Hawkes responds

[Doug Henwood]

[oops I spoke too soon]

Date: Sat, 01 Jun 2002 12:01:40 -0400
From: David Hawkes <dh05 at lehigh.edu>
Subject: Gould review in The Nation

It has come to my attention that Carrol Cox and others have been
complaining that I dared to review Stephen Jay Gould's last book in The
Nation.  It seems to offend them that a professor of English literature
should comment on matters beyond their bailiwick.  Myself, I have no
time for the academic division of labor, which fosters
needless and irrational over-specialization.  I've been interested in
the philosophy of science for many years, and I know a great deal about
it.  To be frank, evolutionary theory isn't exactly rocket science, and
its perfectly possible for people other than professional scientists to
grasp the issues and form opinions about them.  The professional
scientists who have reviewed the book have in my opinion produced
mind-numbingly boring and predictable responses that do nothing to
advance the debate.   Finally, with regard to Cox's most serious
insinuation, let me make it clear that I have never met or had any
communication whatsoever with Michael Behe, and I did not even know he
was at Lehigh until I began doing my research for this review.

Cheers,

David Hawkes