Dawkins Reviews "Expelled" by Ben Stein

[AstusAleator]

http://www.richarddawkins.net/article,2 ... rd-Dawkins

I'm going to be seeing this "documentary" tonight, and I'll be happy to write my own review here in this thread afterward. I recommend that anyone interested read what Dawkins has to say about it.

This should be interesting, as I'm attending with my outspoken creationist brother .

[mith]

Go with someone jewish too

[AstusAleator]

So the film was pretty much what I expected, after having read some reviews.

It started out by "exposing" an "alarming trend" in which proponents of ID have been fired or otherwise shut out of scientific positions. It talked with several of these individuals, and told their tragic stories.

From this point, I expected the commentary to turn to a discussion as to the validity of ID as science. That would make sense, since ID being scientific is the only premise by which they could argue the unfairness of losing their positions.
There is a brief discussion in which various "experts" are quoted as saying ID isn't about religion, and ID is scientific. No arguments are provided. Apparently the words of the "experts" are enough.

The rest of the film is an attack on evolution, darwinism, humanism, and a defense of faith's role in science (but ID isn't about religion!). By attack, I mean that evolutionary biologists are made to look like arrogant eccentric misanthropic godless phillistines, and certain theories (mostly origins theories which are not part of darwinism) are ridiculed without being given proper scientific explanation. Parallels are drawn between darwinism and Nazi Germany's racial cleansing. Ben Stein, the narrator, even visits Nazi internment camps.

Perhaps the most offensive part of the documentary to me was that it was obviously intended to do nothing other than inflame religious people (particularly Christian and Jewish) against science and evolutionary theory. Among others, outspoken humanist and evolutionary biologist Dawkins is quoted in the movie ranting against religion, thus creating the bridge in the mind of the viewers that all evolutionary biologists are militantly atheistic.

The viewer, who is most likely already a believer in some form of creation, is left with a very antagonistic view of the scientific world, not just concerning the study of evolution. The film is rife with rhetoric one would expect from an oppressed civil rights leader. There is little to no scientific logic presented in the piece. Rather, "expert" after "expert" is trotted out to give their various opinions and unsupported claims. I found it impossible to critically analyze everything each expert said, as they were produced in such rapid succession. One is left with no choice but to either accept or reject the statements, based on preconcieved notions.

I was somewhat taken aback by the accounts of people being fired for being pro-ID, and that made me somewhat more willing to listed to what the "documentary had to say. But, it soon revealed itself for what it really is, unrelenting propaganda with little to no scientific credibility. I don't think that all factors were presented in the cases of these people losing their jobs. Furthermore, I'm not convinced the institutions were wrong in disciplining their employees for endorsing non-science as science. One professor lost his job and tenure, he claims, because he was maintaining a pro-ID website within his institution's domain, and publishing pro-ID papers within his affiliation with the institution. I have doubts that this was the only cause of his termination, but even if it was, scientific institutions have reputations and credibility to maintain.

So that's my rant/review.

[MichaelXY]

Very well written review, and sounds like the norm of most videos shown these days. It is sad how so many people can be influenced by biased media.

Well, it must be true, Tom Brokaw said so...

[AstusAleator]

It's so frustrating to me to see things like this just widen the percieved divide between faith and science.
In practice, they may be mutually exclusive, but a person can (and should) have both in their life.

[canalon]

Even worse. Have a look at Mr Stein's interview!

http://www.thedailytube.com/video/9732/ ... ing-people

[Ultrashogun]

A question to American biologists, is this whole ID stuff somehow affecting what you do in any way?