Product Description

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #659445 in Books
• Published on: 2006-08-08
• Released on: 2006-08-08
• Format: Bargain Price
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 224 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Shermer (The Science of Good and Evil), founding editor of the Skeptic and Scientific American columnist, thoughtfully explains why intelligent design is both bad science and poor religion, how a wealth of scientific data from varied fields support evolution, and why religion and science need not be in conflict. Science and religion are two distinct realms, he argues: the natural and supernatural, respectively, and he cites Pope John Paul II in support of their possible coexistence. Shermer takes the "ten most cogent" arguments for intelligent design and refutes each in turn. While on the mark, the arguments' brevity may hamper their usefulness to all but those well versed in the debate. Looking for converts, Shermer offers a short chapter entitled "Why Christians and Conservatives Should Accept Evolution" (i.e., it "provides a scientific foundation" for their core values). His overall message is best summarized when he writes, "Darwin matters because evolution matters. Evolution matters because science matters. Science matters because it is the preeminent story of our age, an epic saga about who we are, where we came from and where we are going." Although there's not much new here, Shermer's wit and passion will appeal to many but won't convince believers. (Aug.)
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From Booklist
The publisher of Skeptic magazine was once an enthusiastic Evangelical Christian, but his ardent pursuit of a scientific education induced reconsideration. Now he staunchly advocates discriminating religion from science and in this book concisely defends evolutionary theory from the almost exclusively -Evangelical--Christian-backed concept of intelligent design (ID), aka creationism, aka creation science--the name changes whenever a suit over having public schools teach the idea as science gets shot down by a high U.S. court (the ID movement always appeals mere state-court decisions). Shermer debates ID often, and he expertly marshals point-by-point explanations of why evolution is worthwhile science, why ID isn't science at all, why ID criticisms of evolution are irrelevant, why science cannot invalidate religion, and why Christians and conservatives ought to accept evolution. His orderly presentation makes the book something of a reference manual on evolution, and only the historically minded will smile at his citation of congruence between evolution and Adam Smith as reason for conservatives to embrace evolution, for Smith's capitalism is a branch of classical liberalism. Ray Olson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
“The idea that evolution and God should be at odds is among the strangest of doctrines, an attempt to make the divine follow our particular notions of how He should operate. Michael Shermer explains what really happened, in terms that should be accessible to any faithful reader.”—Bill McKibben

“Michael Shermer is one of America's necessary minds. A reformed fundamentalist who is now an experienced foe of pseudo-science and superstition, he does us the double favor of explaining exactly what creationists believe, and then of demonstrating that they have no case. With his forensic and polemical skill, he could have left them for dead: instead he generously urges them to stop wasting their time (and ours) and do some real work.”—Christopher Hitchens "A readable and well-researched book on what is perhaps the most vital scientific topic of our age. Anyone who has been snowed into thinking that there is a real scientific controversy over evolution by natural selection will be enlightened by Why Darwin Matters, which is both genial and intellectually uncompromising."—Steven Pinker

Customer Reviews

A Superb, Quite Insightful, Primer on the so-called "Evolution vs. Intellligent Design Debate"
In "Why Darwin Matters: The Case Against Intelligent Design" Michael Shermer, publisher of Skeptic magazine, reviews succinctly both the overwhelming evidence in support of contemporary evolutionary theory and the pseudoscientific religious nonsense known as Intelligent Design, and then, discusses "the real, unsolved problems in evolution". Shermer, for example, has ample space to describe briefly Ernst Mayr's theory of allopatric speciation, and its relationship to punctuated equilibrium, the evolutionary paleontological theory developed by American invertebrate paleontologists Niles Eldredge and Stephen Jay Gould. But he also devotes ample space to dissecting Intelligent Design concepts like William Dembski's "Law of Conservation of Information", noting its irrelevance to both current mathematical information theory and the transfer and accretion of information - via DNA - in living biological systems. He offers an elegant overview of the origins and history of the so-called "Evolution vs. Intelligent Design Debate", devoting ample time to the existence of the infamous "Wedge Document" and the trial proceedings of the Kitzmiller vs. Dover trial and, of course, the harsh verdict rendered by Federal Judge John E. Jones III against both Intelligent Design and the Dover Area School District board.

Shermer's terse tome is noteworthy for several reasons. First, he recognizes the necessity for engaging Intelligent Design advocates like Michael Behe and William Dembski, among others, in debates between themselves and knowledgeable critics on behalf of genuine science like Shermer, if only to educate public audiences on the nature of scientific inquiry, the ample facts obtained from genuine scientific research, and the disingenuous lies, half-truths, and omissions promoted zealously by Intelligent Design advocates. Second, he makes a most persuasive case explaining why evolution ought to be accepted by conservatives, as the agent ultimately responsible for the origins of morality in humans, and that "survival of the fittest" could be seen as a biological application of Adam Smith's concept of laissez faire free market economics. Last, but not least, Shermer contends that science should be viewed as being complementary towards spirituality, by engendering a "sense of awe" in viewing, for example, distant galaxies; therefore evolution can and should be seen in this very light. For these reasons, Shermer's terse tome deserves a place on the bookshelves of as wide a readership as possible.

If you doubt evolution, read this book
This is a fine little book (less than 200 pages) that covers what evolution is; how we know it's real; why evolution matters; and why so many people have a problem with accepting it.

While some people may ask why another book about evolution is necessary, clearly it is needed because American's still aren't getting the message. About half of US citizens currently deny evolution. More than half say creationism should be taught in science classes. Something clearly is wrong. Shermer's book won't solve the problem but it should help.

This book is not overly technical and can be read by just about anyone. Shermer shows in plain English that evolution is on very solid ground while creationism has no good evidence or compelling arguments at all.

Probably the most important point in the book that would benefit most well-meaning people is that creationists only have to do science if they want their ideas to be respected as science. They should not be spending time and energy in school board meetings and political campaigns. If they really believe their claims are true and scientific then they should focus their rescources in the field to find supporting fossils and in the laboratory to find proof in DNA. The fact that virtually all of their attention is on PR rather than doing science says it all.

I highly recommend this book.

--Guy P. Harrison, author of 50 Reasons People Give for Believing in a God


I recommend these books as well:


Evolution: What the Fossils Say and Why It Matters

Evolution Boxed Set

What Evolution Is

The Last Human: A Guide to Twenty-Two Species of Extinct Humans

Walking With Cavemen

Walking with Cavemen - Discovery Channel

Indeed Darwin's science contribution does matter
Many reviewers lament the need for such a book, largely because the unconvinced audience will not change their minds anyway, and the convinced do not need more convincing. A real value of this book, though, is its concise summary of terms and tenets of evolutionary theory, from Darwin to modern day biology. The important science chapters for the reader to be aware of are "The Facts of Evolution" (ch. 1), "In Search of the Designer" (ch. 3), "The Real unsolved Problems in Evolution" (ch. 9), and "Epilogue: Why Science Matters."

The other chapters deal more with social, political, and religious topics connected with the theory and implications of natural selection. They are fun to read, but can be distracting from the main theme. Such sections concerning various reasons and prejudices have for rejecting Darwin, almost at the mention of the word "evolution," are likely fairly well known and recognized. The chapter about debating "intelligent design" champions can probably be skipped without much loss. The author, by his own testimony, does not seem to have convinced many debating opponents (nor audience) to this way of thinking, and this would argue against bothering with debates on the subject in the first place.

Chapter 7, "Why Science Cannot Contradict Religion" may well be a nonstarter. With a nod to Bill Clinton, it would depend on what one means by "religion." Read the chapter anyway, because Shermer does a decent job of parsing his chapter title. Chapter 8, "Why Christians and Conservatives Should Accept Evolution" has a condescending and presumptive ring to it even with those words. At worst, this is only preaching to the choir as it snoozes.

A minor irritation with the author might be the length of some endnotes. Personally, this part of a book should only cite references, and leave any narrative for the main texts - if the narrative is important enough to be included. A minor good point: Shermer lists not only websites favorable to his book, but also some with considerably opposed viewpoint.