California parent and attorney Larry Caldwell is seeking a retraction from Eugenie Scott and the California Academy of Sciences after an Academy magazine published false and potentially defamatory claims about Caldwell’s effort to improve the teaching of evolution in his northern California school district. For more than a year, Caldwell tried to get the Roseville Joint Union High School District to present scientific criticisms of Darwin’s theory as well as the evidence favoring the theory. Scott now asserts that Caldwell attempted to get the district to adopt materials advocating Biblical creationism. In particular, she claims he proposed for use in the district a young-earth creationist book, Refuting Evolution by Jonathan Safarti; and the Jehovah’s Witness book Life: How Did It Read More ›

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today Dr. Stephen C. Meyer, director of CSC, gave a standing room only presentation of the case for intelligent design at the Heritage Foundation here in Washington. Dr. Meyer delivered a very thorough presentation in which he presented two key components of the case for design theory: irreducible complexity, and the digital code in DNA molecules. It was an engaging lecture and you can watch it online. The event was streamed live on the Heritage website, and is now available for viewing from their archive at http://www.heritage.org/Press/Events/archive.cfm (events are listed chronologically and this one was April 19, 2005). The lecture, including Q&A (which begins at about 1:05 into the event), ran just about an hour and a Read More ›

CSC Fellow John Angus Campbell in a column for today’s Memphis Commercial Appeal argues that teaching both the strengths and weaknesses of Darwinian evolution has several beneficial outcomes for students including preparing students to be informed citizens and helping them to understand the very nature of science. His appeal is to teach Darwin’s theory the way Darwin would have himself, as an argument. Further, when training in argument is recognized as the center of science education, and science education is seen as an extension of the civic education vital to a democratic and pluralistic culture, we will be able to turn the heat of our longstanding cultural debate over evolution into needed educational light. The opening sentence of the final Read More ›

Update: Craig Roberts, Editor-in-Chief of Crop Science Society of America, pointed out that the poll noted below was posted for the normal, two-week period of time before giving way to the next two-week Quick Question. The ASA should be commended for leaving the poll up for the full period, and for all of its members who support free scientific inquiry into the question of origins. The post has been updated to incorporate Roberts’ information. As William Dembski notes here, there’s a new fad among professional societies — denouncing intelligent design. Perhaps somebody wanted the American Society of Agronomy to join the new fad; but agronomists, apparently, don’t herd very well. The society conducted an online poll regarding the teaching of Read More ›

Let me get this straight, philosophers of biology Dr. Paul Nelson and Dr. Niall Shanks can debate for a live audience about evolution, ID, and public education. And, Darwinist Dr. William Provine will debate design proponent Dr. Stephen C. Meyer at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. And, Cambridge University can publish an academic work featuring scientists writing about the debate between Darwinism and intelligent design. And, MSU Press can publish a book featuring scientists debating what exactly should be taught about evolution in public school classrooms. And, PBS can air a debate between biologists Darwinist Dr. Massimo Pigliucci and Darwin doubter Dr. Jonathan Wells. And, Darwin defender Michael Shermer can debate design theorist Stephen Meyer. And, Rev. Barry Read More ›