Evidence and Evolution: The Logic Behind the Science (Paperback)

by Elliott Sober (Author)
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Editorial Reviews

Review
"Elliott Sober, a philosopher of science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has long been a leader in this school [epistemology and ethics], and his latest work, Evidence and Evolution: The Logic Behind the Science, shows why he commands our attention. He is interested in the question of evidence for theories, and he shows through a careful analysis of statistical thinking (particularly Bayesian thinking) how one can make informed decisions about claims made in biology."
-Michael Ruse, Scientific American

"[Sober applies his]...insights into evaluation of evidence to show precisely why proponents of intelligent design are dead wrong (it is not, surprisingly, for the usual reasons trotted out by some evolutionary biologists), to understand the best ways to contrast the alternative hypotheses of drift and selection, and to discuss tests of natural selection vs. common ancestry in the case of comparative phylogenetic studies. There is much good food for thought here, and the book is well worth the investment of time and neural firings that it requires to get to the end of it."
-Massimo Pigliucci, Stony Brook University, Ecology and Evolution

"For anyone who is interested in increasing one's understanding of evidence and how it bears on evolutionary theory, Sober's book is the best place to begin. In fact, it is the best place to end as well. The likelihood that anyone else will be able to do a better job is slim to non-existent."
-David Hull, Northwestern University, BioSciences

"Sober utilizes evolution and cited evidence as the proving ground for detailed philosophical account of evidence for empirical claims...a well-grounded philosophical account of the logic of evidence or induction...Summing up: Recommended."
- D. Bantz, University of Alaska, Choice

Product Description
How should the concept of evidence be understood? And how does the concept of evidence apply to the controversy about creationism as well as to work in evolutionary biology about natural selection and common ancestry? In this rich and wide-ranging book, Elliott Sober investigates general questions about probability and evidence and shows how the answers he develops to those questions apply to the specifics of evolutionary biology. Drawing on a set of fascinating examples, he analyzes whether claims about intelligent design are untestable; whether they are discredited by the fact that many adaptations are imperfect; how evidence bears on whether present species trace back to common ancestors; how hypotheses about natural selection can be tested, and many other issues. His book will interest all readers who want to understand philosophical questions about evidence and evolution, as they arise both in Darwin's work and in contemporary biological research.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 412 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (April 21, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521692741
• ISBN-13: 978-0521692748
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #439,956 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Technical Jungle, June 18, 2008

By	Hande Z (Singapore) - See all my reviews

This is a very technical book on the application of various theories of probabilities (Bayesian, likelihood theory etc) in respect of the claims of "Intelligent Design" and the theory of evolution. It is a matter of academic interest whether Elliot Sober's arguments are correct because they are couched in the technical language of symbolic logic. Insofar as one can understand the general drift, he appears to have shown that the Intelligent Design argument is founded on very weak evidence (including evidence to even support the theory). Sober then tried to apply the same formula in respect of evidence concerning the theory of evolution (and natural selection) and concluded, through a series of logical exercises, that the evidence may not be as conclusive as the evolutionary scientists would like us to believe. One of the main theses of Elliot Sober in this book is that there are many ways of ascertaining truth. He thinks that just because Intelligent Design is a flawed hypothesis does not mean that the existence of God has not been proved. But similarly, even if evolutionary theory is flawed (as Sober tires to show) it does not mean that God, therefore, exists. The existence or otherwise of a theistic being is a matter that is examined from many more viewpoints than just the evolutionary theory. I think that unless you are interested in formal logic, and want to test Sober's technical declarations and exercises, you may find this a difficult book to grind through.