Photo by Michal Mrozek
Share
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Flipboard
Print
Email

Explore Evolution: The Arguments For and Against Neo-Darwinism

More at ExploreEvolution.com

Designed for public schools but also used in many private schools, Explore Evolution is a supplementary biology textbook that teaches critical thinking by giving students a thorough understanding of both the strengths and weaknesses of Darwinian evolution. The textbook comes with lesson plans, PowerPoint slides, handouts, and a test bank available for those who adopt the text in their course. It is ideal for high school or early college. Its authors include Discovery Institute Senior Fellows Stephen Meyer, Scott Minnich, and Paul Nelson, as well as university biology professor Ralph Seelke.

The purpose of Explore Evolution, is to examine the scientific controversy about Darwin’s theory, and in particular, the contemporary version of the theory known as neo-Darwinism. Whether you are a teacher, a student, or a parent, this book will help you understand what Darwin’s theory of evolution is, why many scientists find it persuasive, and why other scientists question the theory or some key aspects of it.

Sometimes, scientists find that the same evidence can be explained in more than one way. When there are competing theories, reasonable people can (and do) disagree about which theory best explains the evidence. Furthermore, in the historical sciences, neither side can directly verify its claims about past events.

Fortunately, even though we can’t directly verify these claims, we can test them. How? First, we gather as much evidence as possible and look at it carefully. Then, we compare the competing theories in light of how well they explain the evidence.

Looking at the evidence and comparing the competing explanations will provide the most reliable path to discovering which theory, if any, gives the best account of the evidence at hand. In science, it is ultimately the evidence-and all of the evidence-that should tell us which theory offers the best explanation. This book will help you explore that evidence, and we hope it will stimulate your interest in these questions as you weigh the competing arguments.

Stephen C. Meyer

Director, Center for Science and Culture
Dr. Stephen C. Meyer received his Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge in the philosophy of science. A former geophysicist and college professor, he now directs the Center for Science and Culture at the Discovery Institute in Seattle. He is author of the New York Times-bestseller Darwin’s Doubt (2013) as well as the book Signature in the Cell (2009) and Return of the God Hypothesis (2021). In 2004, Meyer ignited a firestorm of media and scientific controversy when a biology journal at the Smithsonian Institution published his peer-reviewed scientific article advancing intelligent design. Meyer has been featured on national television and radio programs, including The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, CBS's Sunday Morning, NBC's Nightly News, ABC's World News, Good Morning America, Nightline, FOX News Live, and the Tavis Smiley show on PBS. He has also been featured in two New York Times front-page stories and has garnered attention in other top-national media.

Scott Minnich

Scott Minnich holds a Ph.D. from Iowa State University and is currently a professor of microbiology at the University of Idaho and is a senior fellow at the Discovery Institute's Center for Science and Culture.

Paul Nelson

Senior Fellow, Center for Science and Culture
Paul A. Nelson is currently a Senior Fellow of the Discovery Institute and Adjunct Professor in the Master of Arts Program in Science & Religion at Biola University. He is a philosopher of biology who has been involved in the intelligent design debate internationally for three decades. His grandfather, Byron C. Nelson (1893-1972), a theologian and author, was an influential mid-20th century dissenter from Darwinian evolution. After Paul received his B.A. in philosophy with a minor in evolutionary biology from the University of Pittsburgh, he entered the University of Chicago, where he received his Ph.D. (1998) in the philosophy of biology and evolutionary theory.

Ralph Seelke

Professor Emeritus of Biology, University of Wisconsin-Superior
Ralph Seelke is Professor Emeritus of Biology with the University of Wisconsin-Superior. He received his PhD in microbiology from the University of Minnesota and the Mayo Graduate School of Medicine in 1981 and was a postdoctoral researcher at the Mayo Clinic until 1983. In 2004 he was a Visiting Scholar in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the Stanford University Medical School (laboratory of Dr. A. C. Matin), conducting research on evolution. An authority on evolution's capabilities and limitations in producing new functions in bacteria, Dr. Seelke co-authored the science textbook Explore Evolution.