October 12, 2004

The Stricture of Scientific Resolutions

"Wedge" Archives

• Bitten (7.23.04) After a long leave for a stem-cell transplant, Mark Hartwig returns to the Wedge Update. In this article he talks about how the anti-ID community has been bitten by its own rhetoric, and is doing all it can to stanch the wound--by less than ethical means. more ...

• Defending the Wedge (5.25.04) Recently, a few Intelligent Design (ID) critics have created some confusion over the meaning of "The Wedge." Several statements made by ID detractors have suggested "The Wedge" to be a partially concealed strategy by well-funded religious fanatics to attack science and force it to come under the thumb of a specific religious mindset. (But how concealed can it be when the acknowledged sharp edge of the wedge, Philip Johnson, writes a book entitled, "The Wedge of Truth" in which he delineates the strategy for all to read?) Is this an accurate characterization of "The Wedge," or is this just a baseless appeal by Darwinists to impugn the motives of their adversaries? Well, as they say, when the facts aren't on your side, argue motives. According to Paul Nesselroade, "The Wedge," facts can speak for themselves. more ...

• Georgia, Ohio, and the Developing Dilemma for Darwinists (2.23.04) Recently Georgia State’s school superintendent proposed removing the word evolution from the state’s curriculum and replacing it with the phrase “biological changes over time.” This curious move by the Georgia superintendent was defended by Superintendent Cox as a way to allow access to the concept of evolution for those who might ordinarily be prevented from reading about it due to its controversial nature. The proposal, which has since been rescinded, drew strong fire from several supporters of the theory. more ...

• Those Annoying Discovery Polls (10.29.03) It looks like the Darwinist camp has had a hard time responding to a series of polls commissioned by the Seattle-based Discovery Institute, the leading organization of the intelligent design movement. The polls, including a national poll in 2001 and several state polls in 2002 and 2003, have shown overwhelming support for teaching evidence both for and against Darwin’s theory of evolution in public school classrooms.more ...

• Texans Favor "Teaching the Controversy" (7.01.03) Our thanks to Paul Nesselroade for providing The Wedge Update column for the past six months. This month Mark Hartwig is back with some news about teaching origins Texan style. more ...

• Winds of Change? (7.01.03) What images come to mind when you are asked to think about the merits of teaching Darwinian evolution in the public school classroom? For many, the characters portrayed by Spencer Tracy, Fredric March, and Gene Kelly in the movie “Inherit the Wind” are among the first and most powerful.more ...

• The Case of the Pseuodogenes (5.23.03) New research on mice has found evidence suggesting a pseudogene plays a crucial regulatory role in the expression of another gene within the cell. Findings like these have important implications for the authority of Darwinian evolution.more ...

• Betting on All the Horses (4.09.03) Pre-existing beliefs are powerful organizing forces that can infiltrate the collective thought of even some of culture's biggest ideas. If we are not careful these beliefs will insulate us from assessing them fairly.more ...

• Does Certainty Carry No Burden? (2.18.03) Many things in nature appear to be designed. This appearance has not dissipated with advances in knowledge. To the contrary, it has grown as we learn of exquisite sub-cellular order and complexity beyond anyone’s anticipation or explanation. Is not the willingness to at least consider design requisite to an exhaustive search for the truth?more ...

• Asking the "Big" Questions (1.29.03) Each year at about this time millions of students across the country make their way back to campus to continue their unfettered pursuit of truth by asking life’s “big” questions in a free and liberating educational context; right? Well, unfortunately this ideal isn’t always reached. In fact, sometimes it is even obstructed.more ...

• ID and Human Cloning (1.13.03) We would like to welcome Dr. Paul Nesselroade as our guest columnist for the Wedge Update. Paul will be filling in with some columns while Mark Hartwig is on medical leave. Dr. Nesselroade is currently associate professor of psychology at Asbury College in Kentucky where he resides with his wife and three children. In this week's column Nesselroade asks if the Intelligent Design movement has anything to say about current experimentation with human cloning.more ...

• Darwinist "Triumph" in Ohio; Goodbye for Now (12.19.02) On Dec. 10, the Ohio board of education gave final approval to new science education standards requiring that students be able to think critically about contemporary evolutionary theory. The new standards also allow individual school districts to teach the theory of intelligent design. The Darwin-only camp, however, is proclaiming victory. To hear them tell it, they had narrowly averted an attempt to mandate teaching intelligent design in science classrooms and include it on state tests. more ...

• Darwinian Resolution (12.04.02) Back-to-back victories for “teaching the controversy” (TTC) in Cobb County, Ga., and Ohio have shaken the leadership of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). On Nov. 6, the organization released a resolution by its board urging “citizens across the nation to oppose the establishment of policies that would permit the teaching of ‘intelligent design theory’ as a part of the science curricula of the public schools.” more ...

• "Teaching the Controversy" Wins in Ohio (10.23.02) In this update, Mark Hartwig summarizes the October 15 Ohio Board of Education decision to "teach the controversy" about biological origins, and talks a little bit about how that decision relates to Intelligent Design. He also includes a list of ID resources for anyone troubled by his or her school's or district's one-sided treatment of evolution. more ...

• Burned (10.03.02) We know what they're really up to. That has been the Darwinist message from the very beginning of the Cobb County controversy. As Mark Hartwig reports, however, some journalists got royally burned last week by reporting that message as if it were an established fact. more ...

• Huffing and Puffing in Cobb County (9.25.02) When the Cobb County (Ga.) School District decided to paste disclaimers in district biology texts, they really touched a nerve. Mark Hartwig discusses the ensuing backlash of the Georgia School Board's controversial proposal. more ...

• Fall Reading List (8.26.02) As the ID movement has grown, more and more scholars have contributed their talents to the cause. One happy result has been some hot new books that are now rolling off the presses. In this Wedge Update, Mark Hartwig discusses some of these titles. more ...

• Wells Vindicated on Multiple Counts (7.29.02) Chalk up some points for biologist Jonathan Wells, author of Icons of Evolution. Ever since the publication of his book, which is critical of how biology textbooks teach evolution, both it and Wells have been trashed by Darwinists. But some Darwinist authors are now admitting that Wells was right-by quietly revising their textbooks. more ...

• Tell Me Another One (7.18.02) Anthropologists working in Chad have unveiled a fossil they claim is the oldest hominid yet. But what it all means is anyone's guess.more ...

• A Shift Toward Substance; ID Network Conference (6.30.02) In this Wedge Update, Mark Hartwig explains how the origins debate is shifting to a more substantive focus, and provides some recent examples. He also mentions the annual "Darwinism, Design and Democracy" symposium on July 26-27, hosted by the Intelligent Design Network.more ...

• Ohio's Largest Paper Flips; The Wedge in Brazil (6.13.02) In this installment of the Wedge Update Mark Hartwig notes how the changing climate in Ohio is being reflected in recent articles in the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Ohio's largest newspaper. Mark also discusses the changing views in Brazil. more ...

• Nanoarchaeum: How Low Can You Go? (5..31.02) Researchers from the University of Regensburg, Germany, are adding a branch to the "tree of life" after discovering a tiny new microbe in a submarine vent north of Iceland. Measuring only 400 nanometers in diameter, the new microbe is among the smallest known living cells. more ...

• Stephen Jay Gould (1941-2002) (5.22.02) On Monday May 20, Stephen Jay Gould, eminent paleontologist and prolific science writer, died of cancer at his home in Manhattan. In this Wedge Update, Mark Hartwig talks about the loss of evolutionary biology's most visible spokesman and his influence on the theory of evolution and the argument for design. more ...

• Evolution Rerun to Backfire; New Poll from Ohio (5.13.02) Mark comments on the May 14 re-airing of the PBS Evolution series, and discusses Ohio's "Zogby International Poll", commissioned by the Discovery Institute. more ...

• Krauss Goes Ballistic over ID; NSF's Biennial "Science Literacy" Survey (5.05.02) We are pleased to announce that we are resuming our Weekly Wedge Update. Receiving the torch from Phillip Johnson will be Mark Hartwig, a 17-year veteran of the origins debate and co-founder of Access Research Network. Mark served for 10 years as managing editor of Origins Research, now published as Origins and Design. His articles on science and science education have appeared in such places as The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Denver Post, Focus on the Family, Moody, World and many other newspapers and magazines.more ...

Archives of Phillip Johnson "Wedge" Articles

• Passing the Torch (4.09.02) Phil writes his last Wedge column and says a few words about the future.more ...

• Two New Videos and More (4.02.02) Phil talks about two new ID videos, Unlocking the Mystery of Life, and Icons of Evolution.more ...

• A Book on the Way, and the Latest from Ohio (3.14.02) Having spent the last months finishing a new manuscript, Phillip Johnson shares some thoughts about the most recent events in Ohio.more ...

• Monkey Trial Airs on PBS (2.25.02) Phillip Johnson talks about the recent airing of Monkey Trial on PBS, pointing out in particular how the show demolishes the Inherit the Wind myth.more ...

• More from Ohio (1.31.02) In this week's installment, Phillip Johnson (with the help of John Calvert) discusses the Ohio School Board situation in greater depth. He cites, in particular, the interest in intelligent design shown by the Science Standards Committee of the Board.more ...

• Curriculum Controversy in Ohio (1.17.02) Unhappy with an early draft of the proposed science curriculum for grades K-12, several members of the Ohio State Board of Education are pushing for a rewrite that would present evolution as "an assumption, not fact," and would include an alternative explanation for how humans and all other living things came to exist.more ...

• Catching Up on Business (1.09.02) Phil updates his situation and updates his speaking schedule.more ...

• Wells Hits a Home Run at Harvard (12.02.01) Phillip Johnson talks about the latest events, including a follow-up to the recent Wells/Palumbi debate at Harvard. more ...

• An Interview with the BBC (11.27.01) Phillip Johnson is interviewed by the BBC, and more on the Dembski Kauffman debate in New Mexico. more ...

• Dembski and Kauffman Square Off in New Mexico (11.19.01) On Tuesday, November 13th, at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque about 500 to 600 people attended a remarkable event. William Dembski and Stuart Kauffman had a public encounter in which Kauffman, the preeminent self-organizational theorist of the Santa Fe Institute, publicly admitted that intelligent design was a legitimate intellectual and scientific project and that research projects like SETI (the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) couldn't even get off the ground without it. more ...

• Dembski/Pigliucci Debate (11.13.01) A summary of the Dembski/Pigliucci Debate held November 1, 2001 at the New York Academy of Sciencesmore ...

• No Free Lunch (10.30.01) Phillip Johnson introduces William Dembski's latest book, No Free Lunch, along with a short note from William Dembski. more ...

• My return to public lecturing, and the New York Review of Books plays its part in the Wedge strategy (10.09.01) Phillip Johnson continues his discussion of a two-part article by Frederick C. Crews in the New York Review of Books. Johnson states that in the second part of the article Crews "gives similar treatment to the accommodationist efforts of John Haught, Michael Ruse, Stephen Jay Gould, and Kenneth Miller, agreeing with William Provine that 'If you want to marry Christian doctrine with modern evolutionary biology, you have to check your brains at the church-house door.'" more ...

• New York Review Enters the Fray (9.25.01) In this week's article, Phillip Johnson discusses a two-part article by Frederick C. Crews in the New York Review of Books, which "trashes books by Michael Behe, William Dembski, Jonathan Wells, and myself." Johnson states, "The long review provides no evidence that Crews has read the books, much less thought seriously about the issues; it consists mainly of standard scientific materialist put-downs that could have been stitched together from handouts distributed by any of the so-called “skeptic” societies."more ...

• Divisive Issues (9.10.01) Returning to his weekly column, Phillip Johnson discusses a potentially divisive issue among the scientific community, citing Michael Ruse's argument in a recent book that Darwinists can also be Christians. Welcome back Phil!more ...

• More Discussion with Richard Dawkins (8.13.01) On Friday, July 13, 2001, Phil Johnson suffered a stroke. He is currently undergoing rehabilitation therapy, and hopes to return to his normal activities soon. The following Weekly Wedge Update was in preparation when Phil became ill. It covers recent correspondence between Phil and Richard Dawkins, and concludes with comments from Paul Nelson.more ...

• Richard Dawkins (7.09.01) Phillip Johnson talks about recent email dialogs with Richard Dawkins, and cites more examples of the "empty rants" of scientific materialism.more ...

• Louisville and Kansas City (7.02.01)
  Phillip Johnson was on the road last week, spending three days at The Southern Baptist Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, teaching a course to seminarians and pastors on “Equipping for Ministry in Today’s University Culture.” Johnson also attended the second annual “Darwin, Design, and Democracy” symposium in Kansas City June 29-30 sponsored by the Kansas Intelligent Design Network. This week's report also includes a few light-hearted thoughts by Jonathan Wells.more ...

• Scott Blows Smoke in Science (6.25.01)
  This week's Update talks about Eugenie Scott's review in the June 22 issue of Science, which attacks Jonathan Wells’ famous book Icons of Evolution, a book that exposes the errors and frauds permeating evolutionary biology textbooks.Johnson also discusses a recent ID cover story from the San Francisco Weekly.more ...

• Errors and Alarms (6.18.01)
  In this week's report Phillip Johnson discusses the prevalence of errors and misunderstandings in Darwinist writing.According to Johnson, these misunderstandings demonstrate the need for an open process of public discussion, to help citizens (and even professors) to become better informed. Johnson also discusses this week's endorsement by the United States Senate of an intellectual freedom resolution for science education.more ...

• The Pennsylvania Controversy (6.11.01)
  This week's Wedge Update contains a letter from Michael Behe supporting the proposed changes in the Pennsylvania Science Education Standards. Phillip Johnson also provides an update on last week's events. more ...

• Conferences at Calvin College, Kansas City, and Elsewhere (6.04.01)
  Phillip Johnson talks about last weeks conferences and lectures, as well as upcoming events. He also emphasizes the importance of Design conferences, stating "Conferences are important not only for what is said in the lectures and workshop sessions, but as a sign that discussion of Design in biology has become almost a routine matter in the academic world." more ...

• New Books (5.28.01)
  The big event last week was the conference May 24-26 at Calvin College on "Design, Self-organization, and the Integrity of Creation" hosted by Bill Dembski and featuring many of the Wedge authors. Phillip Johnson also discusses two new books, How Blind is the Watchmaker? by Neil Broom, and Darwin's God by Cornelius G. Hunter. more ...

• Lectures Far and Wide (5.21.01)
  Phillip Johnson talks about the events of the past week, including his lecture in Sacramento, Jonathan Wells, and Roger DeHart. He also shares the experience of a Colorado Springs student's presentation on teaching evolution, as well as more press coverage for Intelligent Design. more ...

• Lectures, Articles,and Debates (5.14.01)
  It was a busy week on the ID front, with Phillip Johnson lecturing in Winnipeg at the Christian Medical and Dental Association of Canada, and in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania at the annual convention of the Christian Homeschool Association of Pennsylvania. Favorable ID coverage continued, and a debate was held at California State University Fullerton between paleontologist Niles Eldredge of the New York Museum of Natural History and Biola University philosophy professor John Mark Reynolds. more ...

• Icons of Evolution Exposed on CNN (5.07.01)
  The big news this week was the CNN telecast overnight on May 3, on their CNN Newsroom Special Series show that is used in many public and private school classrooms. more ...

• DNA Demoted (4.30.01)
  One complaint that Darwinists like to make against the Intelligent Design movement is that the concept of “design” supposedly does not lead to any scientific research program. Once scientists confirm that organisms really are designed, the caricature is that they just throw up their hands, say “God did it somehow,” and then go off to church. more ...

• Inherit the Wind in Reverse (4.23.01)
  The past month has been the best ever for the Intelligent Design movement. On March 25 the Los Angeles Times had a good story about us on page one, featuring the "Inherit the Wind in reverse" Darwinist persecution of high school teacher Roger DeHart. DeHart has been ordered by administrators to stop trying to open the minds of his students, by (among other things) distributing Stephen Jay Gould's article in Natural History, which acknowledges that the embryo drawings in the biology textbooks are fraudulent. more...

• The Wedge: A Progress Report (4.16.01)
  Approximately ten years ago, I formulated the Wedge strategy with two related goals. The first was to legitimate the topic of intelligent design, and hence the critique of Darwinism and its basis in naturalistic philosophy, within the mainstream intellectual community. The second was to make the critique of naturalism the central focus of discussion in the religious world, replacing the deadlocked debate over the Genesis chronology which had enabled the Darwinists to employ the "Inherit the Wind stereotype" so effectively. more...