This episode of ID the Future features an excerpt from a lecture by CSC Senior Fellow John West on Darwinism and capitalism. Most people associate “social Darwinism” with the ruthless capitalists of the Gilded Age, but West debunks that cultural icon, drawing the connection between Thomas Malthus and Darwin and examining the implications of zero-sum economics in Malthusian theory.
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Critics of intelligent design sometimes claim they are defending the principles of American Founding Father Thomas Jefferson in trying to ban discussions of intelligent design. In the words of one writer, “Thomas Jefferson makes it quite clear that there was not a consensus of support among the authors of the Constitution… to support theological doctrines such as intelligent design.” But would Thomas Jefferson himself agree? In this special July 4th edition of ID the Future, Discovery Institute Senior Fellow John West explores the real views of Jefferson on intelligent design.
For years supporters of Darwin’s theory claimed to oppose teaching religion in the nation’s science classrooms. But just in time for Darwin Day 2008, leading evolution proponents including the National Academy of Sciences, the Public Broadcasting Service, and the National Center for Science Education have been cynically promoting religious instruction in schools as a way of defusing opposition to Darwinian evolution. Dr. John West, author of Darwin Day in America, discusses Darwinists’ latest efforts to insert religion into the classroom. This event was filmed in front of a live audience on Feb. 6th, 2008 for broadcast on the web as part of the ID the Future Darwin Day broadcast on February 12th.
CSC senior fellow and author of Darwin Day in America, Dr. John West, reports that to the dismay of many, religion is becoming one of the defining issues of the presidential election campaign. From the scrutiny of Mike Huckabee’s views about evolution and Mitt Romney’s Mormonism on the Republican side, to unseemly e-mails questioning the religious upbringing of Barack Obama among Democrats, religious faith is once again front and center in electoral politics.
On this episode of ID the Future, John West takes a look at the eugenics movement of the early twentieth century and how it drew direct inspiration from Darwinian biology and the writings of Charles Darwin himself. The eugenics movement was no fringe effort, but was the view of mainstream science and espoused by those at Harvard, Princeton, and the National Academy of Science. For more, visit the website of Dr. West’s new book, Darwin Day in America.
On this episode of ID The Future CSC’s Dr. West explores how early 20th century Darwinists encouraged employee selection be based on natural selection. He explains how even skin color, nose size and digestive system could help employers understand potential employees moral stature and working capabilities. For more visit the website for Dr. West’s new book Darwin Day in America.
Perhaps the most celebrated defense attorney in the first half of the twentieth century, Clarence Darrow is best known for his role at the Scopes “monkey trial” in the 1920s. But he also was an early champion of the idea that criminals should not be held responsible for their crimes. On this episode of ID The Future, CSC’s John West explores Darrow’s worldview of deterministic materialism.
Read More ›On this episode of ID the Future, John West shares from his new book, Darwin Day in America, about Italian criminologist Cesare Lombroso and the New School of Criminal Anthropology. Lombroso and his disciples contended that criminal behavior could be explained largely as a throwback to earlier stages of Darwinian evolution. Listen in as West illustrates the consequences of applying Darwin’s theory to criminal justice.
On this special Halloween edition of ID the Future, John West shares the inspiration for Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.
Read More ›On this episode of IDTF, Dr. John West reads from the preface and introduction to his forthcoming book, Darwin Day in America: How Our Politics and Culture Have Been Dehumanized in the Name of Science. Darwin Day in America tells the disturbing story of scientific expertise run amuck, exposing how an ideological interpretation of Darwinian biology and reductionist science have been used to degrade American culture over the past century through their impact on criminal justice, welfare, business, education, and bioethics. The book will be released by ISI Books in October.