Reason
in the Balance: The Case Against Naturalism
in
Science, Law & Education
by Phillip E. Johnson
Customer Comments
A reader from Memphis, TN,
December 23, 1998
Great book! A must read by everyone!
This book details the worldviews of naturalism
and materialism vs theistic views. It deftly shows the flaws of naturalism,
the fallacies it creates and how it started. A must read for all thinking
people no matter what their personal views are!
Jim.J.Moore@usa.net from
Orlando, FL, May 22, 1999
Clear, well thought-out arguments
While there are a few places where he treats
the "opposition" fairly superficially, going into too much more detail
would render the text unreadable. He is very careful to go for the core
of the issues, though, and does a remarkable job at making sure that his
reasoning is solid. You'd be a fool to only one side and not major authors
on the other, but he greatly clarifies what the debate is really about.
Excellent.
A reader from Athens, Georgia,
April 28, 1999
About as Fair as You're Going to Get
On the face of it, evolution appears as
a 19th century, white, Victorian imperialist creation myth that reflects
their views of "progress", making man in the image of a biological industrial
revolution. So how has the hypothesis, imminently unprovable either way
by traditional scientific method, become the foremost cultural Weltanschauung
preached by all media? Johnson tackles evolution head-on in other books,
but here he deconstructs the modernistic worldview that have become dogma
in some scientific circles. That Johnson is a long-time Berkeley law professor
is not a drawback. Coming to the problems without the baggage of losing
his credibility or being ostracized by his peers, he looks at his subject
rationally and makes decisions by the weight of evidence rather than "Because
that's what we were taught." (Certainly I've read enough books on astronomy,
a favorite field of mine, where the otherwise learned professors misconstrue
and woefully misunderstand medieval science and scholastics, and maliciously
misrepresent some of the manifestations of Renaissance humanism, esp. its
firm genesis in medieval scholasticism, and particularly the cases of Galileo
and Bruno, where their own scholarship broke down entirely). It's hard
to be open-minded (open-minded meaning capable of weighing valid options
to be persuaded of one or the other) in either theistic or scientific circles,
especially with the "circle the wagons" mindset of the latter. Certainly
all disciplines, whether scientific, historical, theological, philosophical,
literary, etc. have the jargon they use to keep outsiders from entering
their inner sancta, and Johnson has the stigma in biological cliques of
not being among the anointed. But the reason I give less than the highest
rating is because his book is far too short. More history, more subtly
developed, would be welcomed. Nevertheless, Johnson weighs his words carefully
so as not to be ultimately combative or exploitative, and that's a welcome
change from all sides. It's not for the "I believe in God and that's that"
or "I believe in a totally mechanistic universe" crowds. But it may help
anyone who is honestly open-minded to weigh how the materialistic doctrines
reasonably, without simply accepting them as Truth.
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