About the Book

In this comprehensive treatment of the ongoing conflict between creationists and evolutionary scientists, well-known geomorphologist Arthur Strahler carefully examines creationists' claims of scientific evidence for the six-day divine creation of the universe, followed by the catastrophic flood of Noah, as claimed in Genesis. The creationists' arguments are examined and evaluated against the findings of mainstream science in the fields of cosmology, astronomy, geophysics, geology, paleontology and evolutionary biology.

Updated with a new preface and responses to recent attacks on evolutionary theory, Science and Earth History remains a popular and scholarly antidote to the fictions of creationism once again finding their way into the classrooms and universities. Strahler illuminates the controversy by reviewing perspectives in the philosophy, methodology and sociology of empirical science, as contrasted with those of the belief fields of religion and pseudoscience. Strahler also includes lucid criteria for distinguishing science from pseudoscience, as well as discussions of the great discoveries and developments in science that point to an evolution of life over the earth's three-billion-year history.

About the Author

Arthur Strahler is professor emeritus of geomorphology in the Department of Geology at Columbia University and author of Understanding Science.

Contents

1. Science and Pseudoscience
   1. Science - A Preview
   2. The Scientific Hypothesis: I. Formulation and Prediction
   3. The Scientific Hypothesis: II. Falsification and Rejection
   4. Physical Science and Natural Science
   5. Determinism, Randomness and the Stochastic View
   6. Science and Religion - Do They Mix?
   7. Pseudoscience: I. Three Scenarios
   8. Pseudoscience: II. The Phenomenon Explained
2. Creationism - Its Roots and Tenets
   9. The Roots of Creation and Evolution
   10. A Resurgence of Fundamentalism
   11. The Tenets of Creation Science
   12. Conservative Religious Alternatives to Recent Creation
3. Two Views of Cosmology and Astronomy
   13. Entropy and Universal Decay
   14. How Mainstream Science Views the Universe
   15. Creationist Arguments for a Young Cosmos
   16. How Mainstream Science Views the Solar System
   17. Age of the Solar System and Earth
   18. Creationist Arguments for a Young Age of the Solar System
   19. Creationist Arguments for a Young Earth
4. Two Views of Geology and Crustal History
   20. How Mainstream Geology Views Earth Structure and Dynamics
   21. The Biblical Flood of Noah
   22. The Creationist Version of Flood Geology Vis-à-Vis Plate Tectonics
   23. Rapid Formation of Sedimentary Rocks During the Flood
   24. Evaporites and Rhythmites of the Flood
   25. Petroleum and Ore Deposits of the Flood
5. Two Views of the Origin of Landscapes
   26. Glaciers and the Ice Age
   27. More Evidence of a Lengthy Ice Age
   28. Causes of Glaciations through Geologic History
   29. Landscapes of Denudation - Evolutionary or Catastrophic?
   30. Landforms of Alluvial Rivers
6. Two Views of Startigraphy and the Fossil Record
   31. Stratigraphy and the Fossil Record
   32. The Fossil Record of the Phanerozoic Eon
   33. Evolution Unferred from the Fossil Record
   34. The Genetic Code - A Review of Mainstream Molecular Biology
   35. Mode and Tempo of Evolution - The Mainstream View
   36. Molecular Biology and Phylogeny
   37. The Creeationist View of Life Forms and Fossils
   38. Biogeography and Demography - The Creationist Version
   39. Fossils and Flood Strata - A Hydraulic Stratigraphy
7. Integrity of the Evolutionary Record Under Attack by Creationists
   40. Inversions of the Order of Strata
   41. Gaps in the Fossil Record - What Do They Mean?
   42. Transitions: I. Invertebrates to Vertebrates
   43. Transitions: II. Fishes to Reptile to Amphibians to Mammals
   44. Reptilian Transitions
   45. Mammalian Transitions
   46. Mass Extinctions in the Geologic Record
   47. Living Fossils
   48. Out-of-Order Fossils
8. The Rise of Man and Emergence of the Human Mind
   49. Hominoid Evolution
   50. Human Evolution
   51. Evolution of the Human Mind and Culture
   52. Biological Origins of Ethics and Religion
9. The origin of Life on Earth - Naturalistic or Creationistic?
   53. Philosophical Speculations in Life Origins
   54. Biochemical Speculations on Life's Beginning
• Summation and Verdict
• References Cited
• Index