In August 2003, Kyler Kuehn provided a critical response to our presentation on The Privileged Planet at the annual meeting of the American Scientific Affiliation. At the time, Kuehn was at a disadvantage, since the book had not yet been published and his response was based on an incomplete manuscript of our book. In our opinion, the objections resulted almost Read More ›
Original Article This week President Bush announced a global realignment of U.S. military forces to take place over the next several years. The proposed realignment will decrease U.S. presence in Germany and South Korea, bring some units home and shift others to bases in newly allied countries such as Poland, Romania and Uzbekistan. This global realignment is not only overdue, Read More ›
A review of Uncommon Dissent…Intellectuals Who Find Darwinism Unconvincing edited by William A. Dembskiby Bruce S. Thornton Original Article If you believe what you hear in the mainstream media, the critics of Darwinian evolution are wild-eyed creationists who believe that Genesis literally describes the origins of life, and so are equivalent, as William Dembski says in his Introduction, to a Read More ›
Original Article Samuel Chen was a high school sophomore who believed in freedom of speech and the unfettered pursuit of knowledge. He thought his public high school did, too, but when it came to the subject of evolution — well, now he’s not so sure. In October 2002, Chen began working to get Dr. Michael Behe, professor of biological sciences Read More ›
Touchstone magazine’s blog, “Mere Comments,” has posted a review of Richard Weikart’s new book From Darwin to Hitler: Evolutionary Ethics, Eugenics and Racism in Germany” by David Mills. Scroll down to the entry for Monday, August 16 “Weikart’s book reviewed.” Visit the From Darwin To Hitler website.
When considering the Swedish model, one can be forgiven for thinking of a comely statuesque blond with blue eyes. However, to economists and policy junkies, the Swedish model refers to the “third way” between socialism and capitalism many on the American left laud as the ideal. Does the Swedish model work as advertised? According to a new paper by the Read More ›
For Release April 27, 2004Rob CrowtherDiscovery Institute(206) 292-0401 x.107 Seattle — Acclaimed news correspondent John Stossel will be the guest speaker at a Discovery Institute luncheon in Seattle on Thursday, May 13, announced the Institute. “We’re excited to have Mr. Stossel bring his classical liberalism to Seattle and share his common sense approach with our members and friends,” said Steve Buri, Read More ›
SEATTLE, AUGUST 17 – The scientific debate over biological origins continues with Cambridge University’s publication of “Debating Design from Darwin to DNA,” co-edited by Discovery Institute senior Fellow William Dembksi and Florida State University professor Michael Ruse. More and more the heart of the controversy revolves around the scientific theory of intelligent design. Is the appearance of design in organisms Read More ›
This article, published by The Washington Times, contains a review of The Privileged Planet, by Discovery Institute Center for Science and Culture Senior Fellows Guillermo Gonzalez and Jay Richards:
Read More ›Albert Einstein once remarked that the most incomprehensible thing about the universe was that it was comprehensible. For the past few centuries, no one has offered a satisfactory non-theological explanation as to why this should be so.
In recent years, however, a small group of scientists and thinkers have decided to try a novel approach combining science with theology, albeit not of the fundamentalist genre. The result has been the growing and increasingly influential “Intelligent Design” (ID) movement, a major project of the Seattle-based Discovery Institute, where I was a senior fellow for nearly 10 years. I never worked with the ID people, but found the effort fascinating, both as hard science and hard cultural and intellectual struggle.
Specifically, Intelligent Design holds that it is possible to study the biological and physical realms for evidence of design, without positing the identity, intent, or even the competence of the designer. Throughout the ’90s, ID fought mostly against the “sacred creation myth of the materialist West.”
Evolution, the best guess of a brilliant 19th-century scientist, has not been wearing well of late. A lot of little questions are starting to add up to One Big Question — much to the chagrin of the “If it isn’t matter, it doesn’t matter” crowds in science, education, and culture.
“The Privileged Planet,” however, is not about Charles Darwin. It addresses matters pertaining to life, intelligibility, and design in the cosmos as a whole.
Ever since astronomers first figured out that the universe is a pretty big place, the assumption has been that, life-wise, bigger is better. We all know the logic. Posit 100 billion galaxies with 100 billion stars each. If only one in a million has planets, and only one in a million of those can support life, the universe should still be a pretty fecund locale.
SEATTLE, AUGUST 13, 1985 — Discovery Institute is pleased to announce the publication of the provocative intellectual history, From Darwin to Hitler, Evolutionary Ethics, Eugenics and Racism in Germany (Palgrave MacMillan), by Richard Weikart, a fellow with the Institute’s Center for Science and Culture. In this compelling and painstakingly researched work of intellectual history, Weikart convincingly makes the argument that Hitler Read More ›