Stephen E. Jones

Creation/Evolution Quotes: Introduction #2: Criticism of evolution

[Quotes] [Introduction, #1, #3]

Introduction #2: Criticism of evolution

1. A layperson can understand and criticise evolutionists' arguments
• Gould defended his layman father's ability to grasp and criticise scientists' arguments
• "the leading scientific figures have always assumed that nonscientist readers can understand the essential evidence"
2. Evolutionists write books on evolution for the general public
• "Three imaginary readers looked over my shoulder while I was writing ... First the general reader, the layman"
• "This volume is meant for three kinds of readers. First and foremost, it is written for anyone, biologist or not"

Introduction #2: Criticism of evolution

1. A layperson can understand and criticise evolutionists' arguments
• Gould defended his layman father's ability to grasp and criticise scientists' arguments

"My heart would sink whenever my father attributed the carelessness of scholars to his own ignorance based on lack of professional training. I could never get him to understand that advanced degrees and letters after a name guarantee no new level of wisdom and that, in the end, there is no substitute for old- fashioned careful reading. I could never convince him that he had a far better chance than Uno or Due to grasp the integrity of another man's argument. After all, he had the prerequisites of basic intelligence and adequate knowledge of jargon; and he possessed, in addition and in abundance, two cardinal traits rarely encountered in active scholars: time to read carefully, and lack of distorting preconceptions." (Gould S.J., "Men of the Thirty-Third Division: An Essay on Integrity," in "Eight Little Piggies: Reflections in Natural History," Jonathan Cape: London, 1993, pp.124-125). [top]

• "the leading scientific figures have always assumed that nonscientist readers can understand the essential evidence"

"Before undertaking this task I should say something about my qualifications and purpose. I am not a scientist but an academic lawyer by profession, with a specialty in analyzing the logic of arguments and identifying the assumptions that lie behind those arguments. This background is more appropriate than one might think, because what people believe about evolution and Darwinism depends very heavily on the kind of logic they employ and the kind of assumptions they make.3 Being a scientist is not necessarily an advantage when dealing with a very broad topic like evolution, which cuts across many scientific disciplines and also involves issues of philosophy. Practicing scientists are of necessity highly specialized, and a scientist outside his field of expertise is just another layman. Access to the relevant scientific information presents no great difficulty. Charles Darwin and T.H. Huxley wrote for the general reader, and the same is true of the giants of the neo-Darwinist synthesis such as Theodosius Dobzhansky, George Gaylord Simpson, and Julian Huxley. Current authors who address the general public and who are eminent among scientists include Stephen Jay Gould, Richard Dawkins, Douglas Futuyma, and a host of other experts who are named in the research notes to each chapter. Most of the professional scientific literature is available in the premier scientific journals Nature and Science, the most prestigious scientific organs in Britain and America respectively, and at a somewhat more popular level in the British New Scientist and the Scientific American. Philosophers and historians have also produced well-informed books. In short the available literature is voluminous, and the leading scientific figures have always assumed that nonscientist readers can understand the essential evidence." (Johnson P.E.*, "Darwin on Trial," [1991], InterVarsity Press: Downers Grove IL, Second Edition, 1993, pp.13-14). [top]

2. Evolutionists write books on evolution for the general public
• "Three imaginary readers looked over my shoulder while I was writing ... First the general reader, the layman"

"Three imaginary readers looked over my shoulder while I was writing, and I now dedicate the book to them. First the general reader, the layman. For him I have avoided technical jargon almost totally, and where I have had to use specialized words I have defined them. I now wonder why we don't censor most of our jargon from learned journals too. I have assumed that the layman has no special knowledge, but I have not assumed that he is stupid. Anyone can popularize science if he oversimplifies. I have worked hard to try to popularize some subtle and complicated ideas in nonmathematical language, without losing their essence. I do not know how far I have succeeded in this, nor how far I have succeeded in another of my ambitions: to try to make the book as entertaining and gripping as its subject matter deserves. I have long felt that biology ought to seem as exciting as a mystery story, for a mystery story is exactly what biology is. I do not dare to hope that I have conveyed more than a tiny fraction of the excitement which the subject has to offer. My second imaginary reader was the expert. ... The third reader I had in mind was the student, making the transition from layman to expert." (Dawkins R., "The Selfish Gene," [1976], Oxford University Press: Oxford 1989, New Edition, pp.v-vi). [top]

• "This volume is meant for three kinds of readers. First and foremost, it is written for anyone, biologist or not"

"This volume is meant for three kinds of readers. First and foremost, it is written for anyone, biologist or not, who simply wants to know more about evolution. Such a reader is quite aware how important this process is but does not understand exactly how it works and how one can answer some of the attacks against the Darwinian interpretation. The second group of readers consists of those who accept evolution, but are in doubt whether the Darwinian explanation is the correct one. I hope to answer all the questions this kind of reader is apt to ask. And finally, my account is directed to those creationists who want to know more about the current paradigm of evolutionary science, if for no other reason than to be able to better argue against it. I do not expect to convert this kind of reader, but I want to show him or her how powerful the evidence is that induces the evolutionary biologist to disagree with the account presented in Genesis." (Mayr E., "What Evolution Is," Basic Books: New York, 2001, p.xiii-xiv). [top]

* Authors with an asterisk against their name are believed not to be evolutionists.

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