This year marks the bicentennial of Charles Darwin's birth and, as good fortune would have it, the sesquicentennial of the publication of his landmark and groundbreaking work The Origin of Species. To celebrate the occasion, a number of books on Darwin and his theories of evolution and the process of natural selection have been or will be published. And with them, the debate surrounding evolution has been heating up again.
Or has it?
At first glance it would seem yes; the first salvos have been launched. Richard Dawkins, the tireless former Oxford Don, biologist, author, wordsmith (he coined the term 'meme') and ubiquitous Darwin advocate, wrote a lengthy piece several weeks ago for the Times Literary Supplement reviewing the work of fellow Darwin apologist, Jerry Coyne, Biology Professor at the University of Chicago, entitled simply "Why Evolution is True." Professor Dawkins has his own book on this topic coming out later this year, so stumping the need for more books on Darwin in his TLS article is (as he freely admits) somewhat self-serving.
Why, one may ask, this need? Dawkins has a ready answer.
Uh oh, I feel some gall building up. Now, I am a fan of Dr. Dawkins. I liked his book "The Blind Watchmaker" and have enjoyed watching his spirited and articulate public disquisitions defending evolutionary theory. But to extrapolate from what two – two – science teachers reported at a cluck-cluck session in Atlanta (which probably means they came from the bible-belt) to suggest that such experiences are common throughout the United States and Britain is, frankly, ridiculous. Based on that flimsy evidence, I am happy to deny that Professor Coyne's book is necessary. It is not only unnecessary, it is likely to be irrelevant.
