A Darwinian account of our origins brings with it little reassurance, but that isn't a reason to doubt its truth. It doesn't give us grounds for confidence in our powers of reasoning, but neither does it undermine that confidence. Darwinism offers a view according to which the evolution of awareness and reason is, in a broad sense, accidental. Some will respond by hoping for more, for a universe in which we are supposed to be here. Others might find that our deep contingency brings with it a peculiar sense of freedom.
Peter Godfrey-Smith, London Review of Books, 24 January 2013
