One biologist says yes and warns about them in his new book Zombie Science
Subscribe to Nota Bene for a Free Chapter
And for “Ten Questions to Ask Your Biology Teacher”
Note
The form below may be blocked by your browser or ad blocker. If so, you can fill out the form directly here.
Note
The form below may be blocked by your browser or ad blocker. If so, you can fill out the form directly here.
Biology textbooks are packed with misrepresentations of the evidence for evolution, according to biologist and author Jonathan Wells. In 2000, he called them “icons of evolution.”
It’s not just science that’s threatened, it’s our entire culture,” says Wells. “If the icons of evolution were just innocent textbook errors, why do so many of them still persist? Some of what we’re teaching our kids has been known to be false for decades.” In Zombie Science, Wells explores a new set of icons that has invaded science education, including whale evolution, the human eye, vestigial organs, and antibiotic resistance.
Evolutionary biologists provide contradictory hypotheses of the tree of life and mistaken answers on walking whales, junk DNA, the human eye, the origin of life, and many other captivating topics. To be up to date and informed on the many falsehoods dominating contemporary science and biology textbooks, I strongly recommend Zombie Science, the latest ‘politically incorrect’ book by Jonathan Wells.” Wolf-Ekkehard Lonnig, Ph.D., Senior Scientist, Dept. of Molecular Genetics, Max Planck Institute of Plant Breeding Research, Cologne (Retired)
Wolf-Ekkehard Lonnig, Ph.D., Senior Scientist, Dept. of Molecular Genetics, Max Planck Institute of Plant Breeding Research, Cologne (Retired)
Zombie science, according to Wells, means defending materialistic explanations even when they don’t fit the evidence.
“These are explanations that claim to be scientific in the empirical sense, that is, based on evidence,” says Wells, “but in fact they are not. They are explanations that grow out of materialistic philosophy… So empirically, they are dead. But they keep stalking our education system, our laboratories, and our textbooks. They influence the lives of our children, and thereby of our culture.”
Is there a solution? Wells is sure of it, and points the way in Zombie Science.
Subscribe above
Subscribe above to the Center for Science and Culture’s weekly newsletter, Nota Bene, for a free chapter and “Ten Questions to Ask Your Biology Teacher”.
About the Author
Jonathan Wells is a Senior Fellow with Discovery Institute’s Center for Science and Culture in Seattle. He holds a Ph.D. in molecular and cell biology from the University of California-Berkeley and a Ph.D. in religious studies from Yale University. His books include Icons of Evolution (2000), The Politically Incorrect Guide to Darwinism and Intelligent Design (2006), and The Myth of Junk DNA (2011). He has published peer-reviewed articles in many journals, including Development, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, BioSystems, The Scientist and The American Biology Teacher.