DISCOVERY INSTITUTE INTELLIGENT DESIGN CAMPAIGNS

'Discovery Institute intelligent design campaigns' are a series of related public relations campaigns conducted by the Discovery Institute which seek to promote intelligent design while discrediting evolution, which the Institute terms "Darwinism."^[1] The Discovery Institute is the driving force behind the intelligent design movement and the Institute directs these campaigns through its Center for Science and Culture division with guidance its public relations firm, Creative Response Concepts.^[2]
Notable campaigns conducted by Institute are Teach the Controversy, Critical Analysis of Evolution, A Scientific Dissent From Darwinism, Physicians and Surgeons for Scientific Integrity, Free Speech on Evolution, and Stand Up For Science,^[3] with the most recent centered around the new intelligent design textbook, website and slogan "''Explore Evolution''".^[4]
The response of the scientific community has been to reiterate that the theory of evolution is overwhelmingly accepted as a matter of scientific consensus^[5] whereas intelligent design has been rejected by the overwhelming majority of the scientific community.

Contents

Goal of the campaigns

Campaign to "teach the controversy"

Campaigns claiming discrimination

Petition campaigns

"Intelligent design is not creationism"

Criticism of the campaigns

See also

References

External links

Goal of the campaigns

The over-arching goal of the Institute in conducting the intelligent design campaigns is religious; to replace science with "a science consonant with Christian and theistic convictions."^[6] To accomplish this the Institute has conducted a number of public relations campaigns. The governing strategy of these various campaigns is called the Wedge strategy and was first made public when the Institute's "''Wedge Document''" was leaked on the World Wide Web in 1999. The Discovery Institute argues that science, due to its reliance on naturalism, is an inherently materialistic and atheistic enterprise and thus the source of many of society's ills, and that "Design theory [intelligent design] promises to reverse the stifling dominance of the materialist worldview."
None of the campaigns are aimed at directly influencing the scientific community, which the Institute considers dogmatic and hidebound, but rather are focused on swaying the opinions of the public and public policy makers, which, if effective, it is hoped will respond by forcing the academic institutions supporting the scientific community to accept the Discovery Institute's redefinition of science. Public high school science curricula has been the most common and visible target of the campaigns, with the Institute publishing its own model lesson plan, the Critical Analysis of Evolution.
In a Seattle Weekly article, The New Creationists, Nina Shapiro quoted Institute founder and president Bruce Chapman when she wrote that behind all Discovery Institute programs there is an underlying hidden religious agenda:

Campaign to "teach the controversy"

Previously, attempts to introduce creationism into public high school science curricula had been derailed when this was found to have violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. In an attempt to avoid repeating this violation, the Institute today avoids directly advocating for intelligent design in high school curricula. Instead, it advocates teaching methods that introduce intelligent design ideas (and textbooks) indirectly through a campaign to "Teach the Controversy" by "presenting all the evidence, both for and against, evolution" and teaching "Critical Analysis of Evolution" (the name of the Institute's model lesson plans on the subject). The Discovery Institute describes their approach as:
An example of the indirect method the Institute uses to introduce intelligent design into science curricula is its ''Teaching Guide About Intelligent Design And The Nature Of Science''. This "teacher's guide" relies upon an incomplete quote from the President of the National Academy of Sciences as justification for 'teaching the controversy' and thereby introducing intelligent design as an "alternative theory" .^[7]
These teaching methods were promoted by the Institute at the Kansas evolution hearings in 2005. In 2007, they produced a textbook entitled '', as part of this campaign.
In his decision in ''Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District‎'', Judge John E. Jones III criticised this strategy:^[8]

Campaigns claiming discrimination

A claim common to many of these campaigns is that "scientists, teachers, and students are under attack for questioning evolution" and have been discriminated against,^[9] has resulted in a number of campaigns arising out of the allegations being conducted by the Institute. Notable among these campaigns is the Institute's role in the Sternberg peer review controversy and in the more recent case of Guillermo Gonzalez's denial of tenure. As part of a long term strategy the Institute actively promotes an image of intelligent design proponents suffering professional setbacks or failing to advance as victims of "Darwinist inquisitions" conducted by "Thought Police".^[10] Critics of intelligent design and the Institute such as PZ Myers, Eugenie Scott and Barbara Forrest frequently find themselves the subjects of unflattering article on the Institute's blog,^[11] but the largely ignores or downplays the responses of large scientific and academic organizations rejecting intelligent design, preferring instead to portray opponents as members of an academic and scientific fringe and minority. Other methods employed by the Institute include what they term "Public Education"; described as exposing 'bigotry and intolerance' to 'public disapproval' often through the Institute's blog ''Evolutionnews.org'', "Personal Assistance"; described as "providing assistance in locating free legal representation from a network of concerned lawyers across the nation" and "investigations" and lobbying of officials by the Institute, "Legal Defense" and "Grassroots Action".^[12]
Other purported instances of discrimination publicised by the Discovery Institute include:

★ philosopher Francis J. Beckwith's initial failure to gain tenure from Baylor University;

★ biology teacher Roger DeHart's reassignment at, and later resignation from, Burlington-Edison High School for teaching Intelligent Design;

★ Mississippi University for Women chemist Nancy Bryson, who was removed as head of the science and mathematics division, purportedly for giving a presentation entitled "Critical Thinking on Evolution", which claimed evidence for intelligent design in nature. After protests, the university decided Bryson could keep the job and insisted her removal had nothing to do with the lecture.^[13][14]

★ biologist Caroline Crocker, who was barred by George Mason University from teaching a Cell Biology class over her introduction of intelligent design into it, and whose contract at that university was not renewed;^[15][16]

★ The closure of the short-lived Evolutionary Informatics Lab formed by Baylor University engineering professor Robert J. Marks, which included Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary research professor in philosophy William Dembski as a postdoctoral researcher. The lab was shut down and its website was deleted because Baylor's administration considered that it violated university policy forbidding professors from creating the impression that their personal views represent Baylor as an institution. Baylor will however permitted Marks to resume work in the informatics lab on his own time and repost his website, provided a disclaimer accompany any ID-advancing research to make clear that the work does not represent the university's position.^{[17][18][19][20]}
Court cases (such as Webster v. New Lenox School District and Bishop v. Aronov) have upheld school districts' and universities' right to restrict teaching to a specified curriculum. None of these purported cases of discrimination have been subjected to formal legal or congressional scrutiny.
In August 2007, an upcoming movie publicising a number of these incidents was announced. It is entitled ''Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed'' and stars Ben Stein.^[21]

Petition campaigns

The Discovery Institute has created a number of petitions to give the impression that there are widespread doubts about the Theory of Evolution among scientists and scientifically-literate professionals. These petitions include A Scientific Dissent From Darwinism, Physicians and Surgeons for Scientific Integrity, and Stand Up For Science.

"Intelligent design is not creationism"

One of the principal rationales behind Intelligent Design's neo-creationist strategy is to separate ID from previous, more explicitly religious, forms of creationism, and the legal defeats they suffered. For this reason, the Discovery Institute (and its supporters) make frequent and vehement denials of any connection between ID and creationism. These denials are at times vituperative, e.g.:^[22]
However this assertion has been refuted both in court (in Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District‎ Judge John E. Jones III found that "the overwhelming evidence at trial established that ID is a religious view, a mere re-labeling of creationism, and not a scientific theory."^[23]) and academia (e.g. in Barbara Forrest and Paul R. Gross' ''Creationism's Trojan Horse - The Wedge of Intelligent Design'' and Ronald Numbers' ''The Creationists'', which contains a chapter on ID).

Criticism of the campaigns

Critics say that the Institute is conducting a deliberate disinformation campaign. One common criticism is that the rhetoric employed by the Institute in its campaigns is intentionally vague and misleading^[24][25] and that the campaigns mask a near total absence of scientific support and productive research programs. The Templeton Foundation, who once provided grants for conferences and courses to debate intelligent design has since rejected the Discovery Institute's entreaties for more funding, Foundation senior vice president Charles L. Harper Jr. said "They're political - that for us is problematic," and that while Discovery has "always claimed to be focused on the science," "what I see is much more focused on public policy, on public persuasion, on educational advocacy and so forth."^[26][27]

See also

★ Denialism

★ Framing (social sciences)

★ Spin (public relations)

★ Kansas evolution hearings

★ Intelligent design in politics

★ Physicians and Surgeons for Scientific Integrity

References

1. Understanding the Intelligent Design Creationist Movement: Its True Nature and Goals. A Position Paper from the Center for Inquiry, Office of Public Policy Barbara Forrest. May, 2007.
2. Creative Response Concepts, clients
3. Stand Up for Science website
4. New ID textbook on the way: 'Explore Evolution' Nick Matzke. The Panda's Thumb (blog), March 23, 2007.
5. "99.9 percent of scientists accept evolution" Finding the Evolution in Medicine National Institutes of Health
6. Wedge Document Discovery Institute, 1999.
7. Teaching Guide About Intelligent Design And The Nature Of Science Discovery Institute, 2006.
8. Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District, p89
9. Free Speech on Evolution Campaign Main Page Discovery Institute, Center for Science and Culture.
10. Thought Police Try To Stifle Academic Freedom at Iowa State University Discovery Institute. September 1, 2005.
11. While we're at it, let's also fire the math teachers who can't do algebra PZ Myers. Pharyngula (blog), August 1, 2005.
12. Free Speech on Evolution Campaign Page 2 Discovery Institute, Center for Science and Culture.
13. Science chief back, The Oakland Tribune, Mar 28, 2003
14. Professor Dumped Over Evolution Beliefs, Jim Brown and Ed Vitagliano, AgapePress, March 11, 2003
15. Darwin Goes to Church, Henry G. Brinton, Washington Post, September 18, 2005
16. One Long Article: Washington Post Highlights Persecution of Caroline Crocker, Evolution News & Views, Discovery Institute
17. Baylor episode is getting wider circulation, Pharyngula
18. Baylor U. Removes a Web Page Associated With Intelligent Design From Its Site, The Chronicle of Higher Education
19. William Dembski Addresses Forthcoming Intelligent Design Research that Advances ID and Answers Critics, Evolution News & Views, Discovery Institute
20. Crisis averted, Mark Bergin, World Magazine
21. ''Expelled'' Press Release
22. Is It Really Intelligent Design that has the Great Derb Worried?, Robert Crowther, Evolution News & Views, Discovery Institute
23. Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District p43
24. "ID supporters present fallacious arguments, use dishonest rhetoric, and often present non-contemptuous responses as evidence that their theories are gaining acceptance." Leaders and Followers in the Intelligent Design Movement Jason Rosenhouse. BioScience, Vol. 53 No. 1, January 2003.
25. Political Animal, Intelligent Design Kevin Drum. Washington Monthly, March 24 2004.
26. Politicized Scholars Put Evolution on the Defensive Jodi Wilgoren. The New York Times, August 21 2005.
27. Anti-Evolutionism John Templeton Foundation.

External links

★ Discovery Institute - Center for Science and Culture

★ Key Resources for Parents and School Board Members Discovery Institute

★ Stand Up For Science A Discovery Institute campaign to influence the Kansas evolution hearings

★ Law Review Articles about "Teaching Darwin, Design and the Origins Controversy" by former Discover Institute Fellow Francis Beckwith