To John Fordyce 7 May 1879
Down Beckenham | Kent [Heene, Worthing.]
May 7th 1879
Private
Dear Sir
It seems to me absurd to doubt that a man may be an ardent Theist & an evolutionist.—1 You are right about Kingsley.2 Asa Gray, the eminent botanist, is another case in point—3 What my own views may be is a question of no consequence to any one except myself.— But as you ask, I may state that my judgment often fluctuates. Moreover whether a man deserves to be called a theist depends on the definition of the term: which is much too large a subject for a note. In my most extreme fluctuations I have never been an atheist in the sense of denying the existence of a God.— I think that generally (& more and more so as I grow older) but not always, that an agnostic would be the most correct description of my state of mind.4
Dear Sir | Yours faithfully | Ch. Darwin
Footnotes
Bibliography
Fordyce, John. 1883. Aspects of scepticism: with special reference to the present time. London: Elliot Stock.
Gray, Asa. 1860a. Discussion between two readers of Darwin’s treatise on the origin of species, upon its natural theology. American Journal of Science and Arts 2d ser. 30: 226–39.
Gray, Asa. 1860b. Review of Darwin’s theory on the origin of species by means of natural selection. American Journal of Science and Arts 2d ser. 29: 153–84.
Origin 2d ed.: On the origin of species by means of natural selection, or the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life. By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1860.
Origin: On the origin of species by means of natural selection, or the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life. By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1859.
White, Paul. 2014. The conduct of belief: agnosticism, the Metaphysical Society, and the formation of intellectual communities. In Victorian scientific naturalism: community, identity, continuity. Edited by Gowan Dawson and Bernard Lightman. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press.
Summary
Believes it absurd to doubt that a man may be an ardent theist and evolutionist; gives the examples of Kingsley and Asa Gray. As regards CD’s own views, his judgement often fluctuates but "I have never been an Atheist in the sense of denying the existence of God". Thinks that "generally (and more and more as I grow older) … an Agnostic would be the most correct description of my state of mind".
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-12041
- From
- Charles Robert Darwin
- To
- John Fordyce
- Sent from
- Bassett Down letterhead
- Source of text
- Linnean Society of London (Quentin Keynes Collection)
- Physical description
- ALS 3pp & C 2pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 12041,” accessed on 23 November 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-12041.xml
