Anarchy Evolution: Faith, Science, and Bad Religion in a World Without God [Hardcover]

Here's how nerdy I am: My introduction to Greg Graffin and Bad Religion came through his doctoral dissertation, which I purchased from Graffin and got autographed. And then I read it. And it wasn't very good. Since then I've read a couple of other things that Graffin has written or co-written (Is Belief in God Good, Bad or Irrelevant?: A Professor And a Punk Rocker Discuss Science, Religion, Naturalism & Christianity), but nothing prepared me for just how damned GOOD "Anarchy" is.

It must be said that the best parts of the book are the parts that only Graffin could have written--the autobiographical sections about his earlier childhood in Wisconsin, his transition to the California punk scene, his approach to music, and so forth. Much of what he write about evolutionary biology will be familiar, at least, to people who have taken some evolution classes or read books such as Your Inner Fish: A Journey into the 3.5-Billion-Year History of the Human Body (Vintage), and Endless Forms Most Beautiful: The New Science of Evo Devo. But he does have an interesting take on natural selection. Graffin makes it abundantly clear that his slightly unorthodox view of the importance of natural selection to overall evolutionary theory should give no aid and comfort to creationists (or their better-dressed cousins, Intelligent Design advocates). But he also wishes to show that science, maybe especially evolutionary biology, is still an active, lively field with vivid, animated debates...not about the fact of evolution, but about interesting details related to mechanisms.

And Graffin's chapter specifically on atheism was interesting as well, mostly for its biographical elements. I appreciate what he says about preferring a more dialectical approach that encourages questions, versus the more confrontational approach assumed by "New Atheists" in books such as God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything, The God Delusion, Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon, and The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason. He makes an interesting and appealing case, but I'm still left thinking there is room for both diplomatic discussion and spirited debate. After all, the New Atheist books listed probably created a much larger space for the more nuanced and sophisticated conversation even to take place in.

I see this book finding its most natural audience among Bad Religion fans (and I don't know how intentional this might have been, but it's easy to see some cross-currents betwee Anarchy and Bad Religion's new album release, The Dissent of Man) and younger people--say high school age--interested in science, the arts, and their relationship to each other. Also fans of flipping off authority--a Graffin staple, and a real strength of both his musical and, it would seem, his scientific careers.

I admit I was skeptical about this book. I saw the titles of the chapters included "The False Idol of Natural Selection" and "The False Idol of Atheism" and wondered just what Greg was going to be rambling about. Now, Bad Religion has been one of my favorite punk bands ( and maybe band in general ) for a few years now. Punk wise, their only competition for the title of favorite is the Misfits, but since the Misfit's lineup has been chaotic, Bad Religion's overall consistency ( apart from the few albums without Brett) makes them the current holder of that title. I've admired Gregg for balancing a band and a PhD with a career in both teaching and science. This book has led me to a whole new level of respect for Greg and Bad Religion.

Greg tells you everything you could want to know. He talks about his childhood, his high school years ( which upon reading about, I STRONGLY relate to -- both of us had a small circle of friends, were into punk rock, but not the illegal shenanigans and drugs most are into, and have had a passion for science rooted in our childhoods ), how the band came about ( I'll leave the names that they almost called themselves as a surprise for you ) , how he got interested in science, and many other interesting things about his youth. As far as his adult life goes, I've come to apperciate that he balances school, science, and music with raising kids and having a wife. Greg is not arrogant about his life. He's honest about the difficulties in it, and about the mistakes he has made in his life.

Other than getting to know the great singer, he presents some scientific views and philosophical views covered in the two suspect chapter names I listed above. Fear not, he's not out to destroy Natural Selection. In fact, he's just putting it in it's place. He acknowledges that random chance and chaos ( hence ANARCHY Evolution ) have as much or more to do with evolutionary change than the algorithm of natural selection. He's not trying to break new ground like Stephen J. Gould did ( Read The Blind Watchmaker: Why the Evidence of Evolution Reveals a Universe without Design for a good analysis of Gould's ideas ). As far as atheism goes, he is indeed an atheist. But he acknowledges that the word atheist just means without gods. As far as a description of your world view, that doesn't really imply a lot. I also saw Richard Dawkins make this point in a TED Talk lecture ( Richard Dawkins on militant atheism at the Ted website ). Instead, Greg ( as well as Dawkins ) say that the term Naturalist is a more meaningful term. It implies a specific worldview, which atheism is only a part of. While I call myself an atheist ( because since most people dont know what naturalist mean, I just say what they will understand ) , I can sympathize with this sentiment. Atheism is a single component of MANY ideologies, from Objectivism to Marxism to Soviet Communism , etc, etc ).

One quibble I have is his sometimes less than great choice of wording. One example would be the chapter titles I previously mention, which imply something grandiose, but really isn't anything groundbreaking. Another instance is that he said he doesn't promote atheism in his songs, but I think a better choice of wording would be "I don't tell people what to believe" which, if you read further a few pages, is what he actually means. Those are two very , very minor complaints, however. This book is not a book on God. It's not like the God Delusion ( though I love that book). It's not a science book ( though it has science in it ). It's not a book on the band or an autobiography either. Instead, it's a mix of all of those, beautifully woven together in a little over 200 pages of actual reading material that took me 3 days to finish.

Get this book. You won't regret it.

First of all I enjoyed this book and I really hesitated giving it only 3 stars. I found the final few chapters very inspiring and wonderful. The evolutionary ideas are pretty basic and the author tells too many biographical details of his punk rock experiences. They were interesting in the beginning of the book, but by the middle I just wanted him to get on with it. Even though it is a short and easy read, it could have done without so much irrelevant biography; in that case I probably would have given it 5 stars. I think the reviews here are mostly too glowing, so I'm offering a less enthusiastic thumbs up. You probably won't regret it, but you aren't going to have a WOW experience either.

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