Book Description
Abusing Science is a manual for intellectual self-defense, the most complete available for presenting the case against Creationist pseudo-science. It is also a lucid exposition of the nature and methods of genuine science. The book begins with a concise introduction to evolutionary theory for non-scientists and closes with a rebuttal of the charge that this theory undermines religious and moral values. It will astonish many readers that this case must still be made in the 1980s, but since it must, Philip Kitcher makes it irresistibly and forcefully.

Not long ago, a federal court struck down an Arkansas law requiring that "scientific" Creationism be taught in high school science classes. Contemporary Creationists may have lost one legal battle, but their cause continues to thrive. Their efforts are directed not only at state legislatures but at local school boards and textbook publishers. As Kitcher argues in this rigorous but highly readable book, the integrity of science is under attack. The methods of inquiry used in evolutionary biology are those which are used throughout the sciences. Moreover, modern biology is intertwined with other fields of science--physics, chemistry, astronomy, and geology. Creationists hope to persuade the public that education in science should be torn apart to make room for a literal reading of Genesis.

Abusing Science refutes the popular complaint that the scientific establishment is dogmatic and intolerant, denying "academic freedom" to the unorthodox. It examines Creationist claims seriously and systematically, one by one, showing clearly just why they are at best misguided, at worst ludicrous. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (27)

Who is abusing science?
This guy is out of touch.Hadrosaur bones were found on the ColvilleRiver north of Umiat on the North Slope of Alaska.The hadrosaur bones were collected in 1961 by R. L. Liscomb when he was working for Shell Oil Company.Research around the Colville River led to the bones being sent to the U.S. Geological Survey in Menlo Park, where they were identified as hadrosaurian by C. Repenning.Buddy Davis also obtained similar bones.And they were all unfossilized.The blood was still extant.Now, unfossilized dinosaur bones are becoming abundant and yet there are no media reports about these finds.Why?To preserve the myth of evolution?Who is being unscientific here.Why can't evolutionists like Kitcher wake up and smell the coffee?How can they live with a lie?Why can't they accept the truth?The artistic depictions of dinosaurs in every culture, showing them coexisting with humans, is abundant.Yet, they persist in their unbelief.

And about this carbon dating.Let's look at it scientifically.Carbon-14 results when radiation from the sun makes contact with Nitrogen-14 atoms in the earth's outer atmosphere.The earth's atmosphere is not yet filled with C14.Therefore, the amount of C14 being produced is more than the amount that is decaying back to N14.Scientifically, a state of equilibrium would be reached in as little as 30,000 years.For this obvious reason, it appears that theearth'satmosphere is less than 30,000 years old.The available evidence, the only evidence we have, shows that it is less than 10,000 years old. However, there is questionable evidence that would estimate the atmosphere's age at 50,000 years or even 100,000.Nevertheless, all of the evidence poses a serious problem for evolution based scenarios since they posit millions of years for dinosaur habitat, namely, 65 million years.Repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.

see Kitcher's new book
A recent review by Claudio d'Amato correctly points out that Abusing Science is somewhat obsolescent - it was indeed written 25 years ago so 3 stars is plenty. It should be noted however that Kitcher has since revisted the topic in a completely new book which touches on most of thenew ideas and controversies that have arisen since 1982 ( and there are many!). The new book is Living with Darwin, Oxford University Press, 2007. Its a very good read.George

The Ultimate Refutation of Classic Creationism
"Abusing Science" is a simple, straightforward, and yet deep and lucid work. Kitcher is a philosopher of science, and philosophers have the unfortunate tradition of being bad writers--not Kitcher. The book flows beautifully, is very well organized, and exhausts the topics it purports to tackle. The refutation of classic creationist arguments (Henry Morris, the Institute for Creation Research, the Moral Majority, etc.) is without mercy, and yet Kitcher never falls in the trap of claiming the moral or otherwise absolute superiority of science. His goal is merely to show that whatever it is, creationism is not science; it may have its own merits (not discussed herein), but it has none as a scientific discipline.

Chapter 1 provides a solid, basic background in genetics and evolutionary biology for the layman. Without these basic concepts and terminology, the rest of the book would not be as readable. Chapter 2 explains simply and lucidly what science is and what the evolutionary theory is all about. It is the most informative, key chapter of the book. Chapters 3 and 4 debunk creationists' critiques and faulty assumptions about evolutionary theory in good detail, showing how flawed their reasoning is. Chapter 5 expounds the various types of creationism extant and their (indeed very limited) propositive claims. Chapters 6 and 7, finally, argue against "equal time" for creationism and evolutionary theory in high school science classes, and why evolution is not synonymous of atheism and immorality. The final chapter is written in cooperation with Kantian scholar Patricia Kitcher.

The reader needs to keep one key fact in mind: this book was written and published in 1982. So there are several things it does NOT include.

*** Intelligent design. There is no reference to ID whatsoever. This was before Johnson, Behe, Dembski, and others. Needless to say, ID is merely creationism in another dress, so most of Kitcher's objections will (retrospectively) apply to ID as well.
*** Dawkins' contributions to evolutionary biology. "The Selfish Gene" had already been written, but Kitcher does not discuss gene selection vs. organism selection, nor of sexual selection.
*** Gould's contributions. Punctuated equilibrium was already there, too, but Kitcher does not discuss it at length, probably because creationists did not take much issue with it before the late 80s.
*** The Human Genome Project. It had not even started back then.
*** Evolutionary psychology. Kitcher does hint at it in the final chapter, but this was a budding field then, and his assumptions about morality could be revised in the light of it (although they're still generally on target).

Finally, my only issue with this book is the treatment of theological issues in the last chapter. Kitcher argues in favor of a reconciliation of science and religion, that is, that a Darwinian can be a Christian--just not a fundamentalist, literal-reading-of-the-Bible one. However, there are many more issues that make evolutionary theory incompatible with even mainstream and watered-down Christianity, primarily the fact that religion would have to revert to sterile deism if it were to survive at all. Kitcher does not focus on these issues, but after all, it was never the scope of his book to do so. For more complete discussions of that issues, there are other texts (Haught, Miller, etc.)

Overall, "Abusing Science" is an excellent refutation of classic, old-school creationism and a GREAT starting point for research in the modern evolution-ID debate.

A stellar piece of work!
This book is an absolute must have for the science teacher. The creationists rely on the open mind of most teachers to obfuscate and confuse with half-truths and outright deception. This book examines the creationist's claims one-by-one and exposes the falsities in each of their arguments. Kitcher's work should be required reading in all teacher-training programs as it explains clearly and succinctly what science is and how it works to help us understand the world around us. Lastly, this is the kind of book that you will want to read several times just because it is so darned good! Another good book in this vain is Carl Sagan's "The Demon-Haunted World" ISBN 039453512X

Excellent Info on Creationist Irrationality
This book does exactly what it sets out to do: further reveal creationism as myth.It is not the job of science to make facts intertwine with scripture, facts will stand on their own whether you like them or not.Religion and science can co-exist but they must occupy their own domains.
Read this book if you would like additional insight into creationist shortcomings in the scientific realm. ... Read more

Book Description
This is the first major response to the new challenge of neuroscience to religion, challenging the prevailing naturalistic assumption of our culture, including the idea that the mind is either identical with or a temporary by-product of brain activity. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

OK but over priced for a paperback
It was nice to read a recent work by John Hick.It contains some interesting and thoughtful ideas. The price, however,is too high for this paperback. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Gottschalk Book Review
If you can find it, get it. This book is by far the most brilliant book on the subject of CS that I've read. It sits on my shelf next to the Peel trilogy.

Highly recommended
It is a shame that this book is no longer in print.Stephen Gottschalk is a Christian Scientist, but unlike the adoring drivel that is most books about CS written by Scientists (and obviously unlike the biting sarcasmthat is every other book about CS), this book is intelligent and aimed atthose seeking intelligent insight into Christian Science.It is not arigorous philosophical examination of CS, but Gottshalk has many brilliantand illuminating passages about CS.I don't know of any other scholarlybook that brings the religion of Christian Science under rational scrutiny. In most books, the doctrines of CS are either dismissed with a gesture orswallowed without question.This book is the shining exception. Ultimately, Gottschalk wants to leave the reader with a favorableimpression of CS (after all, he is a Scientist), but not at the expensescholarly integrity.Even Gillian Gill, in the beginning of her book,mentions this book in a positive light.I would recommend this book toanyone interested in CS, but, alas, there are very few to be found.Goodluck. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Sublime Peace
This is a wonderful interpretation of the life and teachings of Jesus Christ.Dr. Holmes has written a book that is both challenging and sublime at the same time.The Science of Mind approach to the teachngs of Jesus is that they are the most practical thing in the world and that they are meant to be lived.Ernest Holmes demonstrates the supreme applicability of these teachings in our lives today, and unrges us to makes these teachings the bedrock of our spiritual journey.

Words that HEAL TODAY
There is a question that each one of us should periodically ask ourselves when we are faced with a situation or a circumstance that we can't seem to get out under and that question is, "Do I really want to be healed?"

If we are honest with ourselves we will find that no, we really didn't want to be healed of our situation. Please don't misunderstand me. Please don't think I'm being callous. Please don't think I am insulting a personal situation that you may be going through. I am simply (and gently) saying that most of us (not all of us) keep those things around that limit us, scare us, and deplete us not because we really like these things but because we are more scared of the alternative. Who would we be without our problems? What would people think of us? We give too much emphasis on other people's opinions of us.

Why?

Jesus said, "Have I not said ye are gods..." Why haven't we accepted, embraced, and embodied this message of Truth and Life?
Why do we still think...no matter how metaphysical/or spiritual we might claim to be...still insist that Jesus was, is, and will always be "IT" and we're Sh**. He said, "Come, follow me..." The SAME LIGHT that guided Jesus can guide us if we are willing to "drop our nets" and follow our INNER TRUTH.

We can heal and we can heal TODAY...in this moment...NOW...

This classic book by Ernest Holmes shows us how we can do this in practical ways. I do not think that Truth can be taught as much as caught. Truth is an awareness, a consciousness that each one of us awake to and the more we are willing to consciously evolve, the more our world will heal. The world needs your awareness, your LIGHT, your LOVE...the world needs YOU that is why you are here.

Peace be with you now and forever!

Our own available Power to heal
Was Jesus the great example or the the great exception?Holmes asks--and answers--this question, in an in-depth review of the power of Love and Law that allowed Jesus to do the healing that he did.

Jesus himself said thatwe will be able to do greater things than he.It is these same powers thatwill allow us to do them and Holmes explainswhat these powers are and howwe are to realize them in our lives.

A great crossover book for theperson whose life has been steeped in Christian teachings, but realizesthat there is something more: a practical use of the teachings of Jesus. ... Read more

Product Description
New reproduction of a vintage recording. 2 talks. The Power of Forgiveness & Freedom from Fear. Running time 62 minutes ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A Master Speaks
This recording is one I've searched for over a long stretch of time.Originally on audio tape, Dr. William Hornaday carries on in the tradition of teaching simply what it means to live in the Spirit.The two messages,
"The Power of Forgiveness" and "Freedom from Fear" are must haves for seekers of truth or appreciators of the Religious Science philosophy.Dr. Hornaday worked closely with Ernest Holmes, founder of the Religious Science philosophy and was his second in command.The illumination you will receive from close listening and deep consideration of his words is well worth the price of purchase.In fact, it will be a bargain!

Peace to all. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

It's depressing that this book is even more relevant a quarter-century after its publication
Roland Mushat Frye (ed.), Is God a Creationist?: The Religious Case Against Creation Science (Scribner, 1983)

Had enough of scientists trying to debunk creation science and religionists laughing at them? This is a refreshing change of pace: a collection of essays written by various religious scholars and leaders debunking creation science. Frye collects eleven essays by Christians (both Catholic and Protestant) and Jews that provide alternate explanations of Genesis that don't contradict the scientific evidence at all. Most of them castigate the creationists, at least in passing, for attempting to make the Bible do something it wasn't meant to do.

This is an absolute must for anyone who finds him or herself getting into arguments with young-earth creationists on a regular basis, for any ammo you can add to your quill is valuable, and ammo that works on their level is doubly so. It's also a good one if you're just interested in the subject in general; the writing, as it is in most anthology-style books, is inconsistent (interestingly, the driest and toughest of these essays comes from Pope John Paul II), but when it's readable, it's perfect: couched in layman's terms but without talking down to the reader. A fine book for rounding out your arguments. ****

Christians are not restricted to literalism with Gen. 1
While most experts in the area of Creation/Evolution debate have their audience believing the entire dilemma revolves around scientific method and accompanying extremist propaganda, there are some biblical scholars who want people to understand that the issue should never have progressed to the scientific level. We need to take a step back and examine the traditional hermeneutical method applied to the Genesis creation accounts, and do so in light of the ancient Hebrews' neighboring cosmologies. Frye has edited a book of contributions from scholars who herald this message: the issue exists today because of neglect of authorial intent in Genesis, invalid criticism hurled at the scientific community, and because some literalists want to attribute motives of anti-theism and anti-morality to scientists. While I favored Conrad Hyers' contribution entitled, "Biblical Literalism: Constricting the Cosmic Dance," all contributions are intelligently well versed. I especially appreciated Hyers' article because he identifies how our literalistic present day culture forces a shade over our eyes as we read ancient literature, which is part of the crux of the issue. People fail to recognize that the literalists have misidentified the literary genre of the Genesis creation accounts. The credibility of Christianity as being an intellectual faith is at risk because of the Creation biblical literalists, and by publishing this book, Frye acknowledged that he refuses to standby and watch. It is September 2001 as I write this. Many new books on the Creation/Evolution controversy have hit the market the past few years. It is my hope that Frye's book will be reprinted in light of the recent surge in interest of this dilemma. ... Read more

Book Description
Had evolutionists been in charge, they wouldnt have made the mosquito, planetary orbits would align perfectly, and the human eye would be better designed. But they tend to gloss over their own failed predictions and faulty premises. Naturalists see Darwins theories as logical and thats enough. To think otherwise brands you a heretic to all things wise and rational. Sciences Blind Spot takes the reader on an enlightening journey through the ever-evolving theory of evolution. Cornelius G. Hunter goes head-to-head with those who twist textbooks, confuse our children, and reject all challengers before they can even speak.This fascinating, fact-filled resource opens minds to nature in a way that both seeks and sees the intelligent design behind creations masterpieces. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

Science or Religion? You decide . . .
If you ever suspected that the ideas underlying modern evolutionary theory lean toward being theological in nature, you should read this book.And if you tend toward a theistic worldview you might be surprised at the source of contemporary "theological naturalism", as Hunter terms the problem of modern science.Well researched and fair in his approach to describing the problem facing modern origins science, Hunter also offers a solution--one which all but the most dogmatic on either side of the origins spectrum will find attractive.

Understanding why they can't see
This book helped me understand why Scientific Naturalists are blinded to seeing anything other than thier way.They say Theists are the one's who are not open minded, but if you a priori exclude even the merest hint of even the slightest possibility of a different paradigm, then how are you any more enlightened?

Clever but exaggerated argument against scientism and an unneccessary "bridge" to theology
From my perspective, this was pretty much the usual fare for ID books.Clever and well reasoned but built from misleading premises and false representations of the opposition.

The argument as I discerned it:

1.Argue for the limits of scientific naturalism as a source of human flourishing and its failure with non-causal relations in human life,

2.Argue that scientism is alive and well and that there is a hoard of people trying to make science into our grand religion, or inadvertently participating in that agenda,

3.Argue that the way to get past this menace to true and meaningful human life is to expand science beyond naturalism in order to eliminate its blind spot.

I thought the book did a good job with its argument, although I felt that point 1 was rather obvious. Does anyone since the Vienna Circle on a bad day really think science would make a satifactory religion?I find it very doubtful that even Richard Dawkins thinks of science in the way this book assumes all "evolutionists" and "atheists" to think about science. Yet the support for this point was a major focus of the book even though the basic underlying point (scientism is bad) seems almost trivially true.It's as if the author assumes that everyone who advocates scientific naturalism or opposes "intelligent design" also takes science as their religion, when in fact I have never met or even heard of such a person.Obviously there is a difference of perspective here, and a disconcerting one.

One place where the author doesn't make a remotely convincing argument from my perspective is showing (rather than assuming or supporting with out of context quotes) that modern scientific naturalism is really scientism in disguise.There are just too many cases of too many of the proponents of scientific naturalism explicitly attacking scientism to find that even remotely plausible.They would have to be guilty of such inadvertant participation that the accusation would be akin to a Freudian argument.As in ... "Are you aware that you're harboring unconscious hostility?Gee doc, if it's unconscious, how would I know it ?"

The third point is equally implausible from my perspective and more malevolent.Maybe I'm just being dense, but I can't get past the notion from my own science and intellectual history education that the proponents of science were generally very deliberate and very explicit in their focus on natural causes and also recognizing that was a known blind spot.Of course, that's why scientism has never caught on, and why I found the author's arguments against scientism to be needless and misrepresentative of real naturalistic thinkers.

So I think we all agree that science has a very real blind spot, but I disagree with the authors (and the Intelligent Design authors in general) about their prescribed course, to expand science to include the kinds of relations in human life traditionally handled by religion or theology. I also disagree with their representation of naturalistic thinkers as proponents of scientism.

From my own perspective, this book has nothing particularly unique to distinguish itself from the rest of the Intelligent Design literature in that it makes many good logical points against an exaggerated strawman opposition that supposedly wants to make science the religion of mankind.It takes the clever and provocative metaphor of "science acting as religion" and assumes that metaphor to be true in ways that it patently is not, in my opinion, and thus misses out on the unique value of science in explaining natural causes in modern life as well as the unique value of religion in dealing with other important aspects of human life and human experience.

A much more realistic, accurate, and interesting view of the modern agenda to find meaning that is consistent with naturalism can be found in Owen Flanagan's recent book.That book takes Flanagan's superb recounting of the intellectual history of the sciences of mind in his previous work to the next level by showing how it is possible to find meaning in a naturalistic world without resorting to the sort of scientism that "Science's Blind Spot" argues against.The Really Hard Problem: Meaning in a Material World (Bradford Books)

Good historical background
Cornelius Hunter has written an interesting book, Science's Blind Spot that argues modern science has been significantly influenced by theological and metaphysical thought, resulting in the rise of "theological naturalism.

Hunter, with an excellent historical survey, depicts how we reached the present state of scientific thought, and why theological naturalism is an ignored yet critical point in understanding today's debate between science and religion. Early on, naturalism was viewed as a scientifically established principle, and by the second half of the nineteenth century, it was seen as scientific fact. Rationalism, with its metaphysical suppositions, has constrained the sciences to naturalism. This has led to a blind spot, where only naturalistic explanations may be considered. Rationalism has proclaimed naturalistic explanations to be correct by fiat, making it a metaphysical certainty, not a scientific certainty.

Hunter uses the Intelligent Design debate to illuminate his point. Criticism of ID has come mostly from rationalism and theological naturalism. Ironically, these critics use arguments that are not empirically based science, but rather, theologically based.

Perhaps the best part of this book is the historical background. Hunter covers the history of modern science, particularly the earlier evolution movements leading to Darwinism, and it trajectory to the present day. I feel his arguments for naturalism as "theological naturalism" are interesting, but not terribly significant.

Blindspot.
Spoiler alert! The entire book can be summarized as this

1. Science currently adopts methodological naturalism
2. Methodological naturalism only allows for naturalistic explanations.
3. Therefore it excludes non-naturalistic explanations and that's a blind spot.

You can say this In less than 150 pages. Waste of money, waste of time, waste of paper.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

reducing the bitterness among muslims
After reading this book I have been able to understand a lot of confusion and seperation among the muslim ummah. This book is also great in referencing other classical and new works at the end of every chapter.
I am actually using these ideas to enlighten my riligous friends in the community and i think Hoodboy needs to keep working on this type of material. The rift between "understanding" needs to be reduced and more work is required in setting goals.
An excellent book.+

Brilliant, unbiased and clear picture ever painted.
The author has painted such a clear and crisp picture of the people of the Islamic world showing both our positive and negative points throughout the history and in the present days. I appreciate the easy flowing manner of the author commenting daringly on the History and speaking his mind out on the present conditions of the Muslims around the globe. It's like looking in the mirror. Thank you Hoodbhoy. It's about time somebody speak up the truth. ... Read more

Book Description
A companion volume to the classic The Science of Mind, here is a year of daily meditations from beloved spiritual leader Ernest Holmes.

Daily meditations are central to the Science of Mind philosophy: whatever a person believes is what he or she lives.

From the early 1940s until his passing in 1960, teacher and philosopher Ernest Holmes personally created hundreds of daily meditations.For the first time, the finest of these-words that inspire, nurture, and revitalize the fabric of our lives-are collected in one attractive volume. Augmented by quotes from scripture and the words of great philosophers throughout history, these meditations will enrich every heart. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Daily Help
This is a wonderful book of daily inspiration, I read a page everymorning before I leave for work and it really helps put my mind in a good place to start my day.

Beautiful prose, practical information.
If you can appreciate beautiful poetry, then you can handle the wisdom in this book.His thoughts are very deep yet extremely practical for the day to day.It's worth it to read a selection each day and keep a journal to further examine the lesson contained within its pages. If you are familiar with his philosphies - you'll really appreciate the articulate nature of his impressions and spiritual remedies.If you are not familiar with him, I'd challenge you to do so - you will not regret it!

Must have
Must have

If you have read the Science of mind or Urantia book, this is for you. These days of confusion, everybody could use a daily guide and inspiration in our life.I highly recommend this book of great wisdom. It is for everybody who made the first step toward higher meanings and more spiritual life.

Interesting Inspiration
The overall tone is slightly contrived. It doesn't "feel" right. Could be better. Unless you are familiar with "Spiritual Mind Treatments" it will sound really weird. ... Read more

Book Description
Evolutionary science lies at the heart of a modern understanding of the natural world. Darwin’s theory has withstood 150 years of scientific scrutiny, and today it not only explains the origin and design of living things, but highlights the importance of a scientific understanding in our culture and in our lives.

Recently the movement known as “Intelligent Design” has attracted the attention of journalists, educators, and legislators. The scientific community is puzzled and saddened by this trend–not only because it distorts modern biology, but also because it diverts people from the truly fascinating ideas emerging from the real science of evolution. Here, join fifteen of our preeminent thinkers whose clear, accessible, and passionate essays reveal the fact and power of Darwin’s theory, and the beauty of the scientific quest to understand our world. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (25)

Essential
Anyone interested in what real scientists have to say about "intelligent design" ought to pick up this book. It is a collection of essays by the very opposition (as opposed to someone who simply has an opinion on the matter) to the big ID proponents (i.e. William Dembski, Michael Behe). Intelligent Design Theory is simply not scientific. It is not falsifiable, for its premises are merely "self-incredulous"- in the words of evolutionary scholar Richard Dawkins; "I cannot imagine a way this can have occurred through gradual processes, and therefore it cannot have."

Papers that challenge the reader to think and argue
This book contains papers aboutcreationism and the thought process of Intelligent design. Each paper is written by an expert in a differentt filed and sometimes I found myself agreeing outloud and sometimes I found myselfin certain disbelief. That is the beuaty of this book. It stirs you to think and challenge.

A Mixed Bag
I wish I could review each essay individually as it bears on the sub-title.If it was not for the importance of getting works like this out, I might have been tempted to only give three.

The book is a collection of 16 essays, some of which deal directly with the "Intelligent Design" (ID) movement, some of which discuss the ramifications of neo-Darwinism.And some that go quite far afield.

The first essay, by Coyne, is about the fallicy of calling ID a science.He does a great job of describing what science is, why evolution meets that definition, and why ID does not.Basic and easy to follow, this was one of my favorite in the book because it goes straight to the heart of the "controversy".

Susskind writes well, but the main thrust of his essay is about the science-religion conflict and the politics that exist to prolong it, not about the crisis of trying to teach religion in science class.

The third review, by Dennett, covers why people are turned off by evolutionary theory's complexities and become convinced by ID'd PR that it has a valid point to make.It's a good overview of how a nonexistant "scientific debate" has been misrepresented to the public.

In the fourth essay, Humphrey discusses the evolution of human consciousness.This piece was confusing and a bit too philosophical for my liking.I know it was a reply to the ID idea that consciousness must have been designed in, but when he starts showing that consciousness is an illousion of mental activity, he lost me.

Paleotologist White rambles about various digs in Africa to show humans have changed over time.

Shubin does a great job of showing that the great transition at the start of the Cambrian wasn't so great, it was just successful.He covers the fish to tetrapod shift very well, showing that evolution is testable, but that's as close as he gets to dealing with ID.

In his essay, Dawkins starts off by showing that ID's claim that maybe aliens designed us begs the question of where did they come from.He writes mostly about the difficulty of finding alien life, but returns to ID at the very end, albeit briefly.

Next, Sulloway reviews Darwin's thought process from the creation idea that was the prime paradigm of his time to natural selection.More of a history of Darwin's change of mind and methods, it doesn't really address the ID topic.

Atran starts off well, showing that if there was a designer, he sure did a crappy job in some places.He provides several examples of anatomy that could have been designed much better, but make sense with evolution using what's available.Alas, he then turns off into a discussion of the role of religion that rambles off the stating point.

Pinker shows that morality can "evolve" in a society without the interferance of a mandate from a creator.I thought this whole thing was off the topic of the book.

Physicist Smolin discusses the possible origin of our universe and ways it might happen absent the creator's hand.It was a bit hard to follow, and, again, I'm not sure this essay belonged in this collection.

The next piece, by Kauffman, was about self-organization and assembly being possible without outside help.It was confusing.

According to Lloyd in the next essay, the universe is so big and so many chemical reactions, or information processing, happen that it was inevitable that life would arise, no help needed.Some good ideas, but boring.

Randall wrote a rambling piece about part of the history of the evolutionary debate, finishing with some comments about how science is almost never 100% sure, but it's still science.

Hauser chimes in with a piece about how the government shouldn't force subjects outside of a diciplin to be taught within the subject's curriculum.While a course on scientific controversies would be interesting, it shouldn't be part of an actual high-school science course for fear it would confuse the students as to what was accepted science and what is not.This was a good piece about education and the importance of keeping to the curriculum needed at that level.

And last, Sampson describes why it's important for evolution not only to be understood itself, but also in tandem with ecology.

Overall, the book was a good read, but some of the essays seemed out of place in this work.Still, I liked it.The addition of excerpts from the anti-ID decision in Kitzmiller vs Dover School District at the end was a nice touch.

All over the map
This collection of essays is all over the place. The first essay by Jerry Coyne is a gem. It is the most thorough and concise explanation I have seen of the evidence for evolution and of why Intelligent Design is not science. A similar essay by Coyne is available online if you know where to look.

After that, mileage varies considerably. Daniel Dennett does a presentable job of explaining some of the rhetorical hijinx engaged in by ID advocates. Steven Pinker doesa nice job presenting evolutionary models for morality. Some of the others seem off-target or even weak. I would like to know where Lisa Randall gets her numbers, and how deep her knowledge of biology is. I didn't get much out of Nicholas Humphrey's essayon consciousness. It is devoid of any sense of the fascinating findings of cognitive science of the last several decades. Seth Llloyd's essay on the computing power of hte universe was so far out there that I have no idea how sound it might be.

The appendix, with an excerptfrom Judge Jones' decision in the Kitsmiller v. Dover case, is another gem, and one that is also available elsewhere.

Great
Im not gona pretend im a critic, I think the book was great, period. ... Read more

Book Description
This digital document is an article from Church & State, published by Americans United for Separation of Church and State on May 1, 2002. The length of the article is 4649 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Insidious design: disguising Dogma as Science, Religious Right activists have created a new scheme to wedge religion into public schools.
Author: Steve Benen
Publication: Church & State (Refereed)
Date: May 1, 2002
Publisher: Americans United for Separation of Church and State
Volume: 55Issue: 5Page: 8(6)

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

What a great book!
This book is the third in the series "Issues in Science and Technology", published by Continuum Press on behalf of the European Society for the Study of Science and Theology (ESSSAT). It is the result of a conference held in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, in 2002. However, this book is NOT a proceedings volume. It is a great collection of articles all focusing on the relation between theology, ethics, and technology. The book contains not only the plenary lectures of the Nijmegen conference (by René Munnik, Frans de Waal, and Margaret Boden), but also many other contributions on, e.g. cyborgs and Philip Hefner's notion of the 'created co-creator' (including a contribution of myself).

The book consists of three parts: (1) Technology's impact on our worldview, (2) Morality, Nature and Culture, and (3) Morality in a Technogical Society. All the contributors of this book focus on issues in technology, ethics and theology from their own perspective.

If you are interested in issues in technology, ethics and theology, then you may want to check out this volume! Note, however, that this is not an easy-to-read book. The articles are scholarly works, thus assuming some background knowledge. ... Read more

Book Description
How do science and religion interact? This study examines the ways in which two minorities in Britain - the Quaker and Anglo-Jewish communities - engaged with science. Drawing on a wealth of documentary material, much of which has not been analysed by previous historians, Geoffrey Cantor charts the participation of Quakers and Jews in many different aspects of science: scientific research, science education, science-related careers, and scientific institutions. The responses of both communities to the challenge of modernity posed by innovative scientific theories, such as the Newtonian worldview and Darwin's theory of evolution, are of central interest. ... Read more

Book Description
The issues of animal rights and the use of animals in scientific experimentation are fraught with controversy. In an effort to define the bases of such strong emotional response towards an ethical issue, this book presents the teachings of the major religions of the world concerning animals and, more specifically, their use in science. Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and Confucianism are represented in this collection of eight essays by religious authorities.

Scriptural writings, written and oral tradition, law, religious parables, and even folklore are used to illustrate the position of each religion on this question. When there are no specific teachings regarding the relatively recent use of animals in scientific research, conclusions are derived from the view of man's relations with the rest of the world.

In addition to the essays dealing with specific religions, there is also a chapter detailing recent uses of animals in scientific research throughout the world. It is estimated that 500 million animals a year are sacrificed to science. This volume attempts to find out for what purposes they are used, under what conditions, and with what legal protection.

Based on a conference which explored the views of religion toward scientific experimentation on animals, this collection of essays addresses an explosive issue from a number of different perspectives. Animal Sacrifices is a fair-minded and informative discussion of a contemporary ethical dilemma. ... Read more