John Angus Campbell | |
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Born | |
Nationality | American |
Education | Portland State University (BS) University of Pittsburgh (MA, PhD) |
John Angus Campbell (born March 10, 1942) is a retired American professor of communication and rhetoric at University of Memphis who argues that the religious idea of intelligent design should be mentioned in schools when teaching Darwin's theory of evolution. [1] [2] He was a fellow of the Center for Science and Culture (CSC), the subsidiary promoting creationism of the Discovery Institute, a Seattle-based conservative think tank; he became a fellow of the Discovery Institute in 1995. [1] [3] [4] [5] : 6 He was a fellow in communications of the now-defunct International Society for Complexity, Information, and Design (ISCID), whose tagline was "retraining the scientific imagination to see purpose in nature". [2] [6]
On March 10, 1942, he was born in Portland, Oregon. [7] He continued to be raised in the Pacific Northwest. [8]
He was a member of the Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts in Oregon, receiving the Eagle Scout award and becoming a member of the Order of the Arrow. In 1960, he worked for the Forest Service, doing "minor surveying and major brush whacking". From 1960 to 1968, he did various door-to-door sales in Oregon and Northern California. [7]
In 1982, he married Brooke Quigley. In 1990, they bought property in North Mason; after he retired in 2005, he moved to Belfair. [7] [8]
From 2000 to 2005, he was a board member of the YMCA in Memphis, TN. In 2007, he was a member of the Citizens Committee for the Establishment of Mason County Hospital District 2 in Belfair, WA. [7] [8]
From 1960 to 1964, he studied to get his B.S. degree from Portland State University. He subsequently studied and worked as a teaching assistant at University of Pittsburgh, getting an M.A. in 1967 and a Ph.D. in 1968. All three of his degrees were in Speech Communication. [7] [5] : 6
He taught Communication in the Department of Speech at University of Washington, as an Assistant Professor from 1968 to 1973 [7] or 1976, [5] : 6 then as an Associate Professor until 1995, totaling 28 years, teaching students from freshman to doctoral; there, he received a Distinguished Teaching Award in 1993 and a Dean's Recognition Award in 1994, and completed 14 Ph.D. dissertations. He was a Professor and Graduate Program Director / Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Communication at University of Memphis for 10 years starting in 1995, retiring and becoming Professor Emeritus in 2005, teaching graduate Rhetorical Theory, undergraduate Oral Communication, undergraduate Rhetorical Perspectives in Intellectual Revolution, graduate Rhetoric of Science, undergraduate Great American Speeches, graduate Rhetorical Criticism, graduate Classical Rhetoric, undergraduate Senior Thesis, graduate Modern Rhetoric, Independent Studies (Rhetoric of Science), graduate Independent Studies, graduate Rhetoriography, and undergraduate and graduate American Public Address; there, he completed 7 Ph.D. dissertations, had 1 M.A. and 1 Ph.D. scholarships for Distinguished Teaching established in his name by his colleagues, and inaugurated a doctoral program which as of 2007 was ranked 13th in the US. As of 2007, he had 7 Ph.D. dissertations in progress long-distance from his home office in Belfair. As of 2007, all of his 21 completed Ph.D. students were "successfully employed in their chosen fields of endeavor". [7] [5] : 1, 6, 7 [8]
In 1970/1971 and 1987, he received the Golden Monograph Award for Distinguished Scholarship from the National Communication Association; the second time, it was called the Golden Anniversary. In 1990, he was a Van Zelst Visiting Professor of Communication at Northwestern University. He was declared Communication Educator of the Year in 2001 and Communicator of the Year in 2004 by the Tennessee State Communication Association. In 2003/2004, he received the Oleg Ziman Award for best essay/article from the Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies. In 2005, he received the James Madison Award in First Amendment Studies from the Freedom of Speech Division of the Southern States Communication Association. [7] [5] : 6
He was invited to do a MacArthur Lecture at University of Utah in 1982 as part of their "In Darwin's Wake" series, a Van Zelst Lecture at Northwestern University in 1990, a Brigance Lecture at Wabash College in 1999, a lecture at St. John's College at University of British Columbia in 2000, a lecture for the departments of English and Philosophy at University of Waterloo in 2003, a lecture for the Honors College at University of Central Arkansas in 2003, a lecture for the department of Biology at University of Mississippi in 2004, a key note address at Denison University as part of the faculty conference "Is Pub Speaking A Liberal Art?" in 2004, a lecture at the McLauren Institute at University of Minnesota in 2004, a lecture at the department of Communication at Tulane University in 2005, a key note address at Kent State in 2006, and a lecture at Greene College at University of British Columbia in 2006. [7] [5] : 6–7
As of 2007, he had published "more than 35 single-authored, peer-reviewed essays, not including book reviews and conference papers". [7] In 1976, as part of the series Modules in speech communication published by Science Research Associates, he wrote a 47-page textbook titled An Overview of Speech Preparation. [7] [5] : 9 [9] In 1996, he wrote an essay on teaching titled "Oratory, Democracy and the Classroom". [7] In November 2003, together with Stephen C. Meyer (who is also a Fellow of the Center for Science and Culture) he edited Darwinism, Design and Public Education , [10] a collection of articles primarily from a 1998 issue of the journal Rhetoric and Public Affairs published by Michigan State University Press , purporting a scientific basis for intelligent design. [1] [5] : 1, 9
In Fall 2000, he received $12,000 from the Discovery Institute. [5] : 20
He did High Ability Day for "Highschool Students interested in Communication" starting in 1995; did the Urban Communication Conference for "Community Activists, local government representatives, citizens and U of M students" starting in 1995; served as judge on March 18, 1998, and February 10, 1999, for the Optimist Club High School Oratory Contest; presented a lecture on "Rhetoric & The Art of Preaching" to the Harding Grad School of Religion, Prof David Bland Dr. of Ministry Seminar in 1997–1998; presented a lecture on "Classical Rhetoric & Prophetic Rhetoric: A Necessary Tension?" to the Mid America Theological Seminary, sponsored by Prof Ken Easly, in 2000; attended and presented at Career Day to "department majors", sponsored by Professor McDowell, in 2002; met with Jim Carnes of the Classical School, a "private school centered on rhetoric and the classics" in 2002; presented a lecture to Classical School faculty and students on "The Centrality of Argument to a Liberal Education" in 2003; had a discussion with faculty members at Memphis Theological Seminary during a lunch meeting in January 2004; and was a board member of the Mason YMCA in 2004. [5] : 20–21 In 2006, he presented two seminars, one in the summer, and one more in the fall after observing its success and interest, on "Civic Communication" at the Theler Center in Belfair, WA, in the North Mason community. [7] [8] As of 2007, he was in his second term as President of the Association for the Rhetoric of Science & Technology. [7]
In 1995, he became an Associate Editor for the NCA's Quarterly Journal of Speech (with a hiatus between 1998 and 2000), and later Argumentation & Advocacy , [11] Southern Journal of Communication , and Rhetoric and Public Affairs . From 2003 to 2004, he as Secretary American Branch Society for the History of Rhetoric at SSCA. Starting in 1997, he was Associate Editor of Origins & Design published by the ARRN Access Resource Network [ Access Research Network? [12] [13] ]. In 2000, he was Associate Editor for Poroi , published by the University of Iowa. In the summer of 1990, he was Guest Editor for a special issue on rhetorical criticism of the Western Journal of Speech Communication , published by U of Iowa. In 1998, he was Guest Editor for a special issue on Intelligent Design & Public Policy for Rhetoric and Public Affairs , published by U of Iowa. In 1994, he was on U of Iowa's Wichelns/Winans Award Committee. Starting in 1994, he was on U of Iowa's Woolbert Award Committee, being chair in 1996. Starting in 1999, he was on U of Iowa's Dissertation Award Committee. From 2002 to 2003, he was on U of Iowa's Gerald (R.) Miller Dissertation Award Committee. From 2002 to 2003, he was on U of Iowa's Marie Hochmuth Nichols Award Committee. In 2002, he represented U of Iowa at the NCA/NSF [14] conference in Leesburgh, Virginia. From 1997 to 1998, he was President of the American Association for the Rhetoric of Science & Technology. From 1997 to 1999, he was chair of the Rhetoric & Public Address Division of the Tennessee State Communication Association. From 1995 to 1996, he was chair of the Committee on Program Viability for the Southern States Communication Association. He participated in the Tenure/Promotion Assessments for Dr. Marouf Hasian at Arizona State University in 1997, Dr. Jeff Philpott [Jeffrey S. Philpott] at Seattle University [15] [16] in 1998, and Dr. William Purcell at Seattle Pacific University [17] in 1998. He participated in the Grant Application Evaluation for Dr. Judy Segal at University of British Columbia [18] [19] in 1998. He participated in the Tenure/Promotion Assessments for Dr. Eric Gander at Baruch College in the City University of New York [20] [21] and Dr. Ken Zagacki at University of North Carolina [22] [23] in 2002. From 2003 to 2004, he was Secretary American Branch International Society for the History of Rhetoric of the Southern States Communication Association. From 2005 to 2006, he was Second Vice President, in charge of program planning, at the American Association for the Rhetoric of Science and Technology. [5] : 22–23
In 2007, he ran for a seat on the school board of North Mason School District (#403) in the state of Washington, stating that "issues of communication" were the cause of many stakeholders' frustrations, that he "will work to establish transparency in board deliberations and to foster the consensus-building vital to wise policy, public credibility, and excellence in education", and that his candidacy was about "creating a positive atmosphere in which our students will achieve their full potential". [8] His campaign page summarized that he will "help restore TRUST and a spirit of collaboration among those concerned about local education", "use his LEADERSHIP skills to work to build consensus, vital to excellence in education", and "create open and clear COMMUNICATION between the school board, teachers, administrators and the community." [24] However, he did not disclose his collections to intelligent design; in a telephone interview he stated that he would not be dealing with curricula, and that he is a "Darwinist" who considers that debating Darwin can engage the interest of students and improve their skills in critical thinking. He was quoted as saying "Rather than demonizing people that believe in ID, I think there are ways people could use their ideas to study Darwinism more closely." [25] He said that he "doorbelled about a thousand homes and apartments and talked to an equal number of people in the parking lots of Safeway and QFC. People are really concerned about the reputation and image of the schools." The election was held on November 6, 2007, and results showed him defeating the incumbent Glenn Landram by 2,216 votes to 992; he said that he was "really grateful to the people of this community for the trust and confidence they have placed in" him. [26] At a special meeting on December 14, 2023, he retired from his position as District 4 Director of the North Mason School Board; the board unanimously voted to replace him with Nicholas Thomas. [27]
The Thomas More Law Center (TMLC) named him, among others, as an expert witness for the defense in the case of Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District. In early 2005, Susan Spath, Public Information Director at the National Center for Science Education, aided by activists contributing to a Wiki page, spent most of two months analyzing his expert report and his writings, in order to help the plaintiff criticize and question him during his deposition, which was scheduled to occur on June 2, 2005. At 9 AM on June 2, 2005, Pepper Hamilton attorney Thomas Schmidt III and legal assistant Kate Henslow, representing the plaintiffs, were waiting in Memphis, Tennessee, to take his deposition, with the help of a court reporter they hired. Campbell, TMLC attorney Pat Gillen, and a lawyer from the Discovery Institute arrived, and Gillen announced that Campbell was withdrawn from the case, so the deposition was cancelled. Campbell was the first, but other expert witnesses also subsequently withdrew from the case. [4] [28]
Campbell, as well as Stephen Meyer and William Dembski, all fellows of the Discovery Institute (DI), were willing to testify as expert witnesses under the condition that they have their own independent legal counsel with them during their depositions, but Richard Thompson, lead attorney for TMLC, refused to allow their request, citing a conflict of interest, but without providing legal justification for this. This disagreement resulted in the cancellation of their depositions. [28] [29] This resulted in an amplification of conflict between the TMLC and the DI. [30] [31]
The withdrawal of the expert witnesses hurt the defense's ability to support their side. [4] [30]
Campbell's opinions are stated in his expert report. [5] : 1–5
Intelligent design (ID) is a pseudoscientific argument for the existence of God, presented by its proponents as "an evidence-based scientific theory about life's origins". Proponents claim that "certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection." ID is a form of creationism that lacks empirical support and offers no testable or tenable hypotheses, and is therefore not science. The leading proponents of ID are associated with the Discovery Institute, a Christian, politically conservative think tank based in the United States.
The National Center for Science Education (NCSE) is a not-for-profit membership organization in the United States whose stated mission is to educate the press and the public on the scientific and educational aspects of controversies surrounding the teaching of evolution and climate change, and to provide information and resources to schools, parents, and other citizens working to keep those topics in public school science education.
Michael Joseph Behe is an American biochemist and an advocate of the pseudoscientific principle of intelligent design (ID).
Kenneth Raymond Miller is an American cell biologist, molecular biologist, and Professor Emeritus of Biology at Brown University. Miller's primary research focus is the structure and function of cell membranes, especially chloroplast thylakoid membranes. Miller is a co-author of a major introductory college and high school biology textbook published by Prentice Hall since 1990.
The intelligent design movement is a neo-creationist religious campaign for broad social, academic and political change to promote and support the pseudoscientific idea of intelligent design (ID), which asserts that "certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection." Its chief activities are a campaign to promote public awareness of this concept, the lobbying of policymakers to include its teaching in high school science classes, and legal action, either to defend such teaching or to remove barriers otherwise preventing it. The movement arose out of the creation science movement in the United States, and is driven by a small group of proponents. The Encyclopædia Britannica explains that ID cannot be empirically tested and that it fails to solve the problem of evil; thus, it is neither sound science nor sound theology.
The Wedge Strategy is a creationist political and social agenda authored by the Discovery Institute, the hub of the pseudoscientific intelligent design movement. The strategy was presented in a Discovery Institute internal memorandum known as the Wedge Document. Its goal is to change American culture by shaping public policy to reflect politically conservative fundamentalist evangelical Protestant values. The wedge metaphor is attributed to Phillip E. Johnson and depicts a metal wedge splitting a log.
Of Pandas and People: The Central Question of Biological Origins is a controversial 1989 school-level supplementary textbook written by Percival Davis and Dean H. Kenyon, edited by Charles Thaxton and published by the Texas-based Foundation for Thought and Ethics (FTE). The textbook endorses the pseudoscientific concept of intelligent design – the argument that life shows evidence of being designed by an intelligent agent which is not named specifically in the book, although proponents understand that it refers to the Christian God. The overview chapter was written by young Earth creationist Nancy Pearcey. They present various polemical arguments against the scientific theory of evolution. Before publication, early drafts used cognates of "creationist". After the Edwards v. Aguillard Supreme Court ruling that creationism is religion and not science, these were changed to refer to "intelligent design". The second edition published in 1993 included a contribution written by Michael Behe.
The "Teach the controversy" campaign of the Discovery Institute seeks to promote the pseudoscientific principle of intelligent design as part of its attempts to discredit the teaching of evolution in United States public high school science courses. Scientific organizations point out that the institute claims that there is a scientific controversy where in fact none exists.
An intelligent designer, also referred to as an intelligent agent, is the pseudoscientific hypothetical willed and self-aware entity that the intelligent design movement argues had some role in the origin and/or development of life. The term "intelligent cause" is also used, implying their teleological supposition of direction and purpose in features of the universe and of living things.
The Kansas evolution hearings were a series of hearings held in Topeka, Kansas, United States from May 5 to 12, 2005 by the Kansas State Board of Education and its State Board Science Hearing Committee to change how evolution and the origin of life would be taught in the state's public high school science classes. The hearings were arranged by the Board of Education with the intent of introducing intelligent design into science classes via the Teach the Controversy method.
Barbara Carroll Forrest is a professor of philosophy at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, Louisiana. She is a critic of intelligent design and the Discovery Institute.
John F. Haught is an American theologian. He is a Distinguished Research Professor at Georgetown University. He specializes in Roman Catholic systematic theology, with a particular interest in issues pertaining to physical cosmology, evolutionary biology, geology, and Christianity.
Robert T. Pennock is a philosopher working on the Avida digital organism project at Michigan State University where he has been full professor since 2000. Pennock was a witness in the Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District trial, testifying on behalf of the plaintiffs, and described how intelligent design is an updated form of creationism and not science, pointing out that the arguments were essentially the same as traditional creationist arguments with adjustments to the message to eliminate explicit mention of God and the Bible as well as adopting a postmodern deconstructionist language. Pennock also laid out the philosophical history of methodological and philosophical naturalism as they underpin to science, and explained that if intelligent design were truly embraced it would return Western civilization to a pre-Enlightenment state.
Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District, 400 F. Supp. 2d 707 was the first case brought in the United States federal courts testing a public school policy requiring the teaching of intelligent design (ID). The court found intelligent design to be not science. In October 2004, the Dover Area School District of York County, Pennsylvania, changed its biology teaching curriculum to require that intelligent design be presented as an alternative to evolution theory, and that Of Pandas and People, a textbook advocating intelligent design, was to be used as a reference book. The prominence of this textbook during the trial was such that the case is sometimes referred to as the Dover Panda Trial, a name which recalls the popular name of the Scopes Monkey Trial in Tennessee, 80 years earlier. The plaintiffs successfully argued that intelligent design is a form of creationism, and that the school board policy violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. The judge's decision sparked considerable response from both supporters and critics.
John Edward Jones III is the 30th President at Dickinson College and a former United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. He is best known for his presiding role in the landmark Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District case, in which the teaching of intelligent design in public school science classes was ruled to be unconstitutional. In 2014, he ruled that Pennsylvania's 1996 ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional. On May 14, 2021, it was announced that Judge Jones would serve as interim president of his alma mater Dickinson College for a two-year period beginning July 1, 2021. On February 28, 2022, Jones was named the 30th President of Dickinson College.
Neo-creationism is a pseudoscientific movement which aims to restate creationism in terms more likely to be well received by the public, by policy makers, by educators and by the scientific community. It aims to re-frame the debate over the origins of life in non-religious terms and without appeals to scripture. This comes in response to the 1987 ruling by the United States Supreme Court in Edwards v. Aguillard that creationism is an inherently religious concept and that advocating it as correct or accurate in public-school curricula violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.
Darwinism, Design and Public Education is a 2003 anthology, consisting largely of rewritten versions of essays from a 1998 issue of Michigan State University Press's journal, Rhetoric and Public Affairs, edited by intelligent design activists John Angus Campbell and Stephen C. Meyer. The book was promoted as being a "peer-reviewed science book". It is written by advocates of intelligent design, and consists of pro-evolution essays.
The Discovery Institute has conducted a series of related public relations campaigns which seek to promote intelligent design while attempting to discredit evolutionary biology, which the Institute terms "Darwinism". The Discovery Institute promotes the pseudoscientific intelligent design movement and is represented by Creative Response Concepts, a public relations firm.
The relationship between intelligent design and science has been a contentious one. Intelligent design (ID) is presented by its proponents as science and claims to offer an alternative to evolution. The Discovery Institute, a politically conservative think tank and the leading proponent of intelligent design, launched a campaign entitled "Teach the Controversy", which claims that a controversy exists within the scientific community over evolution. The scientific community rejects intelligent design as a form of creationism, and the basic facts of evolution are not a matter of controversy in science.
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