Author(s): William A. Dembski, Jonathan Wells
Publisher: Foundation for Thought and Ethics
Year: 2008
Language: English
Commentary: TruePDF | TOC | Cover | Full ocr
Cover
Flaps
Acclaim
About the Cover
Dedication
Contents
Foreword by William S. Harris
Preface by Jon A. Buell
The Meanings of "Evolution"
1 Human Origins
William James Sidis
Is Intelligent Design Scientific?
Our Fossil Ancestors?
The 98% Chimpanzee?
The Benefits of Bigger Brains
The Benefits of Smaller Brains
Language and Intelligence
Morality, Altruism and Goodness
Modified Monkey or Modified Dirt?
Discussion Questions
2 Genetics and Macroevolution
Darwin's Theory
Mendel on Inheritance
Genetic Diversity
The Molecular Basis for Genes and Evolution
The Adaptational Package
How Manu Genes Must Change?
"Evo-Devo"
Discussion Questions
3 The Fossil Record
Reading the Fossil Record
The "Gravest Objection" to Darwin's Theory
Major Features of the Fossil Record
Imperfect Record
Insufficient Search
Punctuated Equilibrium
Gould's Final Capitulation to Darwin
Abrupt Emergence
Using Fossil's to Trace Evolutionary Lineages
Whale Evolution
Abusing Fossils to Trace Evolutionary Lineages
Discussion Questions
4 The Origin of Species
Evolution's Smoking Gun
Species as Reproductively Isolated Populations
Alleged Instances of Observed Speciation
Microevolution, Macroevolution and Evo-Devo
Speciation and Intelligent Design
Discussion Questions
5 Similar Features
Classification and Interpretation
Analogy and Homology
The Puzzling Pandas
Darwinism's Redefination of Homology
Molecular Phylogeny
How Accurate is the Molecular Clock?
Vestiagiality: The Best Evidence for Evolution?
Recapitulation
Common Design, Common Ancestry or Both?
Discussion Questions
6 Irreducible Complexity
Molecular Machines
Michael Behe's Dangerous Idea
The Bacterial Flagellum
Coevolution and Co-option
The Argument from Irreducible Complexity
Working with Available Evidence
Discussion Questions
7 Specified Complexity
The Mark of Intelligence
The Key Moment in the Movie Contact
Defining Specified Complexity
Real-Life SETI
The Reach of Chance
Climbing Mount Improbable without Design?
Monkeys Typing Shakespeare
Natural Selection at the Monkey's Shoulder
The Appearance of Design
Hurdles Evolution Must Overcome
The Origination of Inequality
Keeping Darwin's Theory Honest
Not Too Complex, Not Too Simple, Just Right
Variation and Selection Out of Sync
Discussion Questions
8 The Origin of Life
What Needs to be Explained?
The Cell as an Automated City
The Origins of Life, Second Genesis and Astrobiology
Oparin's Hypothesis
The Miller-Urey Experiment
Primitive Undersea Simulation Experiments
Problem's with Oparin's Assumptions
The Proteinoid World
The RNA World
Self-Organizing Worlds
Emergence: The New Alchemy?
Molecular Darwinism
The Medium and the Message
The God of the Gaps
A Reasonable Hypothesis
Fallacies of Composition and Division
Discussion Questions
9 Epilogue: The "Inherit the Wind" Stereotype
Hollywood's Version of the Scopes "Monkey Trial"
The Actual Scopes Trial
The Importance of Keeping Science Honest
The Santorum Amendment
Postscript: Kitzmiller V. Dover
Endnotes
Preface
1 Human Origins
2 Genetics and Microevolution
3 The Fossil Record
4 The Origin of Species
5 Similar Features
6 Irreducible Complexity
7 Specified Complexity
8 The Origin of Life
9 Epilogue: The "Inherit the Wind" Stereotype
Glossary
Index
About the Authors
Credits
General Notes
1 Human Origins
2 Genetics and Macroevolution
3 The Fossil Record
4 The Origin of Species
5 Similar Features
6 Irreducible Complexity
7 Specified Complexity
8 The Origin of Life
