The monkey business: A scientist looks at creationism

by Niles Eldredge

Book Overview

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0671441159
• ISBN13: 9780671441159
• Release Date: January 1982
• Publisher: Washington Square Press
• Length: 157 Pages
• Weight: 0.20 lbs.

Customer Reviews

someone who has actually read the book -for a change

At the outset I will say I have given the book 5 stars so that it's overall rating is not unfairly affected by the 3 previous commentators, who are cleary making 'interventions' and don't appear to have even read the book - they certainly make no actual reference to its content. I am really getting tired of this hack political activism from lazy people who simply paste a slab of slanted quotes onto a page, then insult our intelligence by masquerading them as "reviews". This is the internet equivalent of interrupting people in a street cafe and shoving pamphlets under their noses- it is disrespectful, boorish... and its design is anything but intelligent. As for the book, Eldridge writes clearly and with engagement. He is a passionate and vocal champion, not only of evolutionary theory generally, but of a particular position within it, as the co-founder of the theory of "puncuated equilibrium". Due to Eldridge's background, there is a strong emphasis on the use of the fossil record as the evolutionist's primary tool and therefore on natural selection as a process in which organisms' environments exert strong selective pressure. Writing from personal experience, it is a vivid introduction to anybody wishing to understand the world of the rock-hound. It is worth remembering that fossil's are exceedingly difficult to study; the paleontologist needs to be part anatomist, behaviourist and very much a detective. I enjoyed Eldridge's account. He builds his argument clearly and logically. However, some of the sharpest responses to the I.D. argument from irreducible complexity are not featured, as they owe more to very recent developments in genetic and molecular theory - an area of biology with which Eldridge has tended to have an uneasy relationship. A more multidisciplinary approach is required to understand how exactly evolution works, in particular the ways that genes affect embryo development and the means by which structured complex organs are controlled by specialised genes working in a heirarchy etc. To that end, I recommend Jerry Coyne's "Why Evolution is True" for a broader view; Neil Shubin's "Your Inner Fish" is also great, as well as McNamara and Long's "The Evolution Revolution". Finally, it is appropriate to point out that Eldridge explicitly takes issue with the notion that science must equate to atheism. He criticises the confusion of scientific principles with values and argues that science and religion need not be in conflict. (further evidence that only 2 reviewers here have actually read the book.)

Great then, not sure how it stands up now

I read this book many years ago, when the fantasy-worlders and their ghost stories were being marketed as an extension of the backwardness of the Reagan adminstration. This was a great primer for confronting the lunacy of creationism. I haven't read it since, and I don't know if it's been updated to address the newest form of creationism slyly renamed 'intelligent design'. It really doesn't matter, I guess. If you are a true believer, you'll ignore reality to prop up your medieval world view.

It's a jolly good read

I read this book a while ago, and unfortunately lost it in a trade with a gentleman who had given me a creationist book to read. The book itself is very accessible, easily read and quite fascinating, particularly if you are interested in finding out just how creationists attack evolutionary theory. Yes, he supports evolution (he and Niles Eldredge presented the world with punctuated equilibria - of course he does), but he does give credit where it is due and does not completely treat creationists as ignorant or stupid - quite the opposite in some areas. However his frustrations do show thru in portions, as do his fears of creationism taking a greater hold in schools - mainly due to lack of understanding of the scientific process and/or scientific theory not only in the general populace - but within the science teacher population as well. The book also is useful for gaining some insight into the operation of scientific theory, and addresses some misconceptions. It is however, *not* a scholarly work - it lacks the depth and the volume one would expect for that. It won't convert anyone - I don't think that was the intention. It is a good introduction, quite "chatty" and informal. In that respect it succeeds.