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[(But is it Science?: The Philosophical Question in the Creation/Evolution Controversy)] [Author: Robert T. Pennock] published on
Attempts to give the philosophical status as to the scientific claims of evolution and creationism
Unknown Binding
First published April 28, 1988
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About the author
Michael Ruse
131 books100 followersMichael Escott Ruse was a British-born Canadian philosopher of science who specialised in the philosophy of biology and worked on the relationship between science and religion, the creation–evolution controversy, and the demarcation problem within science. Ruse began his career teaching at The University of Guelph and spent many years at Florida State University.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 8, 2012
This book presents a nicely edited group of scientific writings, including the opening words of the book of Genesis. I did find Michael Ruse's writings on evolution to be a bit simplistic compared to Richard Dawkins, but the book stands as a good primer on the evolution versus creationism debates.
August 18, 2024
A COLLECTION OF ESSAYS (MANY BY RUSE) ON THE "BROADER" ISSUES
Michael Ruse (born 1940) is a philosopher of science who teaches at Florida State University, and has written/edited books such as 'Debating Design: From Darwin to DNA,' 'But Is It Science?,' 'The Darwinian Revolution,' 'The Evolution-Creation Struggle,' 'Mystery of Mysteries,' 'Darwinism and its Discontents,' etc.
He wrote in the Preface to this 1996 book, "since the creation/evolution clash is not finished, it seems worthwhile to go back over the key philosophical questions: But is it science? Is evolution science? Is creationism science? But if they are not science, what are they?... I have, therefore, tried to structure this collection with the broader issues in mind, Moreover, I have deliberately tried to let supporters of the most varied opinions have their say. Consequently, the collection is less a unified whole... and more a workbook." (Pg. 6-7) He includes excerpts from 19th century writings of William Paley, Charles Darwin, Adam Sedgwick, and T.H. Huxley, as well as recent writers such as Karl Popper, Stephen Jay Gould, Richard Dawkins, Ronald L. Numbers, Duane Gish, etc. [NOTE: Page numbers below refer to the 406-page 1996 first edition.]
He admits, "one must acknowledge that there are many, many gaps in the fossil record. Moreover, given the high improbability of fossilization, there is no reason to think that all or most of these gaps will be bridged. In short, we will probably reach a limit of fossil evidence for phylogenies, with many things still unknown." (Pg. 119)
Dawkins writes, "I shall pursue an earlier fancy for airliners as metaphors, and label them 'Boeing 747' and 'Stretched DC-8' saltation. 747 saltation is the inconceivable kind. It gets its name from Sir Fred Hoyle's much quoted metaphor for his own cosmic misunderstanding of Darwinism... Stretched DC-8 saltation is quite different. It is not in principle hard to believe in at all. It refers to large and sudden changes in MAGNITUDE of some biological measure, without an accompanying large increase in adaptive information. It is named after an airliner that was made by elongating the fuselage of an existing design, not adding significant new complexity." (Pg. 211-212)
Ruse notes in his concluding essay, "you might think... that the very last thing we evolutionists should be doing is airing our linen in public... [In other words] Do not air the various views, publicly, in print. You may not find the differences compelling, but you can rest assured that the Creationists do. I cannot sufficiently express the strength of my disagreement with this line of argument. To follow it puts you in league with the very forces we are fighting... The reason why we are justified in fighting the Creationists is because we do subject our ideas to criticism. To cease doing this for tactical reasons is to sacrifice our moral cause on the altar of expediency." (Pg. 393)
This book will be of great interest to anyone following the Evolution/Creation debate.
Michael Ruse (born 1940) is a philosopher of science who teaches at Florida State University, and has written/edited books such as 'Debating Design: From Darwin to DNA,' 'But Is It Science?,' 'The Darwinian Revolution,' 'The Evolution-Creation Struggle,' 'Mystery of Mysteries,' 'Darwinism and its Discontents,' etc.
He wrote in the Preface to this 1996 book, "since the creation/evolution clash is not finished, it seems worthwhile to go back over the key philosophical questions: But is it science? Is evolution science? Is creationism science? But if they are not science, what are they?... I have, therefore, tried to structure this collection with the broader issues in mind, Moreover, I have deliberately tried to let supporters of the most varied opinions have their say. Consequently, the collection is less a unified whole... and more a workbook." (Pg. 6-7) He includes excerpts from 19th century writings of William Paley, Charles Darwin, Adam Sedgwick, and T.H. Huxley, as well as recent writers such as Karl Popper, Stephen Jay Gould, Richard Dawkins, Ronald L. Numbers, Duane Gish, etc. [NOTE: Page numbers below refer to the 406-page 1996 first edition.]
He admits, "one must acknowledge that there are many, many gaps in the fossil record. Moreover, given the high improbability of fossilization, there is no reason to think that all or most of these gaps will be bridged. In short, we will probably reach a limit of fossil evidence for phylogenies, with many things still unknown." (Pg. 119)
Dawkins writes, "I shall pursue an earlier fancy for airliners as metaphors, and label them 'Boeing 747' and 'Stretched DC-8' saltation. 747 saltation is the inconceivable kind. It gets its name from Sir Fred Hoyle's much quoted metaphor for his own cosmic misunderstanding of Darwinism... Stretched DC-8 saltation is quite different. It is not in principle hard to believe in at all. It refers to large and sudden changes in MAGNITUDE of some biological measure, without an accompanying large increase in adaptive information. It is named after an airliner that was made by elongating the fuselage of an existing design, not adding significant new complexity." (Pg. 211-212)
Ruse notes in his concluding essay, "you might think... that the very last thing we evolutionists should be doing is airing our linen in public... [In other words] Do not air the various views, publicly, in print. You may not find the differences compelling, but you can rest assured that the Creationists do. I cannot sufficiently express the strength of my disagreement with this line of argument. To follow it puts you in league with the very forces we are fighting... The reason why we are justified in fighting the Creationists is because we do subject our ideas to criticism. To cease doing this for tactical reasons is to sacrifice our moral cause on the altar of expediency." (Pg. 393)
This book will be of great interest to anyone following the Evolution/Creation debate.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews