Abusing Science: The Case Against Creationism

by Philip Kitcher

Abusing Science is a manual for intellectual self-defense, the most complete available for presenting the case against Creationist pseudo-science. It is also a lucid exposition of the nature and methods of genuine science. The book begins with a concise introduction to evolutionary theory for non-scientists and closes with a rebuttal of the charge that this theory undermines religious and moral values. It will astonish many readers that this case must still be made in the 1980s, but since it must, Philip Kitcher makes it irresistibly and forcefully. Not long ago, a federal court struck down an Arkansas law requiring that "scientific" Creationism be taught in high school science classes. Contemporary Creationists may have lost one legal battle, but their cause continues to thrive. Their efforts are directed not only at state legislatures but at local school boards and textbook publishers. As Kitcher argues in this rigorous but highly readable book, the integrity of science is under attack. The methods of inquiry used in evolutionary biology are those which are used throughout the sciences. Moreover, modern biology is intertwined with other fields of science—physics, chemistry, astronomy, and geology. Creationists hope to persuade the public that education in science should be torn apart to make room for a literal reading of Genesis . Abusing Science refutes the popular complaint that the scientific establishment is dogmatic and intolerant, denying "academic freedom" to the unorthodox. It examines Creationist claims seriously and systematically, one by one, showing clearly just why they are at best misguided, at worst ludicrous.

Genres: Science, Philosophy, Evolution, Nonfiction, Religion, Biology

213 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1982

About the author

Philip Kitcher is John Dewey Professor of Philosophy at Columbia University. He was the first recipient of the American Philosophical Association's Prometheus Prize for his work to expand the frontiers of science and philosophy.

Reviews

[Shea Mastison · Rating 4 out of 5]

"In saying, therefore, that things are not good according to any standard of goodness, but simply by the will of god, it seems to me that one destroys, without realizing it, all the love of god and all his glory; for why praise him for what he has done, if he would be equally praiseworthy in doing the contrary?"

--Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz

This was a relatively low-key examination of creationism and the supposed controversy between Darwinian evolution, and the religious mysticism masquerading as creation "science." The author closely examines the creationist authors who were popular in his time; and proceeds to politely shred them for their lack of scientific understanding, while totally dismantling the notion that creationism is anything remotely like a science.

This book treats the idea of creationism, and the people working to popularize creationism, with more respect than what I think they are due--and I suppose it makes it all the more powerful. Kitcher, at every turn, does his best to assign nothing but good faith to the creationist camp; even while completing the quotes they have taken out of context, and while filling in the blanks for all of the vital qualifying statements made by the misquoted scientists abused by their creationist fellows. He never accuses them of lying, or intentionally misrepresenting facts even though he catches them in the act dozens of times.

Basically, creationism, in all of its forms, is not a science. It makes no useful predictions about observed, or unobserved phenomena. It is incapable of adding complementary knowledge to areas outside its supposed specialization. Finally, it destroys pretty much all reason for studying biology by moving the development of life from the natural, to supernatural realms. Science can only deal with nature; and any "theory" based upon the supernatural, by its very definition, cannot be scientific.

The book is a little technical for average readership; but well worth riding out. Anyone who is interested in the development of life should read this.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lucid, thorough takedown of Creationist attempts to undermine the theory of evolution by natural selection, and, by extension, pretty much all of modern physical science. In spite of being over 35 years old at this point, the book holds up very well, not least because Creationist arguments never die, they just smell worse and worse with age.

Kitcher is exceedingly charitable to the Creationists and never accuses them of willfully misrepresenting actual science. Additional decades of experience have shown that too many Creationist types are willing to "lie for Jesus" if it gets their feet in the door. But it adds to the force of Kitcher's rebuttal that even taking the most charitable approach, Creationism fails utterly at being remotely scientific. (And Kitcher takes care in laying out a nuanced understanding of scientific progress, not merely naive falsificationism.)

Of course, for all the pretensions and pseudoscientific posturing, Creationism isn't science and never really wants to be: it's the (fundamentalist) conviction that evolution is Evil and Bad and unacceptable to a (certain kind of) Christian worldview. Kitcher lays out in the final chapter a view of the potential compatibility of (non-fundamentalist) Christianity and the established science, but again I think he's a bit too charitable. (Then again I'm a filthy heathen...!)

Overall a very handy resource for picking apart the thorny (though not particularly sophisticated) tangle of Creationist nonsense.

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of well-reasoned arguments. I like Kitcher's very rational approach. You really get the impression that he tried to see things from all sides without being overly dogmatic about the issues. That doesn't save the book from the necessarily dull subject matter, but that isn't really Kitcher's fault - he's making arguments meant for real-world purposes, and he does a nice job for the most part with what he has.

Apparently amidst all his philosophy of science texts he also wrote a book on Finnegans Wake. Talk about deviation!

[Calle · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Abusing Science" is a great response to "scientific creationism". It examines the claims of creationists like Henry Morris and Duane Gish in a very clear way and compares the scientific merits of the "creation model" versus the "evolution model". This book is still relevant 30 years after its publication and is highly recommended for anyone interested in the evolution/creation "controversy".

[Ray Savarda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sort of reads like the textbook it was. I only made it 1/2 way thru, it wasn't the clear refutation I thought it would be, it spends a lot of time spewing the creationist stance, to the extent sometimes it's hard to separate out his stance from theirs. There is some good stuff in there if you're involved in debates, etc, but I'm not, just reading for general interest.

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tries to take on all Creationist "science" in 200 pages and does a valiant job but the topicdeserves several books to do it justice. But nowhere does he ask "Where is the science in Creation science?"

[Ken · Rating 4 out of 5]

A much-needed refutation of Creationist dogma.

[Steven H · Rating 5 out of 5]

A PHILOSOPHY PROFESSOR CRITIQUES CREATIONISM

Philip Stuart Kitcher (born 1947) is a British philosophy professor. He wrote in the Preface to this 1982 book, "this book is intended to be a manual for intellectual self-defense, something that can be consulted when the smiling advocates of Creationism launch their attack. I hope that it will help anyone who wants to arrive at an informed opinion on the issue. It is written for concerned citizens, whether their background in science is minimal or they are professional scientists... This book is not, therefore, an attempt to debunk religion. Nor does it criticize those who accept a literal reading of the Genesis account of Creation simply as an article of religious faith... my business is strictly with a political movement... I quarrel only with those who pretend that there is scientific evidence to favor the Genesis story understood literally... and who try to persuade their fellow citizens to make religious teaching a part of education in science." (Pg. 4, 6)

He notes, "There are numerous examples of advantageous mutations arising in natural populations. One well-known family of cases is the development in many species of insects of resistance to pesticides (notably DDT). Another type of case includes many examples of plant tolerance of metals in the soil near mines." (Pg. 99)

He observes, "because Creationists have placed so much emphasis on the Paluxy findings, a number of trained scientists have to take a look... Even John D. Morris... has been forced to concede that some of the ["man and dinosaur"] tracks are counterfeit. Nevertheless, 'scientific' Creationists continue to insist that Paluxy yields serious evidence against evolution. The most recent printings of Creationist books do not intimate that much of the 'Paluxy data' is already recognized as dubious by Creationists themselves---and that even people who share their theological views reject it wholesale." (Pg. 122)

He strongly critiques Flood Geology: "Why are bottom-dwelling marine invertebrates found at ALL levels of the strata? Why are some very delicate marine invertebrates, which would have been likely to sink more slowly, found at the very lowest levels?... Why are whales and dolphins only found at high levels, while marine reptiles of similar size are found only much lower?... Why are FLYING reptiles found 'in the commingled sediments at the interface between land and water'? Why were not most of the birds 'exhausted,' since perching places would have been hard to find in the raging Deluge?" (Pg. 131)

He adds about the post-Flood world, "If Creationists ... are going to insist that contemporary kinds of eutherian mammals emerged from the Ark, then they will have to explain why competition was not so severe that the marsupials were completely vanquished.... Koalas are sedentary animals, and it is difficult to coax them out of the eucalyptus trees on which they feed... The idea of ANY of these animals engaging in a hectic dash around the globe is patently absurd." (Pg. 141)

This book will be extremely helpful for anyone looking for critical views of Creationism (particularly of the "young earth" sort).

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Philip Kitcher's seminal work critical of "Scientific" Creationism remains a clarion call against those who continue abusing science to fit their own zealous religious agenda. Kitcher goes beyond making a point by point defense of evolutionary biology - indeed, all of science - and a total refutation of creationism. He makes a persuasive case why "Scientific Creationism" isn't good science. For example he observes how distinguished 19th Century geologists such as Adam Sedgwick discarded their creationist view of geology, realizing that it was outmoded, invalid science not supported by empirical evidence. Kitcher gives a succinct description of how scientists embark on their research, demonstrating how "Scientific Creationism" falls short of the ideals of excellent science. Kitcher successfully notes why those who argue equal time for "Evolution Science" and "Creation Science" in high school science education are misguided, devious, or both. Last, but not least, Kitcher demonstrates the religious origins of "Scientific Creationism". This is indeed an important primer on how to think rationally, answering at length all criticisms of contermporary science by so-called "scientific" creationists. First published in the 1980's, "Abusing Science" remains an important tome in the history and philosophy of science deserving of a broad readership.

(Reposted from my 2001 Amazon review)

[Aaron]

This is by far the best book I have read defending the theory of evolution against creationist challenges. Perhaps it's surprising that I would say this about a book written by a philosopher rather than a biologist (I've read both Dawkins' and Coyne's similar books), but Kitcher's philosophical training is precisely what makes this among the best of its kind (I haven't read enough to say that it's *the* best). Kitcher is able to slice through creationist objections by showing how they very frequently are not just empirically problematic but, very often more deeply, are extraordinarily conceptually confused. He does a much better job of this than the ra-ra-empiricism approach in the two other books I mentioned. If you are interested in getting a deep appreciation of the relevant issues, as well as maybe sharpening some useful philosophical tools, you'll want this book.

[Rob · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is another book dealing with 'Creation Science'.

What's especially good about it is that it actually deals with the question, 'What is science?' It was my introduction to Karl Popper and his principles that separate science from non-science.

The book then goes on to show how Creationists misuse Popper, and science generally to advance their theological and ideologic purposes.

A damn good and interesting read.

[Anthony Garcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Several other books, attempting to treat the same topic have been published more recently, and I haven't read them.

However, this one does a great job in providing the reader with why Science and Creationism are not the same kind of knowledge why Creationism should not be taught along side Evolution.

It requires of the reader a basic acceptance of epistemological premises and the patience to appreciate how empiricism works and why Creationism is an embarrassing mistake for it's adherents.

[Bob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this many years ago. Remembered about it tonight because Bill Nye was debating some creationist moron. This book is old, but the creationist argument are all still mostly the same lies and misinformation, and plain old bullcrap. I recommend this book.