Monday, October 03, 2005
The Dembski Quote Mine Catches Fire, Burns Reporter
"A few months back," writes Luanne Austin, a Daily News Record columnist, "writing about intelligent design versus evolution, I quoted the Oxford biologist, Richard Dawkins, as saying, "Biology is the study of complicated things that give the appearance of having been designed for a purpose," in his book, "The Blind Watchmaker." This was followed by a quote from Francis Crick, Nobel laureate and co-discoverer of the structure of DNA: "Biologists must constantly keep in mind that what they see was not designed, but rather evolved."
"The reader pointed out that I’d done Dawkins a disservice by pulling his quote out of context. When I read that, my heart sank.
"I had not read Dawkins’ book, nor the source of Crick’s quote. I was quoting someone who was quoting Dawkins and Crick. I was not acquainted with this someone, William Dembski, and had no reason to trust him. That doesn’t mean Dembski, a mathematician and philosopher, is not credible. What it does mean is that my neglecting to check the source of Dembski’s references was a lack of integrity on my part. It was lazy of me."
This is worth reading for the transformation that takes place when Austin reads Dawkins' "The Blind Watchmaker." Thanks to RSR reader, Bill F., for calling it to our attention.
"The reader pointed out that I’d done Dawkins a disservice by pulling his quote out of context. When I read that, my heart sank.
"I had not read Dawkins’ book, nor the source of Crick’s quote. I was quoting someone who was quoting Dawkins and Crick. I was not acquainted with this someone, William Dembski, and had no reason to trust him. That doesn’t mean Dembski, a mathematician and philosopher, is not credible. What it does mean is that my neglecting to check the source of Dembski’s references was a lack of integrity on my part. It was lazy of me."
This is worth reading for the transformation that takes place when Austin reads Dawkins' "The Blind Watchmaker." Thanks to RSR reader, Bill F., for calling it to our attention.
