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Darwin's House of Cards: A Journalist's Odyssey Through the Darwin Debates Paperback – December 21, 2016

by Tom Bethell (Author)
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 199 ratings
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In this provocative history of contemporary debates over evolution, veteran journalist Tom Bethell depicts Darwin’s theory as a nineteenth-century idea past its prime, propped up by logical fallacies, bogus claims, and empirical evidence that is all but disintegrating under an onslaught of new scientific discoveries. Bethell presents a concise yet wide-ranging tour of the flash points of modern evolutionary theory, investigating controversies over common descent, natural selection, the fossil record, biogeography, information theory, evolutionary psychology, artificial intelligence, and the growing intelligent design movement. Bethell’s account is enriched by his own personal encounters with some of our era’s leading scientists and thinkers, including Harvard biologists Stephen Jay Gould and Richard Lewontin; British paleontologist Colin Patterson; and renowned philosopher of science Karl Popper.
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  1. Print length
    294 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publication date
    December 21, 2016
  4. Dimensions
    6 x 0.74 x 9 inches
  5. ISBN-10
    1936599414
  6. ISBN-13
    978-1936599417
  7. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Discovery Institute (December 21, 2016)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 294 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1936599414
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1936599417
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 15.4 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.74 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 199 ratings

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Tom Bethell

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4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
199 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Philotelos
5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended
Reviewed in the United States on April 3, 2017
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House of Cards by veteran journalist Tom Bethell is that rarest of rarae aves: a wide-ranging, meticulously researched, and above all fair-minded presentation of the “evolution wars.” It proceeds in a partly historical and partly topical manner, with many personal anecdotes to enliven the exposition, which is never less than lucid. Indeed, Bethell has an enviable ability to distill complex matters into a readily understandable form, without tendentiousness or over-simplification. The book is a pleasure to read, which certainly cannot be said of many of the army of similar books on the market. But the main reason to prefer Bethell’s account over most others is his combination of comprehensive coverage and objectivity. While Bethell has his own viewpoint, it is clear from his narrative that it is one he has arrived at after a lengthy investigation, not one that was predetermined from the outset. The book is blessedly free from the whine of axes a-grinding. All in all, House of Cards is an outstanding contribution to the popular literature on evolution, neo-Darwinism, philosophical materialism, and the implications of these for our image of the human person. It is elementary to intermediate in level of difficulty, and would make an ideal book to put into the hands of a curious and intelligent neophyte in these matters.
15 people found this helpful
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Elwood D. Baas
5.0 out of 5 stars Devolution of Evolution
Reviewed in the United States on March 31, 2017
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My introduction to the author came in 1976 when I read his article in Harper's Magazine titled, "Darwin's Mistake". I was captivated by the simple ideas he presented: 1. That "survival of the fittest" is a tautology since survival has no independent criteria for survival . . . you have to wait to see what survives. 2. That later evolution claims then contended that "fittest" meant nothing more than those which leave the most offspring . . . no way to explain new species. 3. That the background for Darwinian evolution was constructed and bolstered by the zeitgeist of belief in progress.

"House of Cards" fills in all the details around the ideas he presented in 1976 and brings the arguments up to date with topics on DNA, information theory, and artificial intelligence. This is a comprehensive work with many references and material from interviews with well-known evolutionists.

So now what is in the cards according to the author?
He makes the argument that Darwinism blossomed only when materialism became the dominant scientific presupposition (faith). With the materialism of science came the hope of an ever expanding science and progressive society. He then points out that this hope for a better world created by science and culture faltered at the turn of the century largely fueled by the environmental movement. General consensus then changed from humans making a utopia to a world ruined by mankind. So he questions that with the foundation of the house shaken, will the rejection of both materialism and belief in progress finally bring the house down?

Great resource book on the devolution of evolution and what it means for our time. I highly recommend it.
9 people found this helpful
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Clay Garner
5.0 out of 5 stars ''Darwinism's unstated role has been to prop up a philosophy—the philosophy of materialism—and atheism along with it.''
Reviewed in the United States on February 18, 2017
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''Those who claim to live by science will eventually die by science.''

Science depends on evidence/conclusions. What does all the current evidence - fossils, cells, DNA, information theory, atomic forces - drive us to conclude?

''But, as I hope to show in the following chapters, the science of neo-Darwinism was poor all along, and supported by very few facts. I have become ever more convinced that, although Darwinism has been promoted as science, its unstated role has been to prop up a philosophy—the philosophy of materialism—and atheism along with it.''

Why then were Darwin and Wallace so convinced?

''Darwin found that Malthus (free market economist) had given him a theory “with which to work.” The doctrine of Malthus equally applied “to the animal and vegetable kingdoms,” where there could be “no artificial increase of food, and no prudential restraint from marriage,” Darwin wrote.''

What! Darwin found inspiration from a ''free market economist''???

''The philosopher Bertrand Russell was a little more careful: “Darwin’s theory was essentially an extension to the animal and vegetable world of laissez-faire economics.”

Amazing!

INTRODUCTION
1 DARWINISM IN OUR TIME
2 DARWIN’S MISTAKE
3 DARWIN’S CURIA AT THE CENTENARY
4 COMMON DESCENT: FACT OR THEORY?
5 NATURAL SELECTION: A CLOSER LOOK
6 WHAT IS THE EVIDENCE FOR NATURAL SELECTION?
7 ON EXTINCTION
8 IS VARIATION INDEFINITE OR LIMITED?
9 HOMOLOGY AND ITS POSSIBLE CAUSES
10 THE CONUNDRUM OF CONVERGENCE
11 THE FOSSIL RECORD
12 EVOLUTION AND SYSTEMATICS AT THE AMERICAN MUSEUM
13 INTELLIGENT DESIGN AND INFORMATION THEORY
14 DARWIN AND THE PHILOSOPHY OF MATERIALISM
15 DNA: GOD IS IN THE DETAILS
16 LENSKI’S EVOLVING BACTERIA
17 THE SOCIOBIOLOGY WARS
18 HUMAN EXCEPTIONALISM AND ITS ENEMIES
19 THE SEARCH FOR ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
20 BIOGEOGRAPHY AND DARWIN’S THEOLOGY
21 THE RISE AND FALL OF PROGRESS
ENDNOTES

''In his correspondence—often less inhibited than his books—Darwin was disposed to give theological reasons for rejecting the evidence of design. “There seems to me too much misery in the world,” he wrote to Asa Gray in 1860. “I cannot persuade myself that a beneficent and omnipotent God would have designedly created the [digger wasps] with the express intention of their feeding within the living bodies of caterpillars, or that a cat should play with mice.”

Karl Popper was a giant of twentieth century scientific proof. Popper made (in)famous condemnation of Darwinism as science. . .

''In his autobiography, Karl Popper said he had come to the conclusion that “Darwinism is not a testable scientific theory, but a metaphysical research program.”

''To say that a species now living is adapted to its environment “is almost tautological,” he wrote. “Adaptation or fitness is defined by modern evolutionists as survival value, and can be measured by actual success in survival. There is hardly any possibility of testing a theory as feeble as this.”

A ''feeble theory''!

''Further controversy ensued, for Popper—apparently under pressure in England—partially recanted in 1978. Later, in 1988, I had a chance to interview Popper myself, when he spent a week at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. I immediately brought up the issue of natural selection. He told me that his opinion had not changed.''

''He also said he thought that natural selection had in fact been falsified “by Darwin’s own theory.” Distortions introduced by sexual selection sometimes meant that offspring were not better adapted than their parents, he said.''

''When I mentioned that Darwinism had evidently benefited from the idea of Progress, widely accepted in the mid-nineteenth century but widely rejected in the late twentieth, Popper said that “I have been one of the people who have destroyed it.” He said he had “preached” along those lines in his book The Poverty of Historicism.''

This ''faith'' in progress is repeatedly presented as key reason for the speed of Darwin's acceptance.

For another analysis of evolution, the book (from 1925) is worth the time - ''The dogma of Evolution'', by Louis Trenchard More. He was a professor of physics, who also wrote biographies of Newton and Boyle. Outstanding!

(See - ''From Aristotle to Darwin & Back Again: A Journey in Final Causality, Species and Evolution'' by Etienne Gilson; this is an analysis by a leading scholar on the philosophical history of evolution from Aristotle to Darwin. Also, ''The Death of Humanity: and the Case for Life'' by Richard Weikart; both add to this presentation.)
39 people found this helpful
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R S Shaffer
4.0 out of 5 stars Would Darwin Be A Darwinist Today?
Reviewed in the United States on February 8, 2017
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Criticisms of Darwin's theory have existed since it's inception and continue to the present day. Darwin himself gave compelling reasons for doubting his theory. This new book from Tom Bethell does an admirable job of covering most of the major issues in a concise and entertaining manner. For those who have never read many of the criticisms of Darwinism that have been published throughout the years this book serves as an excellent resource. You won't find references to Creationist sites because Bethell goes to the source and his arguments have nothing to do with religious texts. The only reason this book receives four stars from me and not five stars is because I was already familiar with much of the material, but for a new generation this books should serve as great starting place.
59 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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SaAnita
5.0 out of 5 stars Valuable read in an important topic
Reviewed in Canada on July 4, 2018
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An excellent read from a perspective we don’t usually think of. I enjoyed reading this book very much and would recommend it highly.
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Guido Naudts
4.0 out of 5 stars Een kritische kijk op het neodarwinisme
Reviewed in the Netherlands on March 5, 2017
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Alhoewel ik het niet altijd eens ben met Bethell vind ik het een zeer goed boek:
1) vanwege een gedetailleerd en interessant historisch overzicht
2) een duidelijke uitleg van de belangrijkste bezwaren tegen de 'neodarwinistische synthese'
Alhoewel ik reeds zeer veel hierover gelezen heb, waren sommige argumenten nieuw voor mij.
Neodarwinisme is gedeeltelijk wetenschap, gedeeltelijk deologie. Ik vind het belangrijk beide duidelijk gescheiden te houden.
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Charles
5.0 out of 5 stars Has Darwin's house of cards started to fall?
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 10, 2017
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Darwin's House of Cards: A Journalist's Odyssey Through the Darwin Debates  For those of us watching the debate around the Neo-Darwin synthesis over the last ten years or so, this could be a pivotal book.
Although the author is a journalist, he writes at a decent academic level in the relevant sciences. This book is a collation of all the evidence
against Darwinism where natural selection has been used to explain almost everything evolutionary in nature. The author Tom Bethell has several
anecdotes of working with some of the best of modern biologists such as Stephen Jay Gould and therefore has some decent some inside track information.

This book will be most useful to those with genuine doubts about Darwinism. It probably won't be enough for those who are committed
evolutionists particularly if their tenure depends on it!
This book clearly claims that Darwinism was a product of its times and which has been somewhat left behind by more recent scientific discoveries.
Darwin's house of cards may eventually help us develop an evidence-based paradigm for the origin of species. Bethell admits Darwin was very good in terms of the extinction of species, but not on origins!
You will either love or hate it!
14 people found this helpful
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Dom
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in Canada on June 29, 2018
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Excellent stuff, well researched and surprisingly reasonable in tone.
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Molendinar
5.0 out of 5 stars Panoramic rendition of the case against Darwinism.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 12, 2018
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This book deals with the inherent contradictions in Darwinism and examines its philosophical underpinning which even today determines its advocacy. The final sentences of the book predict the decay of Darwinism due to the loss of faith in eternal progress and the increasing understanding of the complexity of biological processes despite the determination of those espousing a materialist outlook at all costs.
6 people found this helpful
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