The Compatibility of Evolution and Design

‘A remarkably helpful and important intervention in the long-standing debates about arguments from design, natural theology, and the impact of evolutionary theory on Christian theology and apologetics.’

—Alister E. McGrath, Andreas Idreos Professor of Science and Religion, University of Oxford, UK

‘Kojonen offer his readers an informed, nuanced, scholarly, cool, philosophically and scientifically current reflection on the question of what the concepts of ‘design’ and ‘purpose’ might mean within evolutionary theory…It is a welcome and important contribution.’

—Tom McLeish FRS, Professor of Natural Philosophy, Department of Physics, University of York, UK


‘This book offers a well-researched, lucid, carefully argued, and well-balanced assessment of whether evolutionary theory is compatible with holding that biological teleology provides evidence of a Creator. It is an essential reading for anyone interested in the relationship between science, philosophy, andreligion.’  
—Andrew T. Loke, Associate Professor, Department of Religion and Philosophy, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong


‘It shows considerable courage to re-invoke the term ‘design’ in relation to the theology of biology. [...] So Kojonen deserves great credit for re-evaluating the idea of divine design in dialogue with the whole range of contemporary literature.’ 

—Christopher Southgate, Professor of Christian Theodicy, University of Exeter, UK


This book challenges the widespread assumption of the incompatibility of evolution and the biological design argument. Kojonen analyzes the traditional arguments for incompatibility, and argues for salvaging the idea of design in a way that is fully compatible with evolutionary biology. Relating current views to their intellectual history, Kojonen steers a course that avoids common pitfalls such as the problems of the God of the gaps, the problem of natural evil, and the traditional Humeanand Darwinian critiques. The resulting deconstruction of the opposition between evolution and design has the potential to transform this important debate.