Discovery Institute intelligent design campaigns Totally Explained

Everything about Discovery Institute Intelligent Design Campaigns totally explained

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 evolutionary biology, which the Institute terms "Darwinism." 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 from its public relations firm, Creative Response Concepts.
Prominent Institute campaigns have been to 'Teach the Controversy' and, more recently, to allow Critical Analysis of Evolution. Other prominent campaigns have claimed that intelligent design advocates (most notably Richard Sternberg) have been discriminated against, and thus that Academic Freedom bills are needed to protect academics' and teachers' ability to criticise evolution, and that there's a link from evolution to nazism and eugenics. These three claims are all publicised in the pro-ID movie . Other campaigns have included petitions, most notably A Scientific Dissent From Darwinism.
The response of the scientific community has been to reiterate that the theory of evolution is overwhelmingly accepted as a matter of scientific consensus whereas intelligent design has been rejected by the overwhelming majority of the scientific community.

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." 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 [intelligentdesign] promises to reverse the stifling dominance of the materialist worldview."}}

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:

As a general approach, Discovery Institute favors teaching students more about evolution, not less. We think students deserve to know not only about the strengths of modern evolutionary theory, but also about some of the theory's weaknesses and unresolved issues. In other words, students should be taught that evolutionary theory, like any scientific theory, continues to be open to analysis and critical scrutiny. According to opinion polls, this approach is favored by the overwhelming majority of the American public, and it has also been endorsed by the U.S. Congress in report language attached to the [[SantorumAmendment

Gordy Slack of Salon interpreted this tactic as follows:

"We want to teach more about evolution," says Discovery Institute's Casey Luskin, "not less." The "more" they want to teach, of course, is what they see as evolution's shortcomings, leaving an ecological niche that will then be filled by intelligent design.

These teaching methods were promoted by the Institute at the Kansas evolution hearings in 2005, but were the subject of judicial criticism later in that year in the decision in Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District‎:

ID’s backers have sought to avoid the scientific scrutiny which we've now determined that it can't withstand by advocating that the controversy, but not ID itself, should be taught in science class. This tactic is at best disingenuous, and at worst a canard. The goal of the IDM isn't to encourage critical thought, but to foment a revolution which would supplant evolutionary theory with ID.

Since this censure, the slogan "teach the controversy" has been increasingly superseded by the more oblique "Critical Analysis of Evolution".
In 2007, three Discovery Institute members, Stephen C. Meyer, Scott Minnich and Paul A. Nelson, co-authored, a biology textbook embodying their 'teach the controversy' philosophy, with illustrator and creationist author Jonathan Moneymaker and Kansas evolution hearings participant Ralph Seelke. The book was published by Hill House Publishers Pty. Ltd. (London and Melbourne), headed by creationist and butterfly photographer Bernard d'Abrera.

Campaigns claiming discrimination

The claim that "scientists, teachers, and students are under attack for questioning evolution" and have been discriminated against, is the centerpiece of a number of campaigns conducted by the Institute. Notable among these campaigns is 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". Critics of intelligent design and the Institute such as PZ Myers, Eugenie Scott and Barbara Forrest frequently find themselves the subjects of unflattering articles on the Institute's blog which ignores or downplays the responses of large scientific and academic organizations rejecting intelligent design while portraying opponents as members of an academic and scientific fringe and minority.
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.

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 wasn't renewed;

The closure of the short-lived Evolutionary Informatics Lab formed by Baylor University engineering professor Robert J. Marks II, 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 however permitted Marks to resume work in the informatics lab on his own time and maintain his website, provided a disclaimer accompany any intelligent design-advancing research makes clear that the work doesn't represent the university's position. 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, entitled and starring Ben Stein.

Campaigns portraying books and sites as banned

Banned Books Week is an awareness campaign, led annually by the American Library Association, in an attempt to protect freedom of speech by celebrating books that the ALA claims others have banned or attempted to ban from various venues. In 2006, Discovery Institute Fellow John West nominated the book Of Pandas and People, on the basis of it being "at the heart of" Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District‎. However the decision in Kitzmiller made no order regarding Pandas, rendering the basis for considering it to be "banned" highly tenuous, and the assertion was dismissed by Deborah Caldwell-Stone, Deputy Director of the American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom who doesn't consider the book banned. The Discovery Institute continued to misrepresent the book as banned in 2007, with the statement that:

In 2005, a federal judge banned Pandas outright from science classrooms in Dover, Pennsylvania

In 2007, the Discovery Institute nominated Robert J. Marks' 'Evolutionary Informatics Lab' web-site as "Banned Item of the Year", after it was deleted from the Baylor University server. However, the site is still accessible, now being hosted on a third party server.

Academic freedom campaign

Between 2004 and 2008 a number of anti-evolution 'Academic Freedom' bills have been introduced in State legislatures in Alabama, Oklahoma, Maryland, Florida, Louisiana, Missouri and Michigan, based largely upon language drafted by the Discovery Institute. As of May 2008, none of them have successfully been passed into law.
They purport that teachers, students, and college professors face intimidation and retaliation when discussing scientific criticisms of evolution, and therefore require protection. Critics of the bills point out that there are no credible scientific critiques of evolution. Investigation of the allegations of intimidation and retaliation have found no evidence that it occurs.
In February 2008, the Discovery Institute announced the Academic Freedom Petition campaign, which it's conducting with assistance from Brian Gage Design who provides the Discovery Institute graphic design professional services. The petition states:

We, the undersigned American citizens, urge the adoption of policies by our nation's academic institutions to ensure teacher and student academic freedom to discuss the scientific strengths and weaknesses of Darwinian evolution. Teachers should be protected from being fired, harassed, intimidated, or discriminated against for objectively presenting the scientific strengths and weaknesses of Darwinian theory. Students should be protected from being harassed, intimidated, or discriminated against for expressing their views about the scientific strengths and weaknesses of Darwinian theory in an appropriate manner.

Casey Luskin, program officer for public policy and legal affairs at Discovery Institute, is the contact person for the campaign's Model Academic Freedom Statute on Evolution.

This picture of the Holocaust as the outcome of a 'culture war' between religion and science leads to serious distortions on both sides. The 'Judeo-Christian' worldview is unproblematically associated here with many beliefs — such as opposition to birth control, legalized abortion, and assisted suicide--that many believing Christians and Jews would reject. And 'Darwinism' is equated with a hodgepodge of ideas about race, politics, and social issues. If all these ideas were to fall into well-deserved obsolescence, this would in no way detract from the validity of Darwin's contributions to modern biological science. Neither religion nor science is well served by this oversimplified view of their complex history.

Discovery Institute Center for Science and Culture Associate Director John G. West, in both his book Darwin Day in America and in lectures, has attempted to link Darwin to the eugenics movement. However, critics point out that:

this movement came to prominence during the 'eclipse' of Darwinian evolution in the early 20th century;

the popular support for eugenics was matched with popular opposition to teaching evolution;

West quoted Darwin out of context in order to misrepresent him as supporting eugenics; It has also been pointed out that the evangelical movement (which has been one of the largest sources of anti-evolution activism) had a long "engagement" with eugenics between 1900 and 1940.

Campaign to discredit the Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District decision

For deciding whether intelligent design is science

David K. DeWolf, John G. West and Casey Luskin, senior fellows or officers of the Discovery Institute, argued that intelligent design is a valid scientific theory, that the Jones court shouldn't have addressed the question of whether it was a scientific theory, and that the decision will have no effect on the development and adoption of intelligent design as an alternative to standard evolutionary theory. Peter Irons responded to the DeWolf et al article, arguing that the decision was extremely well reasoned, and that it marks the end to legal efforts by the intelligent design movement to introduce creationism in public schools. DeWolf et al responded to the Irons article in the same issue.

"Study" criticizing Judge Jones

The Discovery Institute and its fellows publishing several articles describing a "study" performed by the Discovery Institute criticizing the judge in the Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District trial. It claims that "90.9% of Judge Jones’ [opinion] on intelligent design as science was taken virtually verbatim from the ACLU’s proposed 'Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law' submitted to Judge Jones nearly a month before his ruling." The study, though making no specific allegations of wrongdoing, implies that Judge Jones relied upon the plaintiff's submissions in writing his own conclusions of law.
   Within a day, the president of the York County Bar Association had pointed out that parties are required by the courts to submit findings of fact and "a judge can adopt some, all or none of the proposed findings." She added that in the final ruling, a judge's decision "is the judge's findings and it doesn't matter who submitted them". A partner in a York law firm said that "Any attempt to make a stink out of it's absurd."
   Several commentators pointed out a number of critical flaws in the study from both a numerical and legal standpoint. Witold Walczak, legal director for the ACLU of Pennsylvania and the ACLU's lead attorney on the case called the Institute's report a stunt: "They're getting no traction in the scientific world so they're trying to do something ... as a PR stunt to get attention, ... That's not how scientists work, ... Discovery Institute is trying to litigate a year-old case in the media." He also said the Discovery Institute staff is not, as it claims, interested in finding scientific truths; it's more interested in a "cultural war," pushing for intelligent design and publicly criticizing a judge.
   A subsequent review of the study performed by Wesley Elsberry, author of the text comparison program that was partly responsible for the decision in the case, indicated that only 38% of the complete ruling by Judge Jones actually incorporated the findings of fact and conclusions of law that the plaintiffs proposed that he incorporate, and only 66% of the section (on whether intelligent design was science) incorporated the proposals, not the 90.9% the Discovery Institute claimed was copied in that section. Significantly, Judge Jones adopted only 48% of the plaintiffs’s proposed findings of fact for that section, and rejected 52%, clearly showing that he didn't accept the section verbatim.

"Intelligent design isn't creationism"

One of the principal rationales behind intelligent design's neo-creationist strategy is to separate intelligent design from previous, more explicitly religious, forms of creationism, and the legal defeats that prohibit them from public school science classrooms. For this reason, the Discovery Institute (and its supporters) make frequent and vehement denials of any connection between intelligent design and creationism. These denials are at times vituperative, for example:

[John Derbyshire] still can't understand the obvious differences between creationism and intelligent design, continually conflating the two and looking like an ill-informed crank.

However this assertion has been refuted both in court and academia. In Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District‎ Judge John E. Jones III found that "the overwhelming evidence at trial established that intelligent design is a religious view, a mere re-labeling of creationism, and not a scientific theory." Numerous books have been written by prominent academics documenting intelligent design as a form of creationism, for example:

Creationism's Trojan Horse - The Wedge of Intelligent Design by Barbara Forrest and Paul R. Gross

The Creationists, From Scientific Creationism to Intelligent Design by Ronald Numbers

Tower of Babel: The Evidence Against the New Creationism by Robert T. Pennock

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 the now-defunct Stand Up For Science.

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 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."
In one of a series of articles in Skeptic on the movie, ID critic Ed Brayton noted:

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