Creationism is no longer the simple notion it once was taken to be. Itsnew advocates have become more sophisticated in how they present their views, speaking of "intelligent design" rather than "creation science" and aiming theirarguments against the naturalistic philosophical method that underlies science, proposing to replace it with a "theistic science." The creationism controversy isnot just about the status of Darwinian evolution--it is a clash of religious andphilosophical worldviews, for a common underlying fear among Creationists is thatevolution undermines both the basis of morality as they understand it and thepossibility of purpose in life.In Tower of Babel, philosopher Robert T. Pennockcompares the views of the new creationists with those of the old and reveals theinsubstantiality of their arguments. One of Pennock's major innovations is to turnfrom biological evolution to the less charged subject of linguistic evolution, whichhas strong theoretical parallels with biological evolution, both in content and inthe sort of evidence scientists use to draw conclusions about origins. Of course, anevolutionary view of language does conflict with the Bible, which says that Godcreated the variety of languages at one time as punishment for the Tower ofBabel.Several chapters deal with the work of Phillip Johnson, a highly influentialleader of the new Creationists. Against his and other views, Pennock explains howscience uses naturalism and discusses the relationship between factual and moralissues in the creationism-evolution controversy. The book also includes a discussionof Darwin's own shift from creationist to evolutionist and an extended argument forkeeping private religious beliefs separate from public scientificknowledge.
