Doubts about Darwin: A History of Intelligent Design

by Thomas E. Woodward

Book Overview

Deep in the halls of scientific academia, a debate has been quietly raging between Darwinian macroevolution and the theory of intelligent design. This challenge to scientific naturalism has life-changing effects on the fundamental cultural story of humanity; it asks what it means to be human and questions whether or not we have a purpose and a destiny. Beginning with Michael Denton's revolutionary book, Evolution: A Theory in Crisis, author Thomas...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0801064430
• ISBN13: 9780801064432
• Release Date: December 2007
• Publisher: Baker Books
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 1.44 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.4" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

A multifaceted look at this important debate

I was fully prepared to be underwhelmed by this book, after seeing that it was primarily a re-work of the author's Ph.D. work. I've seen how such books tend to be informative but often not a very compelling read. I was happily surprised to find that Doubts about Darwin has that unique combination of intrigue and education that made it hard to put down.I see this as (at least) a 4-in-1 book: (1) A thorough history of the Intelligent Design movement, (2) a broad review of much of the key literature in the field - you'll figure out which authors or books you'll want to read next, (3) a light and interesting on-going lesson in rhetoric and how it plays a key role in this issue, (4) a good introductory education on the ID topic itself that gives enough understanding to appreciate the debate.The description of the initial encounter between Phillip Johnson and SJ Gould may be worth the price of the book, and is a microcosm of the larger ID debate. Woodward gives unique, up-close views like that as he tracks the goings-on over the years. If I had to make a criticism, I'd say that Woodward spent quite a bit of time on Johnson's Darwin on Trial book. I could have been satisfied with a bit quicker pace in that section, but he obviously felt it was a cornerstone work in this engagement and worth a closer look, which I can understand. Generally he strikes a good balance, with 40 pages of small print notes in the back to keep the main story flowing. (But I found myself frequently drawn to the notes for more details anyway.)If you have any interest in getting a handle on this debate, or just like seeing what happens when the ideas of one group of smart people collides with the ideas of another, I don't expect you'll be at all disappointed with the Doubts book.

No doubt about "Doubts"

Having closely followed Intelligent Design for the past eleven years, I expect any new books in this genre to simply add to my ID knowledge base. THATS NOT WHAT THIS BOOK IS ABOUT!The "big picture" is critical to an in-depth understanding of any complex endeavor. Since I am by nature a detail person, I must work extra hard to "see" it. However, even hard work won't help you if you lack the analytical tools needed to "step back". This book has provided me a framework with which to understand the ID movement. I'm actually going to re-read some of the key works that were highlighted with the new vantage point that I have."Doubts about Darwin" practically turned its own pages! I could not set it down. Not only is the author good at rhetorical analysis, he is an excellent rhetor. (I didn't know the word 'rhetor' before I read Doubts). I especially enjoyed the book within a book. I felt that I was learning on two levels. As he provided rhetorical analysis, he was explaining the process to us. And the footnotes were quite informative. I had to stop and read most of them as I was zipping along. That probably kept me from getting literary indigestion, I was reading so fast!This is a good read and I heartily recommend it.

the first objective history of ID

Doubts about Darwin is a very objective book about the Intelligent Design Movement (ID). This work, a revision of the author's Ph.D. thesis completed at the University of South Florida, has much information that is not commonly known, such as many of the forerunners of the ID movement were atheists or agnostics. For example, the role of such people as Murray Eden (professor emeritus at MIT) and other ID forerunners such as Professor Michael Denton (p. 24) are discussed. Many excellent quotes are included that show the dogmatic attitude of the Darwinists, such as Gould's statement to Professor Johnson calling him (falsely) a creationist and then emotionally proclaiming "I've got to stop" your work, obviously by any means he can (p. 96). This is hardly the attitude of an objective scientist intent on searching for the truth about origins. Woodward, a college professor himself, documents the many unethical attacks by the so called science and university establishment against those who dare to question Darwin. Rarely are Darwin doubters given an opportunity to respond to attacks against them in the journals that published the attacks and, thus, few people have an objective understanding of the movement. Reading sections of this book at times made me ashamed to be a scientist. Woodward does note that many scientists have been objective and fair critics, even supportive of ID, such as University of Chicago Professor David Raup (I was a fan of his work long before I learned about his positive contribution's to ID). The book also tries to answer questions such as, why more and more people are having serious doubts about Darwinism, who they are, and why the ID movement is growing so fast. The motive for the growth of ID is clearly major "doubts about Darwinism" and the book covers these in some detail. Now what is needed is an objective book on ID by a professional historian.

The rhetorical history of an important social movement .

... One oft-repeated story is that all challenges to Darwinism are merely religiously motivated and hopelessly unscientific. Science is about objective facts. Religion is about subjective values. Darwinism is scientific. Challenges to Darwinism are not scientific and so have no place in any public institution. This standard story is being upended by lawyers, scientists, and philosophers who claim that Darwinism fails the tests of good science. These thinkers, who are neither theologians nor preachers, make up the Intelligent Design (ID) movement, which is chronicled in this important book written by a professor at Trinity College in Florida.Woodward's account shows that the problem with the template of "religion versus Darwin" is that it simply doesn't fit the ID movement, although many detractors try to insist otherwise. The founder of the movement, Phillip Johnson, was, until his recent retirement, a Professor of Law at the University of California at Berkeley. While on sabbatical in the late 1980s, he studied the scientific case for and against Darwinism and concluded that the empirical case for Darwinism was surprisingly weak. He then presented his findings at a symposium held through his law school and was further encouraged to pursue his criticism of Darwinism. As Woodward amply documents, the proponents of this movement-which include a biochemist (Michael Behe) as well as a philosopher of mathematics (William Dembski)-have "doubts about Darwin" based on their investigation of the empirical evidence. Proponents of ID argue that Darwinism lacks crucial evidence, begs important questions, and often caricatures alternatives unfairly. ... The proponents of ID make their case against Darwinian evolution by pointing out flaws in the arguments and gaps in the evidence, not by citing religious texts. ..Rather, ID thinkers are a diverse group united primarily in their belief that Darwinism is not beyond the reach of scientific criticism. ... Chance and necessity alone, they argue, do not provide sufficient scientific categories for explaining the origin of complex living systems such as DNA and the bacterial flagellum (a microscopic rotary motor). The scientific and philosophical establishment is beginning to interact seriously with ID claims in academic journals and at conferences, although it is still often dismissed as "unscientific." There are a growing number of books defending and criticizing ID, but Woodward's book is unique in that it assesses the history of this movement of the past decade-or-so from the perspective of the classical discipline of rhetoric. Given the book's rhetorical angle, the reader is treated to both the straight arguments for and against Darwinism, as well as an inside look at the personalities and persuasive strategies used on both sides of the debate. (For example, when noted Darwinist Stephen Jay Gould first met Phillip Johnson, he dispensed with pleasantries and said, "You're a creationist and I've got to stop you."

An Antidote to Dogmatism

Doubts about Darwin is the first objective full length book about the Intelligent Design Movement (ID). The book is a revision of the author's Ph.D. thesis completed at the University of South Florida. The author is a college professor (as I am). Doubts about Darwinism answers questions about the movement such as why do so many people have doubts about Darwinism, who are they, and why is this movement growing so fast? The movement includes full-fledged senior faculty at such universities as Oxford University, Princeton, the University of Georgia, Ohio State University, Medical College of Ohio, Helsinki University of Technology in Finland, the State University of Applied Sciences in Frankfurt Germany, the University of New Brunswick, University of Sydney, University of Auckland and Hanyang University in Korea. The movement covers the gamut of disciplines, including the full range of the natural sciences. The International Society for Complexity, Information, and Design is now the professional society of the intelligent design community. The society now lists over fifty research fellows including Fritz Schaefer, the inventor of computational quantum chemistry. With almost 1,000 peer-reviewed publications, he is the third most cited chemist in the world and has been considered for a Nobel five times. All the fellows are distinguished researchers in their own right and have published extensively in the peer-reviewed literature in their respective disciplines. Woodward's book has been peer reviewed by numerous faculty and this shows. So far, I have noticed only a few minor errors! It is the most complete and accurate history of the ID movement and is must reading for friend and foes of the movement alike. It is obvious that many people who write about ID do not have an accurate understanding of the movement. The motive for the growth of ID is clearly "doubts about Darwinism" and the book covers these in some detail. This work will be the standard work in this area for some time to come.