Darwin and Design

Darwin and Design PDF Author: Michael Ruse
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 9780674016316
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 392

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Book Description
In clear, non-technical language, Ruse offers a full and fair assessment of the status of the argument from design in light of both the advances of modern evolutionary biology and the thinking of today’s philosophers—with special attention given to the supporters and critics of “intelligent design.”

Darwin and Design

Darwin and Design PDF Author: Michael Ruse
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 9780674016316
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 392

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Book Description
In clear, non-technical language, Ruse offers a full and fair assessment of the status of the argument from design in light of both the advances of modern evolutionary biology and the thinking of today’s philosophers—with special attention given to the supporters and critics of “intelligent design.”

Why Darwin Matters

Why Darwin Matters PDF Author: Michael Shermer
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 1429900903
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 230

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Book Description
A creationist-turned-scientist demonstrates the facts of evolution and exposes Intelligent Design's real agenda Science is on the defensive. Half of Americans reject the theory of evolution and "Intelligent Design" campaigns are gaining ground. Classroom by classroom, creationism is overthrowing biology. In Why Darwin Matters, bestselling author Michael Shermer explains how the newest brand of creationism appeals to our predisposition to look for a designer behind life's complexity. Shermer decodes the scientific evidence to show that evolution is not "just a theory" and illustrates how it achieves the design of life through the bottom-up process of natural selection. Shermer, once an evangelical Christian and a creationist, argues that Intelligent Design proponents are invoking a combination of bad science, political antipathy, and flawed theology. He refutes their pseudoscientific arguments and then demonstrates why conservatives and people of faith can and should embrace evolution. He then appraises the evolutionary questions that truly need to be settled, building a powerful argument for science itself. Cutting the politics away from the facts, Why Darwin Matters is an incisive examination of what is at stake in the debate over evolution.

The Not-So-Intelligent Designer

The Not-So-Intelligent Designer PDF Author: Abby Hafer
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1498273602
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 225

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Book Description
Why do men's testicles hang outside the body? Why does our appendix sometimes explode and kill us? And who does the Designer like better, anyway--us or squid? These and other questions are addressed in The Not-So-Intelligent Designer: Why Evolution Explains the Human Body and Intelligent Design Does Not. Dr. Abby Hafer argues that the human body has many faulty design features that would never have been the choice of an intelligent creator. She also points out that there are other animals that got better body parts, which makes the Designer look a bit strange; discusses the history and politics of Intelligent Design and creationism; reveals animals that shouldn't exist according to Intelligent Design; and disposes of the idea of irreducible complexity. Her points are illustrated with pictures, wit, and erudition.

Living with Darwin

Living with Darwin PDF Author: Philip Kitcher
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199724997
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 209

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Book Description
Charles Darwin has been at the center of white-hot public debate for more than a century. In Living With Darwin, Philip Kitcher stokes the flames swirling around Darwin's theory, sifting through the scientific evidence for evolution, Creation Science, and Intelligent Design, and revealing why evolution has been the object of such vehement attack. Kitcher first provides valuable perspective on the present controversy, describing the many puzzles that blocked evolution's acceptance in the early years, and explaining how scientific research eventually found the answers to these conundrums. Interestingly, Kitcher shows that many of these early questions have been resurrected in recent years by proponents of Intelligent Design. In fact, Darwin himself considered the issue of intelligent design, and amassed a mountain of evidence that effectively refuted the idea. Kitcher argues that the problem with Intelligent Design isn't that it's "not science," as many critics say, but that it's "dead science," raising questions long resolved by scientists. But Kitcher points out that it is also important to recognize the cost of Darwin's success--the price of "life with Darwin." Darwinism has a profound effect on our understanding of our place in the universe, on our religious beliefs and aspirations. It is in truth the focal point of a larger clash between religious faith and modern science. Unless we can resolve this larger issue, the war over evolution will go on.

Darwin Strikes Back

Darwin Strikes Back PDF Author: Thomas Woodward
Publisher: Baker Books
ISBN: 1441201149
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 224

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Book Description
The debate between proponents of Darwinism and those of Intelligent Design has reached the status of a full-scale public battle. With stories of qualifying statements about evolution in public school textbooks and the recent 70th anniversary of the Scopes Monkey trial in the news, the question about our origins will not be put to rest. Following up his award-winning Doubts about Darwin, Thomas Woodward traces the continuing saga of the ID movement in Darwin Strikes Back. Focusing on the emerging key players on both sides--Michael Behe, William Dembski, Kenneth Miller, Robert Pennock, and more--Woodward helps readers navigate the tangled maze of public debate, including anti-ID activism from Christians, and shows them what might be coming next.

Politically Incorrect Guide to Darwinism and Intelligent Design

Politically Incorrect Guide to Darwinism and Intelligent Design PDF Author: Jonathan Wells
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 159698614X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 290

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Book Description
Darwin is an emperor who has no clothes— but it takes a brave man to say so. Jonathan Wells, a microbiologist with two Ph.D.s (from Berkeley and Yale), is that brave man. Most textbooks on evolution are written by Darwinists with an ideological ax to grind. Brave dissidents—qualified scientists—who try to teach or write about intelligent design are silenced and sent to the academic gulag. But fear not: Jonathan Wells is a liberator. He unmasks the truth about Darwinism— why it is wrong and what the real evidence is. He also supplies a revealing list of "Books You’re Not Supposed to Read" (as far as the Darwinists are concerned) and puts at your fingertips all the evidence you need to challenge the most closed-minded Darwinist.

God, the Devil, and Darwin

God, the Devil, and Darwin PDF Author: Niall Shanks
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0195322371
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 290

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Book Description
In recent years a controversial new theory of the origins of biological complexity has been fomenting bitter debates in education and science policy. Intelligent Design theory (ID) proposes an alternative to accepted accounts of evolutionary theory: that life is so complex, and that the universe is so fine-tuned for the appearance of life, that the only plausible explanation is the existence of an intelligent designer. For many ID theorists, the designer is taken to be the God of Christianity. This book is an accessible introduction to, and critique of, this controversial new movement. After looking at the historical roots of ID, philosophy-of-science professor Shanks takes a hard look at its intellectual underpinnings, and shows how arguments for ID lack cohesion, rest on errors and unfounded suppositions, and generally are grossly inferior to evolutionary explanations.--From publisher description.

Not by Design

Not by Design PDF Author: John Reiss
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520944402
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 441

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Book Description
More than two centuries ago, William Paley introduced his famous metaphor of the universe as a watch made by the Creator. For Paley, the exquisite structure of the universe necessitated a designer. Today, some 150 years since Darwin's On the Origin of Species was published, the argument of design is seeing a revival. This provocative work tells how Darwin left the door open for this revival--and at the same time argues for a new conceptual framework that avoids the problematic teleology inherent in Darwin's formulation of natural selection. In a wide-ranging discussion of the historical and philosophical dimensions of evolutionary theory from the ancient Greeks to today, John Reiss argues that we should look to the principle of the conditions for existence, first formulated before On the Origin of Species by the French paleontologist Georges Cuvier, to clarify the relation of adaptation to evolution. Reiss suggests that Cuvier's principle can help resolve persistent issues in evolutionary biology, including the proper definition of natural selection, the distinction between natural selection and genetic drift, and the meaning of genetic load. Moreover, he shows how this principle can help unite diverse areas of biology, ranging from quantitative genetics and the theory of the levels of selection to evo-devo, ecology, physiology, and conservation biology.

Darwinism and Design

Darwinism and Design PDF Author: George St. Clair
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Evolution
Languages : en
Pages : 296

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Book Description


Heretic

Heretic PDF Author: Matti Leisola
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781936599509
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 258

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Book Description
What happens when an up-and-coming European bioscientist flips from Darwin disciple to Darwin defector? Sparks fly. Just ask biotechnologist Matti Leisola. It all started when a student loaned the Finnish scientist a book criticizing evolutionary theory. Leisola reacted angrily, and set out to defend evolution, but found his efforts raised more questions than they answered. He soon morphed into a full-on Darwin skeptic, even as he was on his way to becoming a leading bio-engineer. Heretic is the story of Leisola's adventures making waves-and many friends and enemies-at major research labs and universities across Europe. Tracing his investigative path, the book draws on Leisola's expertise in molecular biology to show how the evidence points more strongly than ever to the original biotechnologist-a designing intelligence whose skill and reach dwarf those of even our finest bioengineers, and leave blind evolution in the dust. Endorsements "Award-winning Finnish biotechnologist Matti Leisola has written a fascinating account of what happens when a scientist follows the evidence wherever it leads. Leisola's account of how he succeeded should inspire up-and-coming scientists who face the same challenge." Biologist Jonathan Wells, PhD, author of Icons of Evolution and Zombie Science "Scientists, like all other intellectuals, have ideas about what constitutes and what does not constitute reality. However, they are often not aware-and sometimes not ready to admit-that such ideas represent the principles of their philosophy. Leisola and Witt's Heretic is a unique first-hand account of the life-long adventures of a scientist who dared to challenge philosophical principles of colleague scientists. In my opinion, the outcome shows that to many scientists their philosophy is dearer than their science." Biochemist and inventor Branko Kozulic, PhD "This book is an exciting story about how a scientist's relentless search for truth makes him a heretic in the eyes of a cultural community more concerned about prestige than principle." Tapio Puolimatka, PhD and EdD, University of Jyvaskyla, Finland "This book is a personal, strong, and motivated plea for intelligent design (ID) and 'swims against the current' of Darwinian evolution, now generally accepted in scientific circles and society. I personally do not endorse ID, but I am a good friend of the author, whom I also highly respect as a scientist active in academia and in the biotech industry over so many years. Heretic inspires readers to think critically and to open up a civilized discussion on neo-Darwinism versus ID. It covers the science and philosophical parts adequately; it is accessible to a large readership; and statements are underpinned by relevant research and literature data. Its value lies in the author's lifelong engagement and personal crusade to stimulate the public debate among scientists as well as laymen over Darwinism (chance/random mutation and natural selection) versus ID, a vision that Leisola strongly advocates." Dr. Erick J. Vandamme, Emeritus Professor of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Belgium "Matti Leisola has written the exciting story of almost the entire spectrum of aberrant motives, absurd fears, and unreasonable reactions to intelligent design (ID) by evolutionary scientists, clergymen, and church institutions alike, notably during his career as a scientist over the last some forty years. I would add a word on the fears of so many critics that accepting ID also means accepting the dogmata of some 1700 years of church history. ID is thoroughly neutral concerning such topics. So, the reader is invited to carefully check the historical and, what is more, the enormous wealth of scientific data Matti Leisola has presented in the present book: Test them carefully with an open mind and form your own independent opinion " Dr. Wolf-Ekkehard Lonnig, geneticist, Cologne,