Darwin on Trial

Is evolution fact or fancy? Is natural selection an unsupported hypothesis or a confirmed mechanism of evolutionary change?

These were the courageous questions that professor of law Phillip Johnson originally took up in 1991. His relentless pursuit to follow the evidence wherever it leads remains as relevant today as then.

The facts and the logic of the arguments that purport to establish a theory of evolution based on Darwinian principles, says Johnson, continue to draw their strength from faith—faith in philosophical naturalism.

In this edition Johnson responds to critics of the first edition and maintains that scientists have put the cart before the horse, regarding as scientific fact what really should be regarded as a yet unproved hypothesis. Also included is a new, extended introduction by noted biologist Michael Behe, who chronicles the ongoing relevance of Johnson's cogent analysis.

In clear, concise chapters, Johnson offers a casual, reasoned and scientifically sound evaluation of the support for Darwinism--from fossil records to molecular biology. In a new afterword, he responds to his critics and their arguments. "Unquestionably the best critique of Darwinism I have ever read."--Michael Denton, author of Evolution: A Theory in Crisis.

In this edition of Phillip Johnson's classic book he responds to critics of the first edition and maintains that scientists have put the cart before the horse when it comes to evolution, regarding as scientific fact what really should be regarded as a yet unproved hypothesis. Also included is a new introduction by noted biologist Michael Behe.

Publishers Weekly

In his own era, Darwin's most formidable opponents were fossil experts, not clergymen. Even today, according to the author, the fossil record, far from conclusive, does not support the presumed existence of intermediate links between species. A law teacher at UC-Berkeley, Johnson deems unpersuasive the alleged proofs for Darwin's assertion that natural selection can produce new species. He also argues that recent molecular studies of DNA fail to confirm the existence of common ancestors for different species. Doubting the smooth line of transitional steps between apes and humans sketched by neo-Darwinists, he cites evidence for ``rapid branching,'' i.e., mysterious leaps which presumably produced the human mind and spirit from animal materials. This evidence, to Johnson, suggests that ``the putative hominid species'' may not have contained our ancestors after all. This cogent, succinct inquiry cuts like a knife through neo-Darwinist assumptions. (June)

A graduate of Harvard University and the University of Chicago Law School, Phillip E. Johnson served as law clerk for Chief Justice Earl Warren of the United States Supreme Court and taught law for more than thirty years at the University of California, Berkeley where he is professor emeritus. For the last decade Johnson has also been at the forefront of the public debate over evolution and creation. He is recognized as the leading spokesman for the intelligent design movement, and he has taken his message to such places as the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. Johnson travels frequently to speak at conferences and with television and radio audiences. He has appeared on Chuck Colson's "Breakpoint," on Business News Network's "Consumer Hotline" and on James Dobson's "Focus on the Family," among other shows. Johnson is an advisor to the Discovery Institute’s Center for the Renewal of Science and Culture (Seattle, Washington). His IVP titles include Darwin on Trial, Reason in the Balance, The Wedge of Truth, The Right Questions, and Defeating Darwinism by Opening Minds.