Render Unto Darwin Philosophical Aspects of the Christian Right's Crusade Against Science

by Fetzer, James H.

• ISBN13: 9780812696059
• ISBN10: 0812696050
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-03-16
• Publisher: Open Court

Summary

With this exceptionally clear and painstaking analysis, the author dissects the philosophical issues that lie beneath the surface of some of the most contentious debates of modern times about the morality of abortion, the ethics of stem-cell research, and the propriety of human cloning. Distinguishing between different varieties of creationism-traditional creationism, classic creationism (in three versions), creation science (with three sub-theses), and intelligent design-he systematically explores the extent to which they properly qualify as "science." No matter how satisfying they may be psychologically, an appeal to unknowable entities using unspecified means to plug gaps in the current state of our scientific knowledge should not be included in the public-school science curriculum unless it is to illustrate the profound differences between pseudo-science and the real thing.

Table of Contents

Prologue : going by the book	p. 1
Why does the right wage war on Darwin?	p. 15
Where is evolution going?	p. 45
Let's see some ID	p. 69
The immorality of the Christian right	p. 95
Religion, morality, and the new American fascism	p. 123
Epilogue : how science can help public policy	p. 151
Defining science	p. 163
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