Rumor has it that more than 20 books on creationism/
evolution are in the publisher's pipelines. A few have already appeared. The goal of all will be to try to explain to a confused and often unenlightened citizenry that there are not two equally valid scentific theories for the origin and
evolution of
universe and life. Cosmology, geology, and
biology have provided a
consistent, unified, and constantly improving account of what happened. "Scientific" creationism, which is being pushed by some for "equal time" in the classrooms whenever the scientific accounts of
evolution are given, is based on religion, not science. Virtually all scientists and the majority of nonfunda mentalist religious leaders have come to regard "scientific" creationism as bad science and bad religion.
This first four chapters of Kitcher's book give a very brief introduction to
evolution. At
appropriate places, he introduces the criticisms of the creationists and provides answers. In the last three chapters, he takes off his gloves and gives the creationists a good
beating. He describes their programmes and
tactics, and, for those
unfamiliar with the ways of creationists, the extent of their
deception and distortion may come as an
unpleasant surprise. When their basic motivation is religious, one might have expected more Christian
behavior.
Kitcher is a
philosopher, and this may account, in part, for the clarity and effectiveness of his arguments. The nonspecialist will be able to obtain at least a notion of the sorts of data and argument that support
evolutionary theory. The final chapter on the creationists will be extremely clear to all. On the dust jacket of this fine book, Stephen Jay Gould says: "This book stands for reason itself." And so it does - and all would be well were reason the only judge in the creationism/
evolution debate.
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