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Evolution and belief : confessions of a religious paleontologist
- Author
- Asher, Robert J.
- Title
- Evolution and belief : confessions of a religious paleontologist / Robert J. Asher.
- Format
- Book
- Published
- Cambridge, UK ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2012.
- Description
- xxiii, 300 p. : ill. ; 24 cm.
- URL
- <Cover image> http://assets.cambridge.org/97805211/93832/cover/9780521193832.jpg <Contributor biographical information> http://catdir.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy1117/2011038242-b.html <Publisher description> http://catdir.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy1117/2011038242-d.html <Table of contents only> http://catdir.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy1117/2011038242-t.html
- Notes
- Includes bibliographical references and index.
- Contents
-
- Science and religion. Darwinism, agency, and cause ; The most gifted biology writer of our time ; Methodological naturalism ; The compatibility delusion ; Theistic Christianity and evolution
- Evolution as a science. Historical science and naturalism ; Uniformitarianism and intelligent design ; Science and hypothesis testing ; Hypotheses derived from natural selection
- Characters and common descent. Evolutionary trees ; Living "intermediates" ; Reproduction on land and in water ; Amphibians and the Puerto Rican coqui ; Mammals and monotremes ; Marsupials and bandicoots ; The marsupial placenta ; Tarsiers ; Summary
- The fossil record. Stratigraphy ; Micro- and macroevolution ; Punctuated equilibrium ; Creationists and quote-mining ; Stephen Jay Gould and neo-Darwinism ; "Macroevolution" : species as individuals
- The roots of mammals. Synapsid jaw and ear bones ; Ear bones and development ; Mammalian lactation ; Roots of mammals : summary
- A brief history of elephants. Elephants and the big picture ; Elephants and English
- Whales are no fluke. Cetacean origins : molecules and mesonychids ; Toothed and baleen whales ; Baleen whale development and genetics
- Creationism : the fossils still say no! Agency and cause revisited
- DNA and the Tree of Life. Building trees with genes ; Anti-evolutionists and trees ; The nodes anatomy got wrong ; Afrotheria and the new tree of placental mammals
- DNA and information "creation". What does DNA do? ; Pseudogenes ; Viral DNA and function ; Mutation and color vision ; "Tuning knobs" and skull shape ; Origin of information and "macroevolution" ; Genetics, development, and the mammalian ear
- Biology and probability. Contingency ; Convergence ; Evolution is not random ; Selection and stickleback fish ; Probability and anti-evolutionism ; Exaptation
- Evolution, education, and conclusions. Academic freedom ; What did Darwin explain? ; Conclusions.
- Summary
- "Can a scientist believe in God? Does the ongoing debate between some evolutionists and evangelicals show that the two sides are irreconcilable? As a paleontologist and a religious believer, Robert Asher constantly confronts the perceived conflict between his occupation and his faith. In the course of his scientific work, he has found that no other theory comes close to Darwin's as an explanation for our world's incredible biodiversity. Recounting discoveries in molecular biology, paleontology and development, Asher reveals the remarkable evidence in favor of Darwinian evolution. In outlining the scope of Darwin's idea, Asher shows how evolution describes the cause of biodiversity, rather than the agency behind it. He draws a line between superstition and religion, recognizing that atheism is not the inevitable conclusion of evolutionary theory. By liberating evolution from its misappropriated religious implications, Asher promotes a balanced awareness that contributes to our understanding of biology and Earth history"-- Provided by publisher.
- Subject headings
- Evolution (Biology) Religion and science.
- ISBN
- 9780521193832 0521193834