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Law, Darwinism, and Public Education: The Establishment Clause and the Challenge of Intelligent Design

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Law, Darwinism, and Public Education: The Establishment Clause and the Challenge of Intelligent Design (Paperback)

~ Francis J. Beckwith (Author)

4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (28 customer reviews)

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Product Description

"In 1987, in Edwards v. Aguillard, the United States Supreme Court declared as unconstitutional a Louisiana statute requiring the state's public schools to teach creationism if evolution is taught and to teach evolution if creationism is taught. It was a serious blow to creationism in public schools, but a new movement since then has kept the debate alive. That new movement is Intelligent Design." Should Intelligent Design be taught in schools? In Law, Darwinism, & Public Education, Francis J. Beckwith asks whether teaching "ID" in public schools would be constitutional, in light of the Supreme Court's decision in Edwards v. Aguillard. At that time, the Court ruled that teaching creationism violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Beckwith examines the Intelligent Design theory and the Edwards case to find out whether teaching ID would suffer the same fate if brought before the court."

Product Details

Paperback: 224 pages
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. (March 2003)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0742514315
ISBN-13: 978-0742514317
Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 0.6 inches
Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (28 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #831,857 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

28 Reviews

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4.6 out of 5 stars (28 customer reviews)

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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A lifeboat for intellectual waters, June 2, 2003

By A Customer

Increasingly school boards are becoming the battle grounds over the debate between advocates of Darwinism-only education and those who'd like students to be exposed to other scientific theories as well. A common claim by the Darwinist-only lobby is that all other theories, especially that of intelligent design, are inherently religious and thus not suitable for science classes. Beckwith's clear and short book dispels this line of argumentation. Beckwith shows why in the best spirit of liberal education, ID can rightfully be included in a science class. Beckwith provides a great background of ID including a captivating summary of the debate in Ohio [2002] over ID and evolution.

This is a must have for anybody who thinks that students are only better educated when they are taught to think critically, and evaluate competing ideas. A quick reading, along with a few marked pages, will easily put you at the forefront of this debate. You'd add a lot to the often confused debates over the legalilty of discussing alternatives to Darwinism. And very likely, your school board, teachers & students will be grateful for the clear, informed rationality you'll gain from this book.

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10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thanks Harvard Law Review for Turning Me On to This Book!, May 6, 2004

By A Customer

I am a LL.M. graduate of Harvard Law School with an academic appointment at a law school at which I teach law and religion. After reading the book note of Beckwith's monograph in my alma mater's law review, and after reading of all the controversy surrounding the book by assorted legal bloggers, I decided to pick up a copy. I was pleasantly surprised by Beckwith's grasp of establishment clause jurisprudence. His judicious walk through the cases is very good.

What makes this book such a gratifying read is that Beckwith is so good at clearly defining what he means and then, in a Socratic fashion, presenting arguments and counter-arguments.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in law and religion

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Good case; bad arguments, April 24, 2008

By	Kevin Currie-Knight "Education Grad Student" (Newark, Delaware) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

First, I am an atheist. Second, I am an atheist who believes that given the right conditions, the theory of intelligent design would pass constitutional muster. It does not promote a religion (thought it is compatible with many religions, including deism), and it does not interfere with people's right to practice their religion freely. While it is beyond question that those who wrote the "ID statement" into the Dover curriculum had religious motivaitons, it need not be the case that ID is INHERENTLY a religious doctrine, or have the effect of promoting a religion.

The problem is not with Francis Beckwith's position; the problem is with the reasoning he uses to get there. In fact, for a book whose first word is "Law," it is a bit suprising that only two of the chapters are really devoted to the legal arguments.

The first chapter to focus on law focuses on the cases to do with Creation Science (the evolutionary ancestor of intelligent design). It goes through the majority opinions and dissents in these cases and finds - quite unsuprisingly - that ID would not fall into the same camp as creation science, as it is not an endorsement of religion with ties to a holy book, as was the case with creation science. (Beckwith also suggests that ID is not an inherently religous doctrine and that, in order to be disallowed, the Court would have to find a religious motive or effect to adopting a policy teaching ID. It is interesting to note that in teh case of Kitzmiller, written after this book, that is EXACTLY what kept ID out of the curriculum.)

The next chapter - certainly the weakest one, where Beckwith shows his naivete - is a chapter outlining the philosophical arguments leveled by ID proponents against evolution. All have been answered many times (though Beckwith doesn't really cite those answers), and some plaln do not make sense. Beckwith criticizes methodological naturalism, for instance, by suggesting that methodological naturalism is not itself a scientific proposition based on observation, and thus, it is self-refuting. This old linguistic trick has been gotten out of many ways, only one of which is to suggest that such a claim does not refute, but justifies, itself by showing that, by its use, science has progressed, and progressed, and progressed. (One can imagine how much science would have progressed without methodological naturalism - if we just stopped at "god must have done it." Hmm.) Tired argument, but Beckwith is quite fond of it.

It is in the latter part of this chapter that Beckwith starts making the political and legal argument as to why ID should be allowed in schools. He suggests, quoting Plantinga, that in a pluralistic society where - apparently - the idea that science ONLY studies the natural is controversial, we should teach alternate conceptiosn of science, such that evolution is taught to be well-established ONLY IF you believe in methodological naturalism. In turn, ID would be taught as well-established IF you believe in methodological supernaturalism.

Of course, pluralism is only ONE aim of schools! In fact, the whole idea of standardized education belies the idea that pluralism - rather than ensuring a degree of homoegeneity - is the main purpose of schools. Science classes, quite simply, exist to teach students a realistic picture of what sceince has come up with. Science has not come up with ID (a lawyer named Philip Johnson did that with the help of William Paley). Science has come up with evolution, though. And that is the realistic picture of what science has discovered in the area of biology.

To put it differently, those - like Beckwith and Plantinga - who value pluralism in education above all else, should also be making the argument that history teachers should teach that the Holocaust did not happen so that those people who do not believe history should rely on evidence might be satisfied. (Read this chapter, and see if Plantinga's argument cited by Beckwith would not very easily justify that!)

It is only in the last chapter that Beckwith gets to suggesting the legal reasons why ID is not a violation of the first amendment. Is it a religion? No. Does it hinder people's free exercise? No. Does its exclusion on grounds that it is a faith tantamount to a violation of the first amendment? Beckwith says yes, becasue excluding a viewpoint just because it is compatible with a faith is tantamount to discriminating against religion.

But did you notice where Beckwith slips up here? He cannot, in one chapter, deny that ID is a religion, while, in another chapter, suggest that blocking ID from the classroom is discrimination against religion (which he suggests ID is not).

In the end, he is right on a few points (those I reviwed in the first paragraph of this review). Otherwise, his case is quite bad, assuming that one is familiar with the literature on the subject (as there are many great refutations of all the thinkers he points to to support his arguments).

Read this; then read those.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A Noted Scholar Explains Why Intelligent Design is Constitutional
Legal scholar Francis J. Beckwith recounts the legal history of court battles over the teaching of biological origins. Read more

Published on June 21, 2006 by Discovery Reviewer

5.0 out of 5 stars A well-informed, even-handed assessment

Francis Beckwith's LAW, DARWINISM, AND PUBLIC EDUCATION does an excellent job of sorting through and analyzing the relevant court cases and legal arguments concerning the... Read more

Published on November 11, 2004 by Paul Copan

3.0 out of 5 stars It is "Your Daddy's Fundamentalism"
Next to sex education, evolution is the most controversial school subject. This book makes the modest argument that an idea called "Intelligent Design" should be taught in public... Read more

Published on June 28, 2004 by Joseph R. McFaul

5.0 out of 5 stars Well-written book with a modest conclusion
I've read virtually all of the law reviews written on the constitutional status of presenting alternative theories to evolution in the publics school classroom. Read more

Published on May 10, 2004

5.0 out of 5 stars "Don't Criticize What You Can't Understand"
Too many people reviewing this book don't get it. The Daubert case flap is an illustration. Beckwith does not say whether he agrees or disagrees with Daubert. Read more

Published on May 9, 2004

4.0 out of 5 stars The Best Defense
I don't agree with Beckwith. I don't believe that ID is even permissible to teach in public schools if it is the only option to evolution offered (which is the same position as... Read more

Published on May 6, 2004 by McGill Downville

5.0 out of 5 stars Must Read for Law and Religion Buffs
For those interested in examining the complex constitutional questions that touch on religion and science in public schools, this is a must read.

Published on May 6, 2004

5.0 out of 5 stars Doesn't Get Any Better Than This
The vitriol leveled against this book got me curious about it. I bought it, read it, and was amazed at how wrong the negative critics are. Read more

Published on May 6, 2004

5.0 out of 5 stars Distinctions Lost on Some Readers
Beckwith's book makes some very important distinctions and points that seem to be lost on some reviewers that read for quote-mining rather than to learn. Here's one example. Read more

Published on May 4, 2004

5.0 out of 5 stars A Refreshing Appoach
Beckwith is a fearless philosopher who has never been afraid to ruffle a few feathers along the way and THE LAW, DARWINISM AND PUBLIC EDUCATION is no exception. Read more

Published on May 3, 2004 by wuebbster

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