Paul R. Gross

Superstition sup rieure: La gauche universitaire et ses querelles avec la science est l'oeuvre de deux scientifiques de gauche inquiets de la direction prise par la vie intellectuelle am ricaine dans les ann es 1990. Une frange d'universitaires enclins la transformation sociale radicale s'en prenait alors la science, lui refusant notamment tout statut particulier en mati re de connaissance. Loin d'aider leurs id aux progressistes, la science devenait un obstacle franchir pour les atteindre. Ce mouvement tr s influent connut, avec ce livre, la premi re objection majeure sa critique de la science consid r e comme adversaire politique. Principale inspiration du fameux canular d'Alan Sokal, qui signe ici une pr face in dite pour l' dition fran aise, Superstition sup rieure est aussi une brillante r plique aux garements d'un postmodernisme d'inspiration fran aise qui a prosp r dans l'universit am ricaine et bien au-del . Ce livre, dont l'importance historique est certaine, tant il a suscit de controverses et de d bats, ne cesse d' tre actuel dans un monde o la gauche cherche ses alli s.

This carefully documented exposé of the Intelligent Design (ID) movement contributed to the stunning victory in Federal court of eleven Dover, PA, parents who recognized ID's threat to public education and religious freedom. Now in paperback, here is Forrest and Gross's influential work documenting the continuity of intelligent design with traditional creationism. The new text updates ID initiatives in Kansas and Ohio and the movement's shifting strategies in an attempt to remain viable after its legal undoing in federal court. Anyone who values science and the benefits of life in an enlightened society should know about the Wedge's political, cultural, and religious ambitions. With a new foreword by Barry Lynn, this updated edition is an essential guide to ID's continuing threat to public education and the separation of church and state. It is the book to turn to for an inside look at the claims and operations of the ID movement, the most recent manifestation of American creationism.

Forrest and Gross expose the scientific failure, the religious essence, and the political ambitions of "intelligent design" creationism. They examine the movement's "Wedge Strategy," which has advanced and is succeeding through public relations rather than through scientific research. Analyzing the content and character of "intelligent design theory," they highlight its threat to public education and to the separation of church and state.

With the emergence of "cultural studies" and the blurring of once-clear academic boundaries, scholars are turning to subjects far outside their traditional disciplines and areas of expertise. In Higher Superstition scientists Paul Gross and Norman Levitt raise serious questions about the growing criticism of science by humanists and social scientists on the "academic left." This paperback edition of Higher Superstition includes a new afterword by the authors.