Thomistic Philosophy in the face of evolution - 160 years of Evolution

Thomistic Philosophy in the face of evolution - 160 years of Evolution
seminar of the group Science, Reason and Faith.
Ignacio Silva. Pamplona, June 20, 2025

Ignacio Silva is Senior Associate Professor of Theology and Science at the Institute of Philosophy of the Universidad Austral, where he is co-director of the Degree and doctorate programs in Philosophy. Previously, he was a researcher at the Ian Ramsey Centre for Science and Religion and a member of the Faculty of Theology and Religion at Oxford University. Ignacio Silva has degrees in Philosophy and Theology, and his publications include works in Philosophy of Religion, Science and Religion, Natural Philosophy and Thomistic Philosophy . His publications include "Providence and Science in a World of Contingency" (Routledge 2022), "Divine and human providence" (co-edited with Simon Kopf) (Routledge 2021); "Indeterminism in Nature and Quantum Mechanics"Publishing Services of UNAV); and the soon to be published graduate "Thomism and the Natural Sciences" (CUP 2025). He is a member of the Executive committee of the International Society for Science and Religion, of which he is a member.

summary
Since Charles Darwin published his theory of evolution by natural selection in the "Origin of Species" in 1859, scholars of the thought of St. Thomas have followed different strategies to address this theory. Of the many questions posed to the Thomistic view of nature, the one that has attracted the most attention has been that of the origin of living species in general. My goal in this presentation will be to present a brief review of the different strategies that Thomists have followed in their analysis of the theory of evolution. I will begin with the Neo-Thomists from the late nineteenth century to the early twentieth century, passing through certain Thomists of the mid-twentieth century, and I will end with some contemporary perspectives on evolution, concluding that Thomism in general has always been willing to converse with this scientific theory, albeit with different perspectives on it.