Teaching Evolution: The Intelligent Design Controversy

BOOKS

The blind watchmaker / Richard Dawkins. New York : Norton, 1986. 575 D322b                     

British scientist Dawkins, one of the strongest proponents of strict Darwinism today, offers a stringent refutation of the "intelligent design" argument.

Creationism, science, and the law : the Arkansas case / edited by Marcel C. La Follette. Cambridge, Mass. : MIT Press, c1983. 344.73077 C86  

The documents and essays in this book portray McLean v. Arkansas Board of Education, the Arkansas creation-science case in 1982, emphasizing its implications for our understanding of the proper relationship between science and society.

Darwin and design : does evolution have a purpose? / Michael Ruse.   Cambridge, Mass. : Harvard University Press, 2003. 576.801 RUSE                  

Surveys the argument from design from its introduction by the Greeks, through the coming of Darwinism, down to the present day. Written in clear, non-technical language; offers an assessment of the status of the argument from design in light of the advances of modern evolutionary biology and the thinking of today's philosophers.

Darwin's black box : the biochemical challenge to evolution / Michael J. Behe.   New York : Free Press, c1996. 575 B395d                     

Michael J. Behe, a biochemist at Lehigh University and leading proponent of intelligent design theory, presents here a scientific argument for the existence of God.

Darwin's forgotten defenders : the encounter between evangelical theology and evolutionary thought / by David N. Livingstone.   Grand Rapids, Mich. : W.B. Eerdmans ; Edinburgh, Scotland : Scottish Academic Press, c1987. 231.765 L763d  

Tracing the Christian response to evolution from the mid-19th century to the present, Livingstone finds accommodation to have been more common than confrontation and also examines the current battle with fundamentalist Christianity and the teaching of evolutionary science in schools.

Darwin on trial / Phillip E. Johnson. Washington, D.C. : Regnery Gateway ; Lanham, MD : Distributed to the trade by National Book Network, c1991. 575 J636d

Dissecting the writings of Gould, Futuyama, Darwin, and Dawkins with a trenchant sword, law professor Johnson uses an attorney's reasoning to scrutinize the scientists' logic in defining the theory of evolution. Contending that science has distorted research rules to exclude Divine Creation in explaining the diversity of life, Johnson challenges the tenets of natural selection and the evolutionary evidence from fossils and genetic and molecular sources.

The design revolution : answering the toughest questions about intelligent design / William A. Dembski.   Downers Grove, Ill. : InterVarsity Press, 2004. NEW 124 DEMBSKI                   

Dembski, a philosopher/mathematician who has been an important theorist for the intelligent design movement, handles a wide range of questions about and objections to the ID argument.

Epperson v. Arkansas : the evolution/creationism debate / Jonathan L. Thorndike.   Springfield, NJ : Enslow Publishers, c1999. 345.7670288 THORNDIK Epperson

Examines the 1968 Supreme Court case which dealt with the  question of whether teaching creationism rather than evolution in schools in Arkansas was acceptable.

Evolution / Bruce Thompson, book editor.  San Diego : Greenhaven Press, c2003. 576.8 EVOLUTIO                

From the Fact or Fiction series for young adults, this book presents arguments on the creationism/evolution debate by leading figures on both sides: William Paley, Phillip Johnson, William Dembski, and William Jennings Bryan; and Darwin, Michael Ruse, and Richard Dawkins; as well as several others.

Evolution as a religion : strange hopes and stranger fears / Mary Midgley. London ; New York : Methuen, 1985. 213 M584e                     

This book by a British philosopher questions some of the theological and philosophical assertions made by scientists on the basis of their work in evolution. Have the theories of evolution in themselves become a new religion?

The evolution-creation struggle / Michael Ruse. Cambridge, Mass. : Harvard University Press, 2005. (On Order)

A discussion of the historical antecedents of the conflict between creationism and evolutionary science and of the current controversy between scientists and proponents of "Intelligent Design," by a philosopher of science at Florida State University.

Evolution in perspective : the science teacher's compendium / Rodger W. Bybee, editor.   Arlington, Va. : National Science Teachers Association, c2004. NEW 576.8 EVOLUTIO 

A collection of articles in which scientists, professors, and teachers offer advice and guidance on addressing the subject of evolution in the science classroom and responding to common misconceptions and questions from students and parents. From the The Science Teacher, one of the National Science Teachers Association's (NSTA's) member journals.

Evolution : the remarkable history of a scientific theory / Edward J. Larson. New York : Modern Library, 2004. NEW 576.8 LARSON                  

Brilliant introduction to the history of evolution, sensitive to scientific, religious and social factors.

Finding Darwin's God : a scientist's search for common ground between God and evolution / Kenneth R. Miller. New York : Cliff Street Books, c1999. 231.7652 MILLER Finding

Miller, professor of biology at Brown University, believes firmly in evolution. He also believes in God -- a belief not widely shared among scientists. Here he sets out to offer thoughts on how to reconcile the conflict many people see between the two positions.

God's own scientists : creationists in a secular world / Christopher P. Toumey. New Brunswick, N.J. : Rutgers University Press, c1994.

Christopher P. Toumey brings a social anthropologist's perspective to the topic of "scientific creationism" and its proponents.

Of moths and men : an evolutionary tale : the untold story of science and the peppered moth / Judith Hooper.  New York : Norton, 2003, c2002. 576.82092 HOOPER              

Journalist Hooper offers an engaging account of H.B.D. Kettlewell's famous field experiments on the peppered moth, which were widely known as "Darwin's missing evidence," proof of natural selection in action until 1998, that is, when biologist Michael Majerus showed Kettlewell's findings to be falsified and wrong.

Science and Creationism / edited by Ashley Montagu. Oxford [Oxfordshire] ; New York : Oxford University Press, 1984. 575 S416

The essays collected here -- including those written by Stephen Jay Gould, Garrett Hardin and Isaac Asimov -- offer a powerful rebuttal to the claims of the so-called "Scientific Creationists," who have argued that evolution is an unsound explanation of the origins of life, and have sought to introduce their ideas into public school curriculums. Montague includes the full text of Judge William R. Overton's landmark decision, which struck down the Arkansas law permitting the teaching of "creation science" alongside evolution in the public schools.

The Scopes monkey trial : a headline court case / Freya Ottem Hanson.  Berkeley Heights, NJ : Enslow Publishers, c2000. 345.730287 HANSON Scopes m  

Discusses one of the most famous court cases in history, in which a Tennessee high school teacher was put on trial for teaching evolution.

The Scopes trial : a photographic history / introduction by Edward Caudill ; photo captions by Edward Larson ; afterword by Jesse Fox Mayshark. Knoxville : University of Tennessee Press, c2000. 345.730288 CAUDILL Scopes t 

Fascinating photographs of the famous "Monkey Trial" with excellent, accessible essays on its history and aftermath.

Summer for the gods : the Scopes trial and America's continuing debate over science and religion / Edward J. Larson.     New York : BasicBooks, c1997. 345.730288 L329s              

Provides an excellent cultural history of the famous Scopes "monkey trial," destroying some enduring myths and highlighting the trial's continuing importance today.

The theory of evolution : what it is, where it came from, and why it works / Cynthia Mills. Hoboken, N.J. : John Wiley, c2004. NEW 576.8 MILLS                   

An award-winning science writer traces the evolution of Darwin's ideas in the context of competing theories past and present and gaps in the evidence for his own theory.

Tower of Babel : the evidence against the new creationism / Robert T. Pennock.   Cambridge, Mass. : MIT Press, c1999. 576.8 P384t                   

In clear, direct prose, Pennock uses the basics of linguistic evolution to go after the foundation of the new creationism while employing sound philosophical arguments to demonstrate that an evolutionary worldview is neither immoral nor the first step toward the acceptance of atheism.

The triumph of evolution : and the failure of creationism / Niles Eldredge.    New York : W.H. Freeman, c2000. 599.938 ELDREDGE Triumph      

Eldredge exposes the deep flaws in creationists' arguments and calls for those who love and respect the scientific process of gathering knowledge to engage their opponents in the culture war wholeheartedly.

VIDEO

Inherit the wind (1960) VID INHERIT

A small Tennessee town gains national attention in 1925 when a biology schoolteacher is arrested for violating state law and teaching Darwin's theory of evolution in the classroom. Based on the play by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee; starring Spencer Tracy, Fredric March, and Gene Kelly; directed by Stanley Kramer. Also available as a made-for-TV movie featuring Jack Lemmon, George C. Scott, and Piper Laurie.

ON THE WEB

AAAS: Dialogue on Science Ethics & Religion: Evolution

Seeks to assist the general public, especially the religious communities, to understand the scientific robustness of the contemporary theory of biological evolution, as well as to address the historical and philosophical dimensions of the cultural debate that surrounds evolutionary biology. From the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Creation Research Society

A professional organization of trained scientists and interested laypersons who are firmly committed to scientific special creation.

Creation Science vs. Evolution

Selected links from the Social Issues section of Multnomah County Library's Homework Center.

Defending the Teaching of Evolution in the Public Schools

From the National Center for Science Education. Includes breaking news, reports, and other resources.

Discovery Institute

Leading think tank for intelligent design proponents.

The Evolution Controversy

Reviews classic cases in the ongoing controversy over the teaching of evolution. From the "Exploring Constitutional Conflicts" section of Professor Douglas Linder's Famous Trials website. See also: The Scopes Trial.