# Understanding Evolution Is Not the Same as Understanding Life's Meaning by Patrick Bateson > “For many years what had been good enough for Darwin was good enough for me. I too described myself as an agnostic. I had been brought up in a Christian culture and some of the most rational humanists I knew were believers. I loved the music and art that had been inspired by a belief in God and saw no hypocrisy in participating in the great carol services held in the Chapel of King's College Cambridge. I did not accept the views of some of my scientific colleagues that the march of science has disposed of religion. The wish that I and many biologists had to understand biological evolution was not the same as the wish had by those with deep religious conviction to understand the meaning of life.” > **— Patrick Bateson**, *2008, Edge Annual Question, “What Have You Changed Your Mind About? Why?”* ## Sources and Context - **Direct Edge response and surrounding essay:** [Changing my Mind](https://www.edge.org/response-detail/10896) — Edge published this exact passage in its 2008 Annual Question collection, *WHAT HAVE YOU CHANGED YOUR MIND ABOUT? WHY?*. The response page preserves the surrounding argument and qualifications. - **Complete local collection index:** [[research/Edge 2008 Full Quotation Curation|Edge 2008 Full Quotation Curation]] — retained source-first record for the complete response cohort and this passage's promotion status. ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/Edge|Edge]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Machine Succession|Machine Succession]] - **Article:** [[articles/The Evolutionary Roots of Silicon Valley|Valley Roots]] - **Article:** [[articles/Digital Darwinism and the Invisible World of Machine Evolution|Digital Darwinism]] - **Article:** [[articles/We Were Never Going to Make It|Never Going to Make It!]] - **Wiki map:** [[wiki/Evolutionary Biology|Evolutionary Biology]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/Evolutionary Biology|Evolutionary Biology]] - [[wiki/Charles Darwin|Charles Darwin]] - [[wiki/Evolutionary Theory|Evolutionary Theory]] - [[wiki/Darwinian Evolution|Darwinian Evolution]] ## Share on Social Media ``` “For many years what had been good enough for Darwin was good enough for me. I too described myself as an agnostic. I had been brought up in a Christian culture and some of the most rational humanists I knew were believers. I loved the music and art that had been inspired by a belief in God and saw no hypocrisy in participating in the great carol services held in the Chapel of King's College Cambridge. I did not accept the views of some of my scientific colleagues that the march of science has disposed of religion. The wish that I and many biologists had to understand biological evolution was not the same as the wish had by those with deep religious conviction to understand the meaning of life.” — Patrick Bateson, 2008, Edge Annual Question, “What Have You Changed Your Mind About? Why?” https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-patrick-bateson-understanding-evolution-same-understanding-life ```