Science and Creationism by Ashley Montagu (review)

BOOK REVIEWS Science and Creationism. Edited by Ashley Montagu. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1984. Pp. xvii + 416. $9.95 (paper). The resurgence of fundamentalistic interpretations of the origin of biological diversity has led to a controversy that has caused many people to question the nature of science and its methodology. The evolution/creationism controversy is complex and involves issues that transcend both science and religion. While some aspects of the controversy have been resolved, it is still important in the educational process and requires our attention. Ashley Montagu's Science and Creationism is a work that can aid our understanding of the historical, political, theological, educational, and philosophical issues in this controversy. If that seems like an ambitious but confused list, it points to a major weakness of the book. There is no apparent coherent plan to this collection of essays in which the reader can find amazing strengths and insights and trivial pursuits of nothingness. More than half of the essays are reprints and thus may be familiar to many readers. Consequently, my comments will focus primarily on some of the more interesting original essays. One of the best is by George Marsden, a historian at Calvin College, who tries to understand fundamentalistic views ofscience. Tracing the roots offundamentalism in American society, Marsden notes that "... much of western thought since the later 19th century has regarded truth itself as a matter of evolutionary development." For the present scientific community, truth is tentative and open to change. But for the creationist, whom Marsden sees as grounded in seventeenth -century Baconism, this is not true. K. R. Miller's essay should be required reading for those facing battles with proponents of creationism. Miller provides a practical manual for dealing with creationist arguments, and he claims that the scientific community must be prepared to take their case to the public and make three essential points. First, we must answer creationist arguments against evolution. Second, we must show the creationist scheme of natural history to be inadequate and contradictory in light of modern biological and geological evidence. Third, we must be prepared to address the religious issue and not allow the creationist claim that evolution is an inherently atheistic theory; this is necessary to expose the creationist attempt to inject a single, specific religious view, that is, Christian fundamentalism, into school science programs. Permission to reprint a book review printed in this section may be obtained only from the author. 634 Book Reviews Robert Root-Bernstein approaches one of the most difficult issues raised by the controversy in "On Defining a Scientific Theory: Creationism Considered." Noting that the validity of theories is judged on the basis of four categories of criteria—logical, empirical, sociological, and historical—he goes on to explore the nature of each of these and the way they are used in establishing the validity of a theory. His is an excellent paper, and my only criticism is that it does not distinguish scientific theories from others. Root-Bernstein's criteria appear to have equal validity for philosophical, theological, historical, and other theories that are not necessarily scientific. Kenneth E. Boulding attempts to forge an evolutionary theology uniting scientific and religious experience. Although he is not totally successful in this goal, his is one of the strongest essays in the collection, for Boulding elegantly delineates the similarities and differences of science and religion. Several of the essays in the book can be viewed as attacks on religion; thus it is refreshing to find a reasoned alternative view. Boulding's essay has one of the clearest explanations of the argument for design I have ever seen anywhere. His essay offers excellent material for the scientist who is attempting to deal with the religious dimensions of the controversy, as suggested by Miller. Michael Ruse discusses the Arkansas trial from the perspective of his participation as a witness. His essay provides vivid insights into the process which led to Judge Overton's insightful decision, which is reprinted in its entirety in this volume. In one of the few essays to find some value in the creationist controversy, Günther Stent castigates the scientific community for the hubris frequently associated with what he calls "hyperevolution...