PURPOSE

A searching overview of scientific evolution that includes a plug for a personal God.

Religion has been in decline across the developed world for several centuries, with some blaming the rise of Charles Darwin, whose theory of natural selection seemed to eliminate the need for a purpose in life. Many scientists rejected Darwin at the time, but by the 20th century, hard evidence had convinced the scientific community, if not the general public. As knowledge of life and the universe grew, there were fewer reasons to postulate a God to manage matters beyond human understanding. Wilkinson, associate director of the Yale Depression Research Program, emphasizes that, despite dazzling advances in income and health, humans are no happier. Despair, hopelessness, and mental illness—especially depression—are epidemic. Perhaps, he suggests, we are missing something. The popular (but not scientific) view casts evolution as a mindless, survival-of-the fittest process that dooms us “to live, breathe, die, and whittle away our hours in a world without meaning.” Wilkinson argues that evolution is not random, but directed, and that a true understanding requires a Supreme Being “who is benevolent, who created us, and wants us to be happy.” Except for the first and last chapters, the author rarely mentions God; rather, he provides an expert account of evolution in which altruism plays as great a role as selfishness, groups as well as individuals evolve, and Homo sapiens’ superb ability to cooperate may be the leading factor in our spectacular achievements. Among its other countless accomplishments, science has discovered the single greatest element in human health and happiness: “a good marriage and family life.” Relying on solid research, Wilkinson illuminates related topics, including free will, sex, and the elements of “a good life” and “a good society.”

An insightful explanation of evolution and human nature in which religion is neither excluded nor central.