Sons of Adam, daughters of Eve: original sin and the evolution of sexual difference

Thesis

Since the publication of Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species in 1859, there has been much scholarly interest in developing a coherent synthesis between the doctrine of original sin and scientific accounts of human origins. Despite the significant interest in integrating theories of evolution with a doctrine of original sin, there has been comparatively little effort devoted to reexamining original sin in light of information about the evolution of Homo sapiens as sexually differentiated, even though the doctrine has carried implications for gendered relationships since its earliest formulations. This project fills this gap in scholarly literature by developing an interdisciplinary conversation between evolutionary biology, New Feminist Materialism, and theology in order to articulate a way of thinking about original sin that takes seriously the nature of Homo sapiens as continually evolving in sexually differentiated ways. By engaging with developments in evolutionary theory and biological information about sexual difference, the project aims to cultivate a sense of wonder at the diversity and explosive unpredictability of human biology, a value for the role of creativity in the human participation that partially shapes our ongoing evolution, and humility about the extent to which we can predict and control the future of the evolution of our species. The biological investigations in this project illuminate the interdependencies that define creaturely life, the persistent entanglement of nature and culture, the centrality of desire to human identity and behavior, and the role played by biology in the transmission of sin. These biological insights confirm some of Augustine’s anthropological intuitions. In the second half of the project, John Paul II’s Theology of the Body is juxtaposed with New Feminist Materialism in order to develop a framework for a Christian Feminist Materialism that sees material life as evolving, generative, and “imbued with activity;” but also as simultaneously infected with sin and saturated with the divine.

Authors: Loumagne, M

• Type of award: DPhil
• Level of award: Doctoral
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Keywords: evolution; sexual difference; gender; original sin
• Subjects: Theological Anthropology; Religion and Science; Feminist theology