Robert T. Pennock – författare

On December 20, 2005, a U.S. district court in Dover, Pennsylvania, ruled in Kitzmiller et al. v. Dover Area School Board that teaching Intelligent Design in public school biology classes violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. The judge explained that Intelligent Design is not science and "cannot uncouple itself from its creationist, and thus religious, antecedents." This case was just the latest attempt by proponents of Intelligent Design or Creationism to undermine the teaching of evolution in high school biology classes. The emotionally charged controversy, which has been going on since the publication of Charles Darwin's Origin of Species, shows no sign of letting up.This excellent collection, now fully updated, will inform readers about the history of the debate and bring philosophical clarity to the complex arguments on both sides. The editors, both of whom served as expert witnesses in two different court cases, start by chronicling the heated discussion that surrounded the publication of Darwin's famous work. In the next part, they present articles that explicate modern evolutionary theory, including philosophical critiques by Karl Popper and others. The selections that follow discuss so-called Creation Science, focusing in particular on the 1981 McLean court case in Arkansas. In the final section, the philosophical issues surrounding the distinction between religion and science in the most recent Kitzmiller case are considered. This outstanding overview of an important contemporary debate shows that philosophy has a vital role to play in major decisions affecting education and interpretations of science and religion.

This edited research monograph brings together contributions from computer scientists, biologists, and engineers who are engaged with the study of evolution and how it may be applied to solve real-world problems. It also serves as a Festschrift dedicated to Erik D. Goodman, the founding director of the BEACON Center for the Study of Evolution in Action, a pioneering NSF Science and Technology Center headquartered at Michigan State University. The contributing authors are leading experts associated with the center, and they serve in top research and industrial establishments across the US and worldwide.  Part I summarizes the history of the BEACON Center, with refreshingly personal chapters that describe Erik's working and leadership style, and others that discuss the development and successes of the center in the context of research funding, projects, and careers. The chapters in Part II deal with the evolution of genomes and evolvability. The contributionsin Part III discuss the evolution of behavior and intelligence. Those in Part IV concentrate on the evolution of communities and collective dynamics. The chapters in Part V discuss selected evolutionary computing applications in domains such as arts and science, automated program repair, cybersecurity, mechatronics, and genomic prediction. Part VI deals with evolution in the classroom, using creativity in research, and responsible conduct in research training. The book concludes with a special chapter from Erik Goodman, a short biography that concentrates on his personal positive influences and experiences throughout his long career in academia and industry.