Evolution on Trial

by Bill Whitehouse

In Evolution On Trial one will find a complete overview of all of the basic data, evidence and arguments which converge on the issues at the heart of evolutionary theory as a potential candidate of explanation for the origin of life. This overview is complementary to a second work that is currently in preparation, but the present treatment does permit a first glimpse of what must be grasped in order to be in a conceptual position to be able to arrive at informed judgements -- whether pro or con -- about evolutionary theory. In contradistinction to the original Scopes "Monkey" trial when John Scopes, a highschool science teacher, was put on trial for teaching material at odds with the Biblical account of the origins of man, in Evolution on Trial, Robert Corrigan, a fictional character, has been put on trial for teaching material that is considered by the prosecution to be inconsistent with modern evolutionary theory. However, the defendant in this case is not a Creationist, nor is his argument an expression of what has come to be known as "Creationist Science". The current overview is not about trying to prove the truth of this or that religious account about the origins of either human beings, in particular, or life, in general. Evolution on Trial is about the process of interpreting empirical evidence and subjecting that data to various methods of critical reflection. Evolution On Trial addresses issues of science and whether or not science, as presently understood, can be said to demonstrate the validity of evolutionary theory as an account of the origin of life. As such, this overview focuses on the issue of evolutionary theory itself and does not get sidetracked with irrelevant considerations, however interesting these later twists and turns may be in purely human terms.

274 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006