Can anybody suggest good books for educated laypeople on evolution?

[TXlib]

I want a book that lays out the theoretical and evidentiary basis for evolution, and does so in the most intellectually honest manner, addressing the weaknesses in the theory, acknowledges the counterpoints raised by the opposing side, and rebutts them.

If more than one book is needed to span this information, that's fine.

I frequently debate this with my conservative acquaintance, but aside from what little i read in high school biology, I have not read much more since.

He will likely attack any pro-evolution book as biased, so I am hoping to find one that tries to balance both sides of the debate, and would least be subject to such criticism, while not pandering to avoid offending any who regard the Bible as the final word on the matter.

[mac2]

1. Search Amazon.com and read the reviews

[Richardo]

2. It seems like Stephen Jay Gould would have covered this...

but I have no specific title to suggest. :shrug:

[yo-yo-ma]

3. most things by Stephen Jay Gould :

maybe especially Wonderful Life: The burgess shale and the nature of history.

[pmbryant]

4. Hmmm

If by 'opposing side' you mean the religious POV, then you may have a hard time finding such a 'balanced' book.

I am reading a new book now that is a critique of the faddish, pseudo-scientific "Intelligent Design" theory, but the author has a very definite and admitted bias in favor of the scientific theory of evolution. It is called, "God, the Devil, and Darwin" and is by Niall Shanks. I'm still too early in it to offer a recommendation about it.

I'll be paying attention to this thread to see what other books on this subject people recommend.

A book from the mid-1990s called "The Beak of the Finch" (author=??) has been on my 'to do' list for a while, but I have not read it yet.

Peter

[TXlib]

7. I imagine there must be a book from the evolution side

that strives to address the weaknesses in the theory.

The religious POV often tries to undermine the theory by attacking its weak points, so you can address all the issues brought up by that side without acknowledging creation at all.

[pmbryant]

15. You may be looking for a book by an 'Intelligent Design' proponent

The primary critics of evolution by natural selection are either creationists, or those promoting 'Intelligent Design'.

Both are essentially attacking the problem from a religious POV.

Once I get farther into 'God, the Devil, and Darwin' (I've just started it), I could probably give you some references for the big 'Intelligent Design' (ID) proponents. These guys purport to be scientists, so they no doubt are very aware of the scientific weak points in the evolution by natural selection theory. Alas, they apparently then cop out and just say 'It's all because of a Creator'.

So my advice would be to read a critique of ID (such as Shanks' book that I'm reading now) and a book by a prominent ID proponent. That would give you an excellent overview of the current debate, I think.

--Peter

[DrWeird]

21. There really aren't any weaknesses in the theories.

The creationists keep using the same basic arguments, but they have been debunked thoroughly many times over. They sound like reasonable arguments on paper, but really they have no substance.



Has pretty thoroughly debunked every argument creationists have ever made, if you're looking for an item by item argument.

If you're looking for a good read, I second the others in recommending Stephan Jay Gould. Gould wrote essays for the journal Natural History and many are collected in some very good books. Gould, you may remember, testified in front of the SC to remove creationism from schools, successfully. Many of the essays deal with how phony and fraudulent the creationist movement is. And there's a bunch of other cool essays that entertwine on many subjects. E.A. Poe's plagiarism, baseball, racism and The Bell Curve, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, snails, etc.

[Qanisqineq]

5. I study biology and evolution in grad school

but I really only read journal articles. However, I would suggest books by Stephen Jay Gould.

Also, I like to read books that try to debunk evolution. They usually give references to articles/books and misquote or do not correctly portray what is stated. It is interesting to go back to those books and see what is really being stated.

Edit: Never read it, been have thought it sounds interesting: "Abusing science: the case against creationism" by P. Kitcher

My sister has turned creationist in the past couple years and considers what I study to be fairy tales, so this is a pursuit of mine... ammo to use against her!

[TXlib]

11. Is there any good online archive of articles and preprints?

I am a physicist by education, and frequent www.arxiv.org to get journal articles in my field.

[TXlib]

13. Look at this website:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/odyssey/debate/

[Beaker]

6. laypeople?

is that a euphemism for sex-industry workers...?

[Richardo]

10. No, that'd be *latex* people...

:D

[Az]

8. The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins

Its an oldie but a goodie.

[lazarus]

22. The Blind Watchmaker

That's my favourite by Dawkins. Does a great job of explaining evolution.

[Jamesm9164]

9. For some great articles etc go to

the National Center for Science Education website (WWW.NCSE.ORG). They have a wealth of data on the topic.

[electricmonk]

12. Here's a couple

Evolution-The Triumph of an Idea by Carl Zimmer

The Tower of Babel by Robert Pennock

And this author has written a lot on the subject. Niles Eldredge, he wrote The Pattern of Evolution and The Triumph of Evolution plus others on the subject.

[jonnyblitz]

14. I am bookmarking this thread for later.

once i get some time I want to dig in and do some serious reading on this subject. thanks for posting this and thanks to those who contribute with their suggestions! :hi:

[SOteric]

16. A bit dry, but for the nitty gritty, I recommend

Primate Adaptation and Evolution by John Fleagle, paired with The Human Career: Human Biological and Cultural Origins by Richard G. Klein

[supernova]

17. Finding Darwin's God

*scratching my head* Book came out recently. I heard about it on NPR, and thought, gee that sounds interesting. But I can't remember the exact title now.

I do remember that the book tries to refute the idea that Darwin was "godless," therefore some heathen we need not trouble ourselves with. It also goes on to suggest out the evolution and reltion can coexist.

Going to amazon to see if I can find it.

edit: the full title is Finding Darwin's God: A Scientist's Search for Common Ground Between God and Evolution. Kenneth R Miller.

Here's the entry at amazon:


http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0060930497/qid=1077914282/sr=1-7/ref=sr_1_7/103-7874181-2280644?v=glance&s=books

[TXlib]

18. Check out the link I posted in reply 13!

[supernova]

19. That's so cool!

Thanks TXLib! :thumbsup:

I wonder if the correspondence was the kernel for the book?

While Miller is firmly in favor of Darwin, he does pose some thoughts that might make someone of a purely scientific bent uncomfortable. But, he just might be the thing to rattle your friend's cage.

Myself, I'm comfortable being of a dual mindset, part scientific; part theological.

I've enjoyed reading your email exchange reports. :D You're awesome!

I might pick up the Miller book when I finish my current fascination with William Saroyan. ;-)

[hyphenate]

20. Well,

I would suggest the two books which started it all, by Charles Darwin himself.

Both "The Descent of Man" and "Origin of the Species" lay out the whole theory, from which later hypotheses were culled. It's probably a lot drier in its writing and reading, but if you need to build the framework for someone who has such doubts, it is something they need to understand before condemning the whole of evolution.

[hatrack]

23. I agree 100%

Darwin is one of the few seminal scientists whose original works can be read by the non-specialist.

This is especially true compared with, say Newton's "Principia", which is (of course) almost pure mathematics. Even some of the founding texts of physics, like Maxwell's notebooks, presuppose a familiarity with at least basic calculus.

Lyell and Hutton, the founding fathers of geology, are more accessible than Maxwell or Newton, but suffer from impenetrably thick prose style.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

26. What's wrong

with pure mathematics? :evilgrin:

[Parrcrow]

24. you might want to try

Origins Reconsidered by Richard Leakey. Anything by Leakey that you can get your hands on would be good too.

If I'm not mistaken, John Updike's novel Roger's Version deals with the creationist/evolution argument. I mention this one only because it might stimulate some interesting ideas.

[AlanAdam]

25. Evolution: A Theory in Crisis

Author Michael Denton, dead from cancer, was either an atheist or an agnostic.

[DrWeird]

27. Denton's bullshit.

As discussed in this thread:

<http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=111x18315>

[AlanAdam]

28. Michael Denton

It seems that Denton is still living - someone misinformed me. Here's a review of his most recent book. It sounds like what you're looking for:

This book could almost be seen as a sequel to Denton's first major critique of Darwinian Evolution, "Evolution a Theory in Crisis." In that book he devastates the Neo-Darwinian paradigm with evidence from various fields of biology, and concludes that life does appear to be designed. But then he does not follow the conclusion to a Designer, but remains a confirmed atheist (or agnostic). Apparently to resolve this peculiar stance of his, he writes the second volume, "Nature's Destiny". In it, he dives into a full-fledged purpose-driven (teleological) view of life and the universe. Or more accurately, what he proposes is a thoroughly deterministic view of life, based on the inherent physical and chemical constants in the laws of nature. While I by no means subscribe to his evolutionary conclusions regarding the evidence he propounds, I found the evidence and research he presented pointing to design to be fascinating. What makes this book so peculiar is that the remarkable array of evidence he presents in the first 11 chapters is undeniably damaging to the Neo-Darwinian theories, a fact for which creationists and intelligent design advocates alike will applaud his book. Denton clearly shows how hundreds of discoveries in science have repeatedly bolstered rather than weakened the teleological view. Quite predictably, this evidence has made the evolutionists uncomfortable(see other reviews). Yet the conclusions that he draws from this evidence will undoubtedly spawn much more diverse reactions. He basically rejects the existence of God (and therefore cannot rightly be considered a true friend to creation or intelligent design), and retains evolution, albeit in a drastically altered form. His speculations are much more in line with the punctuated equilibrium theorists in this regard, but without relying on the randomness of mutations for the supposed upward drive of evolution. His rejection of God and retaining of evolution will no doubt please the hardened atheistic evolutionists on some level, but it will be interesting to see how the scientific community at large will react to this book. For the reasons I state above, almost all readers will pick and choose from this book, rather than falling directly in line with Denton's beliefs. Thus where I found the true "meat" of the book to be was in the first 11 chapters, where he deals with scientific evidence pointing to design and purpose, and this is where the book excels. Denton's discussion of water's unique fitness for life, carbon as the standout element for organic chemistry, DNA as unsurpassed among any conceivable information-storing chemical, the rejection of alternate organic chemistries or any arbitrariness in the constituents of life, and much more, presents an astounding glimpse at how delicate and finely-tuned life really is. I found the chapter "Homo Sapiens: Fire Maker" to be one of the most fascinating in the book. Granted, he does enter into several "hypotheticals" in this chapter, but he does present a remarkable analysis of why humans are uniquely suited to possess intelligence and technology. Thus he even acknowledges humankind as the crown of creation. Denton, unlike so many evolutionists today, clearly sees the fingerprint of God in creation. What is so amazing about the book is that an atheist (or agnostic?) scientist presents the objectivity of design arguments. But he emphatically turns away when it comes to identifying God as the Designer. The second half of the book, with his conclusions, is a speculative mix of philosophical and negative theological reasoning, that leads him to the false god of a mystical materialistic purpose in nature. Based on his concluding arguments these book does not deserve 4 stars, but the overwhelming detail of evidence presented that objectively reveals design in nature, makes this book a very worthwhile read (and outweighs the latter portion of the book).