."what good news does Darwin have?

You are part of a wonderful, complex and precious thread of life that is transient, interconnected and ancient. Your are made of star stuff, literally borne of mighty suns and you, like every other life form on our planet is unique and beyond material value.

You are the universe made conscious, able to contemplate it's own existence and curious about it's own nature. There is no reason to value all life more profound and beautiful than that.


"Human beings haven't evolved much at all since civilization. Technology and cooperation and yes liberal charity, take away the need for it."

Humans continue to evolve regardless of technology, and co-operation is an evolved behavioural trait present in many animals and plants (and between animals and plants). There are some interesting ongoing studies about how natural selection is working within certain populations even within modern society, one study looked at a certain village in Scandinavia that showed a degree of adaption, but I can't recall which characters they were basing this study on.