ÇSince its founding in 1972, the Templeton Prize has been awarded to religious leaders, scientists, opinion leaders, theologians, and philosophers. Sir John Templeton initially wanted to honor religious leaders whose lives affirmed the significance of human spirituality. Its first honoree was Mother (now St.) Teresa of Calcutta. Early on, the Prize expanded to include those whose scientific, theological, or philosophical work enriched both faith and science. The 2026 winner is Dr. Simon Conway Morris, a paleontologist at the University of Cambridge. According to the announcement from the Templeton Foundation, his studied observations of the fossils from Burgess Shale “significantly reshaped our understanding of the early evolution of animal body plans and the dynamics of evolutionary innovation.” Why were his observations and conclusions so revolutionary?
To put that question in the context of evolutionary history, we can turn to this video from the Magis Purposeful Lab podcast, The Arrow of Evolution. In it, Dr. Dan Kuebler, a molecular biologist at the University of Steubenville, describes how evolution appears to take place in a specific direction: towards increasing complexity. Over billions of years, simpler molecules, organisms, or mechanisms contributed to the development of more complex ones. Random mutations do not tell the whole story.
Now we can turn to the story of the Burgess Shale.
The Story of the Burgess Shale
Most people familiar with the history of evolution are familiar with the Cambrian Explosion, which occurred some 540 million years ago. It was so named because of the sudden appearance of a large variety of multicellular life forms–in fact, all of the major animal phyla. This event was an enigma to evolutionary biologists and, for many years, challenged the evolutionary narrative of random mutation over long timescales as the explanation for diversity among species. The question was: How could such diversity appear in a relatively short period (5 million years), given evolutionary constraints? The Burgess Shale seemed to hold the key.
The fossils found in the Burgess Shale, located in western British Columbia, are unique. Discovered in 1909 by Dr. Charles Walcott of the Smithsonian Institute, the Shale contains some 60,000 fossils, mostly arthropods (having shells) but also many soft-bodied organisms. This is very rare because soft-bodied organisms usually rot before they can be fossilized. These include worms, crinoids, sea cucumbers, chordates, and other organisms with no mineralized shell. How did their preservation occur?
"These fossils exemplify a unique method of preservation. In most forms of fossilization, the body of a dead organism settles to the bottom of a river or lake, whereupon sedimentation slowly covers the body. In the Burgess Shale, however, organisms lived in underwater mud banks known as phyllopod beds. Water currents would periodically cause sediments to flow in the form of mudslides, quickly burying the living organism in moving sediment. . . . There is also evidence that these organisms died instantly."
One would think that such a discovery would have been a sensation, not least because these fossils had the potential to fill the “gaps in the fossil record.” There are several reasons to account for the lack of interest, but it took almost 50 years before a team of scientists took a second look. In 1967, the Cambridge Project was led by paleontologist Harry Whittington and two graduate students: Simon Conway Morris, a worm specialist, and Derek Briggs, an arthropod expert. They began investigating the fossils in earnest, becoming the leading experts on the Burgess fossil collection.
Convergent Evolution Revealed After Years of Study
When Dr. Morris began this work as a graduate student, he had no idea what kind of impact his involvement was going to have on his career. What he did discover was a “driving fascination to try to interpret these fossils.” He studied the fossils themselves for years and then started the long process of examining the extensive research of other evolutionary biologists. Morris slowly came to the conclusion that the evolutionary process contained an ”underlying template of organization.“ So not only does evolution appear to move towards increasing complexity, as he states, “There are degrees of predictability in evolution.”
These observations directly contradict the supposed random mutation narrative. More directly stated, Morris observed similar anatomical body plans in different species, for example, in forms of locomotion (wings, fins, legs) and in vision. These various body plans and processes evolved independently, in distinct evolutionary lines, and at numerous periods of evolutionary history. This common pattern of similar solutions to a problem has been named convergent evolution. Let’s take a closer look at some examples.
Examples of Convergent Evolution
According to Morris, the most classic example is the eye. The structure of the “camera eye” has evolved seven times across the tree of life, including in humans. In this video, Dr. Morris explains how the structure of the eye of an octopus is exactly like ours, even though the octopus is in fact a mollusk whose close relative is an earthworm!
Other examples include the development of streamlined body shape, flippers, and fins of aquatic animals for locomotion and similar anatomical plans of the wings of birds, insects, flying mammals, and pterosaurs. All of these in species of different lineages of the evolutionary tree.
Let us be clear, however, that the patterns discoverable in convergent evolution have implications for intelligence and consciousness, especially in humans.
The Unfinished Business of Convergent Evolution
One of the debates in evolutionary theory—and there are many—centers around this question: Given evolutionary constraints and processes, are intelligent creatures inevitable? For some evolutionists, the answer to that question is a convincing “No.” In their opinion, the random nature of mutations given specific environmental pressures and the occurrence of multiple mass extinctions offer no assurance that the same species would evolve if we could re-run the evolutionary program.
Dr. Morris’ position, given the “predictability” of the patterns he observed, was that human-like intelligent creatures would evolve necessarily on any earth-like planet (Given the large number of exoplanets discovered in the last 10 years, one would expect to find evidence of extra-terrestrials). Since we have little to no evidence of the existence of extraterrestrial (or non-human) intelligence, he no longer holds this position. As this opinion changed, he became more convinced of the unique existence and qualities of the human person. To explore the place of humans in the context of this vast and complex universe is now a driving passion.
"If you assume that the world is simply material, in my view, you are permanently blinkered. If, however, you are willing to think about orthogonal realities–abstractions, mathematics. . . music and poetry—[you can wonder why] other animals have not discovered them."
For Dr. Morris, this is a question worth pondering, even if one turns to philosophy and theology to explore the phenomenon.
We Don’t Know What We Don’t Know
Science can tell us some things about the unique place of human beings in the universe, Dr. Morris says, but not everything. He is also quick to point out the “unfinished business” of science in our search for knowledge.
"There may, in fact, be an almost endless set of deeper investigations. There is no reason to think that knowledge somehow will reach some sort of terminus. It may be infinite, and you may find that terrifying—I do on a Tuesday—and deeply encouraging on a Friday when I have a gin and tonic. It's the sense that one is really just scratching the surface of what one day one may know."
This kind of thinking has permeated the Magis science and faith articles and the lectures and talks given by Fr. Spitzer over many years. A significant resource on the nature of evolution and purpose in the universe can be found especially in the Magis Purposeful Universe Project sponsored by the Templeton Foundation.
Even with the staggering progress made in the sciences, it is more true than ever that we are always on the edge of something new. Or as Fr. Spitzer often quips, “We don’t know what we don’t know.”
Congratulations, Dr. Morris! Long may your search continue, and long may we benefit from the fruits of your research and contemplation.
Dr. Dan Kuebler, molecular biologist at Steubenville University, had the privilege of interviewing Dr. Morris here in Episode 3 of the Purposeful Lab.
In this video, Dr. Morris gives a more complete picture of his view of evolution and the paradox of human existence. It is a talk he gave for the Society of Catholic Scientists Conference in 2021, Evolution and the Catholic Understanding of Creation.
