Dear Kevin:
I second the recommendations of the Dawkins and Wilson books. They are
both excellent writers as well as being first-class scientists. Wilson,
in particular, has won a pair of Pulitzer Prizes and it would behoove any
educated person to read his book *On Human Nature*.
On the general subject of evolution, a rare but terrific little volume by
R.E. Overman, *Evolution and the Christian Doctrine of Creation: A
Whiteheadian Interpretation* not only gives a concise and highly readable
summary of the history of the development of evolutionary thought and the
initial controversies, but a powerful argument showing how evolutionary
theory complements traditional religious cosmologies by an appeal to the
philosophy of Albert North Whitehead.
I think it fair to state that even an avowed atheist would have to tip
their hat to the cleverness and breadth of Mr. Overman's scholarship.
For a non-creationist but literate critique of the possible logical
problems of Darwinism (in the spirit of the Devil's Advocate) check out:
*Darwin Retired: An Appeal To Reason* by N. Macbeth (Dell, 1971).
Also, Max Perutz, in his book "Is Science Necessary?" (E.P. Dutton, 1989)
has a wonderful article analyzing the problems with Sir Karl Popper's
famous criticism of evolutionary theory as "unscientific."
Best wishes....Kennesaw at ccfnet.com
