Darwin Day In America: How Our Politics and Culture Have Been Dehumanized in the Name of Science
At the dawn of the last century, leading scientists and politicians giddily predicted that science—especially Darwinian biology—would supply solutions to all the intractable problems of American society, from crime to poverty to sexual maladjustment.\ \ Instead, politics and culture were dehumanized as scientific experts began treating human beings as little more than animals or machines. In criminal justice, these experts denied the existence of free will and proposed replacing...
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At the dawn of the last century, leading scientists and politicians giddily predicted that science—especially Darwinian biology—would supply solutions to all the intractable problems of American society, from crime to poverty to sexual maladjustment. Instead, politics and culture were dehumanized as scientific experts began treating human beings as little more than animals or machines. In criminal justice, these experts denied the existence of free will and proposed replacing punishment with invasive “cures” such as the lobotomy. In welfare, they proposed eliminating the poor by sterilizing those deemed biologically unfit. In business, they urged the selection of workers based on racist theories of human evolution and the development of advertising methods to more effectively manipulate consumer behavior. In sex education, they advocated creating a new sexual morality based on “normal mammalian behavior” without regard to longstanding ethical and religious imperatives. Based on extensive research with primary sources and archival materials, John G. West’s captivating Darwin Day in America tells the story of how American public policy has been corrupted by scientistic ideology. Marshaling fascinating anecdotes and damning quotations, West’s narrative explores the far-reaching consequences for society when scientists and politicians deny the essential differences between human beings and the rest of nature. It also exposes the disastrous results that ensue when experts claiming to speak for science turn out to be wrong. West concludes with a powerful plea for the restoration of democratic accountabilityin an age of experts. Biography John G. West lives and works in the Seattle and Auburn, WA area. He is a senior fellow at the Discovery Institute and associate director of the institute’s Center for Science and Culture. Formerly the chairman of the Department of Political Science and Geography at Seattle Pacific University, Dr. West holds a Ph.D. in government from Claremont Graduate University. He has been interviewed frequently by the national media, including Time, Newsweek, and the New York Times, and has appeared on CNN, Fox News, and C-SPAN.
Preface ixIntroduction xiiiOrigins of Scientific MaterialismNothing Buttery from Atomism to the Enlightenment 3Darwin's Revolution 23Crime and PunishmentCriminal Science 45Crime as Mental Illness 61Turning Punishment into Treatment 79Wealth and PovertyLaw of the Jungle 105Breeding Our Way out of Poverty 123The Science of Business 163Building the World of Tomorrow 187Schools and ScholarsDarwin Day in America 209Banned in Burlington 231Junk Science in the Bedroom 269Sex Miseducation 291Life and DeathRedefining Life 325Redefining Death 343Conclusion: The Abolition of Man 359Notes 377Index 473
