The article analyzes aspects of the relationship between evolution and biological complexity and the attempts made by scholars and theologians to interpret it within the limits of reductionist scientism or theism. For this purpose, firstly, attention is focused on explaining the meaning of the concept of "evolution" and its historical and philosophical transformation in the context of the idea of complexity. Secondly, the notion of complexity in theology is used as evidence to support teleology. This approach is criticized by some (...) scholars who consider evolution as a random prosses. They give it the status of a universal metaphysical assumption in evolution. The scientists and theologists both formulate metaphysical assumptions differently to interpret evolution. (shrink)

Humanists argue for assigning the highest moral status to all humans over any non-humans directly or indirectly on the basis of uniquely superior human cognitive abilities. They may also claim that humanism is the strongest position from which to combat racism, sexism, and other forms of within-species discrimination. I argue that changing conceptual foundations in comparative research and discoveries of advanced cognition in many non-human species reveal humanism’s psychological speciesism and its similarity with common justifications of within-species discrimination.