Neil Thomas on the Internal Flaws & Historical Roots of Darwinism

Intelligent Design the Future

Discovery Institute's Center for Science and Culture

Science, Philosophy, Astronomy, Society & Culture, Life Sciences

4 • 993 Ratings

🗓️ 27 October 2025

⏱️ 39 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

It might surprise you to learn that Charles Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection did not triumph on purely scientific grounds. There are other reasons beyond empirical science that gave it broad acceptance and enduring popularity. On today's ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid unpacks those reasons as he begins a conversation with professor emeritus and author Neil Thomas about his new book False Messiah: Darwinism As the God That Failed. Over two episodes, Thomas discusses the conceptual flaws and historical roots of the theory, the responses of major early dissenters of the theory, and how modern science is undermining the Enlightenment worldview upon which Darwinism relies. This is Part 1 of a two-part conversation. Look for Part 2 in a separate episode. Source

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	In a way, people I felt had somehow closed their account with the traditional God.
0:06.0	And when Darwin came along and said, oh, well, there's a way of explaining creation,
0:10.0	which bypasses God altogether, they said, yes, yes, that's what we're looking for.
0:16.0	ID, the Future, a podcast about evolution and intelligent design.
0:24.1	Did Charles Darwin's theory triumph on purely scientific grounds?
0:29.1	Or are there other reasons beyond empirical science that gave it broad acceptance and enduring popularity?
0:35.9	Hey everyone, welcome to ID the Future.
0:38.3	I'm Andrew McDermid, your host.
0:40.4	Well, today I begin a conversation with Professor Emeritus and author Neil Thomas
0:44.8	about his new book, False Messiah, Darwinism as the God that Failed.
0:50.2	Over two episodes of the podcast, we'll look at some of the problems with the theory
0:54.0	itself,
0:55.0	as well as how it managed to triumph for so long,
0:58.1	and how modern science is undermining the Enlightenment worldview upon which Darwinism relies.
1:04.5	Thomas is a reader emeritus in the University of Durham, England,
1:08.1	and a longtime member of the British Rationalist Association.
1:12.4	He studied classical studies and European languages at the universities of Oxford, Munich,
1:17.2	and Cardiff, before taking up his post in the German section of the School of European
1:22.1	Languages and Literatures at Durham University, 1976. He has published over 40 articles in a number of referee journals, and is author of a number
1:32.0	of books, including the 2021 Discovery Institute Press title, Taking Leave of Darwin.
1:37.7	A longtime agnostic discovers the case for design.
1:41.5	Well, welcome to the podcast, Neil.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Discovery Institute's Center for Science and Culture, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Discovery Institute's Center for Science and Culture and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.