ANTH 203 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: James Ussher, Paradigm Shift, Anglicanism
23 Nov 2017
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Document Summary
Early gures in the history of evolutionary thinking up to darwin. For most of human prehistory we have contemplated our biological origins in terms of our respective religions and cosmologies. Prior to the 17th century western consideration of out origins was based primarily on the old testament. The bible was the only source for understanding of our origins, other than this we learned where we are from through legends and tales through generations. Old testament was used as reference for every possible question; morality, religion, existence, etc. Very few people questioned anything beyond the bible. An irish anglican bishop, he was one of many who developed a biblical chronology. Brought the idea of the young earth hypothesis, Humans were considered separate from the natural world. In the 16th century, advances in astronomy were establishing: conventional wisdom can be challenged, empirical investigation is necessary to knowing the truth. Focus on these two ideas revolutionized western thought.
