John West's Darwin's Day in America is a well-documented account of the frightening influence of philosophical materialism on the application of science to American society... revealing how close America has come repeatedly to ...the final “abolition of man” that C. S. Lewis warned us of.
Robert C. Koons, Professor of Philosophy, University of Texas at Austin
Feb. 6: Proselytizing for Darwin's God in the Classroom
By Robert Crowther | January 23, 2008
Featuring Dr. John G. West, author of Darwin Day in America
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
4:30-6:00 pm
Discovery Institute, Seattle
This event is being taped for broadcast on the web as part of the ID the Future Darwin Day broadcast on Darwin Day, February 12.
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 ¡ªincluding the National Academy of Sciences, the Public Broadcasting Service, and the National Center for Science Education¡ª are cynically promoting religious instruction in schools as a way of defusing opposition to Darwinian evolution.
Join Discovery Institute Senior Fellow Dr. John West, author of Darwin Day in America (ISI Books), as he presents a tale of hypocrisy and hubris on the part of leading Darwinists and examines how they are willing to undermine the First Amendment's Establishment Clause to promote their views. This event is being taped for broadcast on the web as part of the ID the Future Darwin Day broadcast on Darwin Day, February 12.
Watch last year's Darwin Day broadcasts:
Darwin Day and the Deification of Charles Darwin -- Part 1
Darwin Day and the Deification of Charles Darwin - Pt. 2
God, Science and Presidential Politics
By Robert Crowther | January 7, 2008
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.
Darwinian Hiring Practices?
By Robert Crowther | November 30, 2007
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.
Cesare Lombroso and the Rise of Darwinian Criminal Justice
By Anika Smith | November 7, 2007
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.
The Real Frankenstein: Giovanni Aldini
By Anika Smith | October 31, 2007
On a special Halloween edition of ID the Future, John West shares the inspiration for Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.
In his new book, Darwin Day in America, West examines the experiments of Italian scientist Giovanni Aldini, conducted on human corpses. His gruesome experiments provided the inspiration for Frankenstein and foreshadowed the rise of a virulent strain of materialism that attempted to use science to reduce human beings to mere matter in motion.
Dr. John West At The Heritage Foundation Nov. 6th
By Robert Crowther | October 29, 2007
The Abolition Of Man? How Politics And Culture Have Been Dehumanized In The Name Of Science
What: A lecture by CSC Senior Fellow John West
When: November 6, 12PM-1PM
Where: Lehrman Auditorium, The Heritage Foundation, Washington, D.C.
Click here for more information.
John West to debate Larry Arnhart
By Robert Crowther | October 16, 2007
November 15, 2007
A Darwinian Conservatism? John West vs. Larry Arnhart
What: Debate between CSC Senior Fellow John West and Larry Arnhart of Northern Illinois University
When: Nov 15th, 7:30pm-9:30pm
Where: Seattle Pacific University, Demaray Hall 150
For more information click here.
Are we suffering the consequences of Darwin Day in America?
By Anika Smith | October 8, 2007
While there are many who would deny that Darwin himself had anything to do with what became known in the last century as social Darwinism, the historical record on the subject is clear and unmistakable.
Available this November, Darwin Day in America by CSC Senior Fellow John West explores the cultural implications of Darwinism for our society. Ideas have consequences, and the American experience of the consequences of Darwinism and scientific materialism is well-documented in the nearly 500 pages of Darwin Day in America, representing a decade of exhaustive research by Dr. West.
"This is provocative and important reading," said Chuck Colson, Founder, Prison Fellowship. "John West has done a characteristically excellent job in analyzing social Darwinism and the insidious ideology which has infected almost every area of American public policy."
Dr. West is quick to note that materialism existed long before Darwin, but that it was regarded as a fringe concept until Darwin's theory gave it intellectual viability. Today Darwin is often misunderstood because many people don't bother to actually read what he wrote, particularly in The Descent of Man, where he lays out the moral, social, and religious implications of his theory of evolution by natural selection.
In Darwin's own view, there is no fundamental difference between man and higher animals in their mental faculties, a key to understanding the animal rights movement today and the importance of human exceptionalism in countering this argument. While Darwin himself was reticent to take his ideas to their logical conclusions, his followers had no qualms with applying his theory to the breeding of humans, ushering in a new "scientific" crusade of eugenics. Though not mandated by the Darwinian view, forced sterilization was the result of leading biologists firmly believing that civilization was destroying the human race by allowing so-called "defectives" to propagate their kind. This was the consensus view of scientists for forty years in America, much to the detriment of our society and the more than 60,000 Americans who were sterilized.
"Dr. West gives a superb overview of what happens once we start seeing man as an overachieving worm," said Marvin Olasky, Editor in Chief, World magazine. "He shows how a Darwin Day worldview affects everything from sex and philanthropy to crime and euthanasia."
With harrowing studies in crime, welfare, education, and medicine, West built the compelling case for how Darwinism has affected views on matters as foundational as morality, free will, and religion. There is a human cost to scientific materialism, and Darwin Day in America is a sobering look at the consequences of carrying Darwinian logic out over the last century in America.