The Panda's Black Box

Opening up the Intelligent Design Controversy

Scott Gilbert, Edward J. Larson, Jane Maienschein, Michael Ruse, Robert M. Young, Nathaniel C. Comfort

• Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
• Year: 2007
• eBook ISBN:
  9780801896903
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Elementary Education

The debate over Intelligent Design seemingly represents an extension of the fundamental conflict between creationists and evolutionists. ID proponents, drawing on texts such as Darwin's Black Box and Of Pandas and People, urge schools to "teach the controversy" in biology class alongside evolution. The scientific mainstream has reacted with fury, branding Intelligent Design as pseudoscience and its advocates as religious fanatics.

But stridency misses the point, argues Nathaniel Comfort. In The Panda's Black Box, Comfort joins five other leading public intellectuals—including Daniel Kevles and Pulitzer Prize winner Edward Larson—to explain the roots of the controversy and explore the intellectual, social, and cultural factors that continue to shape it.

One of the few books on the ID issue that moves beyond mere name-calling and finger-pointing, The Panda's Black Box challenges assumptions on each side of the debate and engages both the appeal and dangers of Intelligent Design. This lively collection will appeal to anyone seeking a deeper understanding of what's really at stake in the debate over evolution.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Contributors
• Further reading
• Half Title
• Chapter 1. Introduction
• Chapter 2. The Argument from Design
• Chapter 3. The Aerodynamics of Flying Carpets Why Biologists Are Loath to “Teach the Controversy”
• Chapter 4. The Classroom Controversy A History of the Dispute over Teaching Evolution
• Chapter 5. Untangling Debates about Science and Religion
• Chapter 6. Intelligent Design A Symptom of Metaphysical Malaise
• Notes
• Further reading
• Index