McCuskey 2012

Citation

McCuskey, B. (2012). Sherlock Holmes and Intelligent Design. The Quarterly Review of Biology, 87(3), 225-235.

Links

• https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/pdfplus/10.1086/666749
• http://hawaiireedlab.com/pdf/m/mccuskey2012.pdf (internal lab link only)

Published Abstract

This article examines how both scientists and creationists, as they argue over intelligent design, invoke and quote the fictional character of Sherlock Holmes to support their opposed positions. Rhetorical analysis of Holmes's repeated contributions to the debate reveals not only how the argument for design falls apart, but also how the argument for Darwin compromises itself when following the detective onto shaky logical ground. The sciences and the humanities must work together to combat the corrosive influence of pseudoscientific reasoning on our students and the general public; this article contributes to that joint enterprise.