Summer for the Gods

Quotes

"Let us, then, hear the conclusion of the whole matter. Science is a magnificent material force, but it is not a teacher of morals. It can perfect machinery, but it adds no moral restraints to protect society from the misuse of the machine." - William Jennings Bryan

"Looking back that far, my impression is that I thought that this trial was the end of the fundamentalist attacks on evolution... I believe my interpretation was widely shared by American evolutionists. As a result not much time and effort was spent by evolutionists in America to prove the fact of evolution and to refute the claims of the fundamentalists." - Ernst Mayr

"From the outset, the so-called antievolution crusade was seen as evidence of a new and profound cleavage between traditional values and modernity." - Edward J. Larson

Paradigm Shift

This book, coupled with two others (Fundamentalism and American Culture, and Anti-Intellectualism in American Life) formed a significant broadening of my understanding of American culture at large. Having grown up in a community with a strong moral underpinning, I was flummoxed and frustrated at how our community so adamantly opposed general scientific consensus and progress. 

On another hand, having spent more than 10 years in academia, I was profoundly disappointed in how the broader scientific community (not everyone, but a significant majority) often discounted and belittled individuals with backgrounds in faith or conservative values. In response to this peculiar internal dissonance, I have somewhat voraciously consumed these and similar books trying to get a handle on where this disconnect comes from.

For anyone looking to understand why America is the way it is, these books form a phenomenal and well researched foundation.