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PAUL E NELSON

The History of Evolution


Edward Larson
The History of Evolution

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interview summary:

At the time of this interview Ed Larson was The Russell Professor of History at the University of Georgia, and author of: Evolution: The Remarkable History of a Scientific Theory. He discusses Charles Darwin, some of his scientific predecessors and how Darwin did not publish his theory until 20 years after formulating it. In part two, the professor discusses the theory of evolution, some of the unfortunate extrapolations of the theory, such as Social Darwinism and his views on the implications of genetic engineering.

 

length: 54 minutes #449
date aired: 8/29/04

 

biography (from wikipedia)

Edward John Larson is an American historian and legal scholar. He is University Professor of history and holds the Hugh & Hazel Darling Chair in Law at Pepperdine University, he was formerly Herman E. Talmadge Chair of Law and Richard B. Russell Professor of American History at the University of Georgia. He received the 1998 Pulitzer Prize for History for his book Summer for the Gods: The Scopes Trial and America’s Continuing Debate Over Science and Religion. The book argues that “Inherit the Wind” (both play and movie) misrepresented the actual Scopes Trial. Larson was born in Mansfield, Ohio, and attended Mansfield public schools. He graduated from Williams College and received his law degree from Harvard University and his Ph.D. in the history of science from the University of Wisconsin—Madison. In 2004, Larson received an honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters from Ohio State University. He held the Fulbright Program’s John Adams Chair in American Studies in 2000-01. Larson is married and has two children, Sarah and Luke. In 2005, he was interviewed by Jon Stewart on The Daily Show on evolution alongside William Dembski and Ellie Crystal. In a talk at the Pew Forum entitled “The Biology Wars: The Religion, Science and Education Controversy”., Larson said “Behe has never developed his arguments for intelligent design in peer-reviewed science articles.”

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