Customer Reviews

Evolution vs. Creationism: An Introduction

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Eugenie Scott explains the nature of science: Science is guided by natural law, is explanatory by reference to law, is testable against the empirical world, is always tentative and subject to revision and is falsifiable. Creationism is an act of faith without testing and fails the nature of science.

What many do not understand is that there is 1) no general all-purpose scientific method, 2) science is not only about experiments, 3) science is not invulnerable to fraud, 4) science can never provide final or absolute truth and 5) there are questions that science cannot answer. Science never proposes an irrefutable hypothesis such as "God did it!" Science accepts what cannot otherwise be disproven - and keeps testing, always looking for the defects and failures.

Following Garrett Hardin's method of taking the opposite view, Ms. Scott makes a concerted effort on behalf of "Intelligent Design" and creationism proponents. The ID folks refuse to allow Ms. Scott to quote from their published materials, contrary to the norms of open and democractic discussion.

The nature of science is that science is an act of nonfaith and is always subject to further testing. Science can never rely on the supernatural. There is no conflict between science and creationism. There is only a conflict in the minds of those who only rely upon the supernatural and faith.

Ms. Scott presents a credible, easy to read and understand discussion. This book belongs in the hands of every K-12 and university educator, minister, school board and the general public.

As someone who was reared in Creationism, but is currently thoroughly confused about the whole topic, this was a very helpful book. It is a great introduction to all the issues surrounding the evolution/creation debate: science, history, politics.

For me, it was helpful in pointing out many misnomers about evolution. For example, evolution does not teach that man came from apes, but that they came from a common ancestor. Also, the way scientists define "fact" and "theory" are very different from what we commonly think. Theories are the highest form scientific findings and facts are the lowest, opposite of what most think.

I took 1 star away b/c I felt the title is a bit misleading. I thought the book would present both sides but not take sides. The book does take sides: it is pro-evolution. I do think the author does her best to understand and explain the positions of Creationists. No, maybe she can't be totally unbiased since she is an evolutionist, but who can be totally unbiased? Would a Creationist be unbiased?

Scott's book is probably the best on the creation/evolution dispute available at the moment which is accessible to students. It carefully addresses an audience which does not have a great deal of background knowledge of the subject.  People who are already deeply involved in the creation/evolution wars might find some of its material, particularly its characterizations of the nature of science, overly simplistic.  But that should be no concern.  Cutting some corners is unavoidable in any basic text.  The book is ideal for its market.  Many, such as myself, who have been teaching on the subject have lamented the lack of a good introduction for beginning students.  This is exactly what we need, and it fills an important gap in the available material.

The public-school science curriculum is always an attractive target for screwballs, medical quacks, pseudoscientists, religious extremists, and people with fringe political agendas. What better way to get one's views accepted than to convert impressionable youngsters?

Among the many movements that have tried to substitute their views for real science, none are more prominent or better known in the United States than the creationists.

There are several species of creationists, and they have evolved over the years, racing to keep ahead of court decisions that have recognized increasingly sophisticated and slippery pseudoscientific assertions as veiled sectarian religion.

No one is better qualified to explain the history, content, PR activities, and legal maneuverings of creationism than Dr. Eugenie Scott, the longtime director of the National Center for Science Education. NCSE is the resource center for scientists, educators, and their allies who have rallied to defend their state or local science curricula from the unceasing incursions of creationism. So, of course, Dr. Scott knows the territory - probably better than anyone else.

There are many books describing creationism. Written from the standpoints of both creationists and their critics, these books have covered the field from the perspectives of history, science, religion, philosophy, law, and politics, among others. What Dr. Scott has endeavored to do in this book is to cover the field from all these perspectives and more, at a level friendly to the newcomer to the issue as well as to high-school and college students. She has succeeded in this admirably, and has also created a resource for the "old hand" who can use it as a refresher, a summary, and a source of references to many more specialized works.

Dr. Scott is eminently fair, in that she sets forth the various creationist arguments (as well as their rebuttals) with accuracy and honesty. For the most part, she does so by extensively quoting the authors themselves. Because her reputation for fairness and honesty is well known in the creationist community, she has been able to obtain permission for these extensive quotes. The exception to this is the new gang on the block - the intelligent design creationists (IDCs) who have denied permission to quote from their copyrighted materials. Even there, however, she has paraphrased their writings with impeccable accuracy and fairness.

For those who want a clear, reliable, expert introduction to the creationist movement - teachers, students, school officials, scientists, pastors, politicians, or lawyers - Evolution vs. Creationism is indispensable. And it's a good read, too!

Evolution vs. Creationism by Eugenie C. Scott (Executive Director of the National Center for Science Education and former president of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists) is an ideal introduction to the concepts of evolution and creationism. Methodical, adhering to the highest standards of academic research, and superbly organized in its presentation, Evolution vs. Creationism is organized into three major sections: Science, Evolution, Religion, and Creationism; A History of the Creationism/Evolution Controversy; and Selections from the Literature. Evolution vs. Creationsim is informed and informative reading for both students and non-specialist general readers. Strongly recommended for both school and community library collections, Evolution vs Creationism is significantly enhanced with ten pages of "References for Further Study; as well as a Name Index and a Subject Index.

. . . one can only hope someone is listening. Actually, it's a bit depressing to reflect on the number of trees felled in convincing certain Christians that their notion of life is false. We can forgive Scott her use of more paper. She has produced the most effective and comprehensive work on why evolution is our guide to the natural world to date. Her organisation is excellent and presented in a clear, effective prose style. With her objectives so well outlined and stated, Scott offers a useful synopsis of the struggle educators face in dealing with the creationist crisis.

Scott breaks her presentation into a triad of subjects: science and how it works, the multi-pronged counter-attack of Christians on Darwin and other scientists, and what creationist writers say about evolution by natural selection. The opening section is a vivid presentation of scientific methods and the avoidance of dogma. Science, Scott declares, is "truth without certainty". Science is more than a "collection of facts", but it is the analysis of facts to explain the universe we inhabit. Scott shows how science's lack of absolutes results in a cleft Christians use as an entry point in their attempts to refute science from astronomy to zoology. Their main thrust, however, remains our biological heritage.

In the second part of her book, Scott traces the history of thinking about the universe and life on Earth. She makes clear that "stasis" wasn't the theme adhered to by early thinkers. Variety was in evidence, but poorly understood. The Aristotelian "ideal" became the standard by which life and its processes were considered. Change was obvious and during the Enlightenment the means of bringing it about over time was sought. From "special creation", which many Christians adopted as a supernatural mechanism to explain change, to Lamarck, who thought living things changed traits during their lifetime, a means for explaining the evidence was sought. Once Darwin provided the real insight into life's mechanism, confirmed by the fossils and genetic evidence alike, change was seen as essential for life to proceed. Christians, fearful that natural selection would undermine their view of divine origins, if not of life, then at least of humanity, have challenged evolution on a wide, but constantly shifting, front.

In presenting their case as completely as possible, Scott is forced to reveal that a significant bloc of Christian contenders against "evolution" refused to allow their works to be cited. It's an interesting conflict when the assaulting force suddenly vanishes. Their presence is still made visible by Scott's other sources reviewing their publications. Compounding her task is the reality of "creationism's" almost infinite spectrum of views. They stretch from those accepting Ussher's date origin of the universe six thousand years ago to those accepting all of science's findings from cosmology to human evolution, but who still insist a deity is "the originator of it all". That's a wide range to address, but Scott pairs these expressions with counter findings in nature. The book concludes with a string of creationist writings answered by scientists in appropriate fields.

The book is a fine summation of positions and meets well its subtitle of being "An Introduction" to the issues. Her references are by chapter, always a useful means of focussing on topical entries rather than a general bibliography where you must search for the appropriate entry. There is a fair amount of material on legal decisions and school board pronouncements. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

I have studied the creation/evolution/intelligent design/naturalism discussions for quite a while, and this has been one of the best books to describe the battle from the darwinian evolution/old-earth perspective. I naturally fall more in the intelligent design camp, but really appreciate the work Scott has put into laying out the argument. With any debate, it's good to understand both sides.

Scott has written the a truly excellent textbook that can be used for "Evolution vs Creationism" type courses, as well as for general reading. She provides the reader with overviews of Creationist attacks on evolutionary theory on such topics as "It's only a theory", "There are gaps in the record", "Life and biologic structures are too complex to have happened by chance", "Radiometric dating is unreliable", "The Cambrian explosion proves life must be created", and so forth. Following each attack or Creationist viewpoint, she then explains how science responds to the various Creationist problems. Scott also gives the reader a history of the controversy, as well as overviews of the legal, educational, scientific, and religious implications. Moreover, she provides an explanation of each of the major types or varieties of Creationism; e.g. Flat Earthers, Young Earth Creationists, Old Earth Creationists, etc.

The are a number of other books on the market that relate to the Evolution-Creationism controversy. In my opinion, Scott has written the best general overview of the controversy, while at the same time addressing many of the particular points of contention with sufficient detail to allow the reader to truly understand why Creationism and the new Intellegent Design movement is mistaken.

At times I spot a a review that has clearly been written by a Creationist. Usually they simply assert that the book in question does not address the real issues of gaps, complexity, and so forth. The only way that they can come to this conclusion about Scott's book is if they haven't read it.

I am still digesting the contents of this book. I scanned it, read it and will be further looking at the details. Dr. Scott does have an evolution bias. Given that, she has been more than fair with the creationist side of the controversy. Held back by the lack of permission to use their material in her book, she paraphrases the issues very well and dutifully cross-references to the source. I consider this a must read for both sides as it does give treatment to most for the theories out there. I especially enjoyed the history of the controversy.
There is much old/rehashed information and new views on many issues. This is fluid arguement, with the creationists failing to support the scientific basis for their arguments except through unsupportable faith based arguments and inuendos on the changes of theories necessitated by new facts coming to light from reasonable scientific sources. I challenge the young earth believers and all the faith based individuals to read this book and not reconsider their opinion.

Debating creationists on the topic of evolution is rather like trying to play chess with a pigeon -- it knocks the pieces over, craps on the board, and flies back to its flock to claim victory.

The pro-creationist reviewers of this book clearly demonstrate this to be true.