewpoint, but rather an outcome of it. Naturalistic viewpoint is a worldview that holds that just natural laws and forces run in the universe, which supernatural or spiritual explanations are not necessary. Darwinism is a theory of evolution that states that all species of organisms occur and establish through the natural selection of little, acquired variations that increase the individual's capability to complete, make it through, and replicate. Johnson's quote suggests that Darwinism is an item of naturalistic approach, as it is based upon the idea that just natural laws and forces are at work in the universe. This recommends that Darwinism is an extension of naturalistic approach, and that it is a rational repercussion of this worldview.
"I think philosophers can do things akin to theoretical scientists, in that, having read about empirical data, they too can think of what hypotheses and theories might account for that data. So there's a continuity between philosophy and science in that way"
"What I mean by photographing as a participant rather than observer is that I'm not only involved directly with some of the activities that I photograph, such as mountain climbing, but even when I'm not I have the philosophy that my mind and body are part of the natural world"
