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Kropotkin between Lamarck and Darwin. The impossible synthesis di Giron Alvaro (Institución Mila y Fontanals, CSIC.Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas, Madrid, Spagna)
Asclepio , 2003 , vol. 55 , n. 1 , pag. 189 - 213
Prince P.A. Kropotkin (1842-1921) was the most important leader of revolutionary anarchism of his generation. He was also a respected explorer, geographer, and wrote a variety of books on the French Revolution, prison systems and Russian literature. However, he is better known for his contribution to the debate on Social Darwinism, exemplified by his book Mutual Aid. A Factor Evolution (1902). Actually, Kropotkin was trying to build his own brand of evolutionary Ethics: a complete socio-biology consistent with revolutionary goals. But there was a serious obstacle. The presence of the Malthusian population laws at the very core of Darwinism blocked any potential progress in this direction. Kropotkin tried to extirpate the Malthusian sting by making a critical analysis of natural selection and proposing a synthesis between Lamarck and Darwin in the 1910s. The aim of this article is to study the basics of the argument deployed by Kropotkin. It has been paid especial attention to the criticisms addressed to the hard heredity theory of August Weismann, and the reasons why Kropotkin's contribution in this field has been ignored.

La rivista di teologia Euntes Docete pubblica questi due articoli sul pensiero del Papa sull’evoluzionismo e sui rapporti tra le religioni e l’evoluzione a cura di Zycinski J. Arcivescovo di Lublino, Urbaniana University Press, Roma
I fondamentalismi e l'evoluzione
Euntes docete, 2003 , vol. 56 , n. 2 , pag. 145 – 152
L'evoluzionismo secondo il pensiero di Giovanni Paolo II
Euntes docete, 2003 , vol. 56 , n. 1 , pag. 59 – 67
John Paul II, since the time when he was archbishop of Cracow, used to have an intense dialogue with the world of science. As a pope, he has many times showed - when meeting with The Pontifical Academy of Science - his thought about the question of the evolution. In a time when all scientific researches reach a common point by stating that the Universe is in a ongoing evolution, one can no longer think that this theory is a pure hypothesis. There is a vast number of theories on evolutionism and not all have a philosophical foundation: this does not mean that we can elude such a question. The Pope shows that the Christian principle of "ongoing creation", that dates back to St. Augustine, and the approach of the modern evolutionistic theories, can get along well together. He also thinks that it is absolutely necessary to overpass the conflict between faith and science. The Pope's position, will certainly let down those who still reckon that the world creation must thoroughly coincide with the one found in the Scriptutes.

The New York Review of Books pubblica nel numero 20, vol. 50 di Dicembre 2003 la review di Frank J. Sulloway dal titolo Darwin and His Doppelganger che commenta i due recenti libri: Charles Darwin: The Power of Place di Janet Browne e In Darwin's Shadow: The Life and Science of Alfred Russel Wallace di Michael Shermer. Clicca qui

Il prossimo anno l’editore Peeters (Amsterdam) pubblichera’ il volume
The Many Faces of Evolution in Europe, 1860-1914 a cura di M. Kemperink e P. Dassen. Intanto potete leggere il testo completo del contributo di R. J. Richards al volume, dal titolo
The Aesthetic and Morphological Foundations of Ernst Haeckel’s Evolutionary Project. Clicca qui