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Why Darwin Matters: The Case Against…
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Why Darwin Matters: The Case Against Intelligent Design (original 2006; edition 2006)

by Michael Shermer

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6121238,107 (3.93)14
A short, easy-to-read book from the editor of Skeptic Magazine. Shermer discusses the difference between the science of evolution and the idea of intelligent design, and explains why the one is taught in science classes while the other is best left to places of worship. This book should be required reading for high school science students (and, in some cases, their teachers). ( )
1 vote Devil_llama | Dec 23, 2011 |
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I liked the book when I read it in 2006, but knowing what I know about Shermer, I need to reassess that. ( )
  clair.high | Mar 19, 2024 |
A little bit boring. ( )
  Chica3000 | Dec 11, 2020 |
Excellent book, well-documented, well-reasoned and goes on the "must read" list for our homeschoolers, if only to learn from Shermer in how to frame and refute the arguments.

It's not a long read, and covers much material previously published, but I like that Shermer is willing to engage the purveyors of non-science, for while I agree with Dawkins et al that engaging in debate legitimizes what is absurd, someone needs to cogently demonstrate such absurdity.



He does a good job explaining why science cannot disprove religion but also how religion cannot conscript science to support its aims, for science easily disproves such attempts if that door is opened..



( )
  Razinha | May 23, 2017 |
I am a fan of Shermer's column in Scientific American, and this is a further reason to pay attention to what he writes. There are three themes that run through this book-- Shermer's personal experiences as a creationist who becomes a champion of science and reason, the scientific reasons who know evolution to explain the world and the fundamental differences between science and religion, and the social conflict that arises when we try to mix religion and governing.

( )
  GaryAckermanPhD | May 1, 2016 |
A great review of many arguments against intelligent design. ( )
  rosiezbanks | Jan 25, 2016 |
Nicely done, covering most of the avenues of dissent with the unbelievers. A little esoteric at times, but mostly an enjoyable read. ( )
  untraveller | Oct 15, 2015 |
A short, easy-to-read book from the editor of Skeptic Magazine. Shermer discusses the difference between the science of evolution and the idea of intelligent design, and explains why the one is taught in science classes while the other is best left to places of worship. This book should be required reading for high school science students (and, in some cases, their teachers). ( )
1 vote Devil_llama | Dec 23, 2011 |
It is almost unbelievable that there would be a need for this book in 2010. Given the last 150 years of study in the field of biology and other sciences, and the numerous converging lines of evidence that uniformly support the notion that Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection is the one that best describes how the wide variety of flora and fauna came to exist on the Earth, the fact that there is a noteceable segment of the population that still adheres to the magical world view propped up by Bronze Age mythology is somewhat stunning. The idea that some alleged academics who should know better have trumped up a half-baked theory that is little more than Bronze Age mythology dressed up in fancy clothes is even more perplexing.

We live in a world in which the inexplicable is seemingly commonplace and as a result Why Darwin Matters: The Case Against Intelligent Design is, unfortunately, a book that is necessary. The book itself, however, is anything but unfortunate, and serves as a powerful antigen to the insidious lies and disinformation spread by groups such as the Discovery Institute and their willing accomplices in dishonesty such as Michael Behe, Michael Egnor, and William Dembski. In his book, Shermer first lays out the basic facts concerning Darwin's theory and the science that has followed from it and then turns to flaying the rotten flesh off of the arguments made by Intelligent design advocates to reveal the utter lack of intellectual muscle or bone supporting them. Ray Comfort and his ilk should truly fear this sort of book, because it exposes the utter foolishness of their positions in exacting detail.

The amount of time Shermer spends explaining Darwin's theory and the evidence supporting it is fairly brief, which some readers may find disappointing. But giving yet another comprehensive explanation concerning why Darwin was correct and marshalling the overwhelming evidence that has been amassed that supports this conclusion is not the point of the book. There are literally dozens, if not hundreds of books one could turn to for just such an explanation, many of which were written by much more qualified experts on Darwinian theory than Mr. Shermer. The main thrust of this book is to expose the shoddy thinking behind the creationst fairy tale that goes by the name of Intelligent Design.

Shermer systematically walks the reader through the genesis and promotion of the Intelligent Design theory. First he examines why there are people who, despite the solid scientific basis for the theory of evolution, there are some people who simply refuse to accept it as valid. This section is made particularly powerful because Shermer is connect the thinking of such people with his own thought processes when he was a younger man and an ardent conservative Christian who rejected the theory of evolution. He then turns to evaluate the Intelligent design hypothesis (one cannot call something so weak and poorly founded a 'theory" using the language of science), and examines both the arguments mde against the theory of evolution and the relatively small hnumber of arguments made in favor of Intelligent Design. In a step-by-step manner, Shermer lays out the arguments made advocating the creationist/intelligent design position, and then clearly and effectively demonstrates why they are completely without foundation.

After destroying the intellectual foundations (such as they are) of Intelligent Design, Shermer turns his attention to the tactics used the its proponents, noting that the primary reason one can tell that they are not advocating science is the way they go about promoting their hypothesis. Rather than, as an actual scientific movement would, conducting research and publishing papers in scientific journals to convince other experts in the field of the correctness of their views, they spend their time engaged in political advocacy, subverting school boards, and trying to get the court system to declare their religiously based ideas to be valid fodder for classroom science. Fortunately for science education, the "cedesign proponentists" movement (a term covering both creationists and Intelligent Design advocates in the wake of revelations concerning the creationist/intelligent design textbook Of Pandas and People in the Kitzmiller v. Dover trial) has been singularly unsuccessful in the modern era in convincing the U.S. courts to accept their religious nonsense as anything other than religious nonsense.

Finally, Shermer turns his attention to the question of whether science and religion can coexist peacefully, and why Christians should not only not fight against the theory of evolution by natural selection, but should embrace it. As a humorous coda, Shermer provides a rewritten account of the Genesis creation story that accords with the somewhat loony world view promoted by creationist chuckleheads like Ken Ham and Kent Hovind, exposing their buffoonery via a sharply worded satire.

This book is, unfortunately, going to be of almost no value in convincing an ardent cdesign proponentist of the error of their ways. Many people who hold such views are simply immune to logic and reason. Conversely, those who are already firmly in the reality based camp of people who accept the truth of the science revealed by the last fifteen decades of study will also find this book of limited utility, although it would serve useful as a means of arming themselves against the silly arguments they will encounter when dealing with the anti-Darwin lobby. The book is probably most useful for people who are, in effect, fence-sitters, undecided or merely uninformed on the issue who could be swayed by rational argument and evidence. For such people, this book would serve as an excellent first step in examining the evidence and forming an educated opinion. For all but the most ardent of cdesign proponentists, this book is an excellent resource, and well worth reading.

This review has also been posted to my blog Dreaming About Other Worlds. ( )
4 vote StormRaven | Sep 30, 2010 |
I came away from this book with rather tepid feelings. It didn't feel like it flowed very well from point to point, and each point made felt glossed over, with a couple of bare sentences with a footnote. Shermer's survey of evolutionary biology was often unclear, but when he was in his element - that is, the psychology of belief and religiosity - the tone became smooth and easy to read. I especially liked his discussion of the evolution of morality and the Genesis revisit at the end. However, I found his discussion of logical fallacies fell flat, his responses to Intelligent Design arguments felt unsatisfying even to an evolutionist like myself, and he spent so much time referring to other books that I started to wonder what purpose there was in reading this one. I am not sure what the target audience of this book was, but I don't think I was part of it. Still, I do want to pick up some of Shermer's other works that fall closer to his own field of study. ( )
1 vote melydia | Oct 28, 2009 |
I was fortunate to acquire this book the day before I left for a cruise with the James Randi Educational Forum (jref.org), which Dr Shermer attended as a guest speaker. So my copy is autographed! Dr Shermer lays out, with his usual clear language, the logical and scientific reasons why ID is not only just another label for creationism, but is also logically, historically, and scientifically bankrupt. I've loved his books since "Why People Believe Weird Things" came out, and found him to be friendly, personable, and highly intelligent. And a mean poker player. ( )
3 vote GeekGoddess | Nov 6, 2008 |
Does exactly what it says on the tin. A whistle stop tour of the main points regarding the intelligent design/creationism movement.

We get explanations of the common misconceptions/lies about evolution. A discussion of the motives behind peoples denial of a major branch of modern science and a cogent case for why creationism is bad religion anyway.

Quick and easy to read. A great introduction for the topic or a quick summary of the overall situation for those wanting a rational and evidence based approached to it. ( )
1 vote psiloiordinary | Feb 20, 2008 |
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