Metamorphosis: The Case for Intelligent Design in a Chrysalis

David Klinghoffer, Ann Gauger, Paul Nelson, Jonathan Witt and Michael Flannery | 94 pages | $24.95 (retail)

About the Book

Throughout history, butterflies have fascinated artists, philosophers, scientists and schoolchildren with their profound mystery and beauty. Illustra Media’s new film Metamorphosis explores the remarkable world of butterflies as few documentaries have before, tracing their amazing transformation from caterpillars into winged masterpieces through MRI imaging, computer animation, and stunning nature footage. How did these extraordinary creatures come into being? Are they the products of a blind, undirected process? Or were they the result of intelligent design? In this digital companion to the film, learn more about both the science and artistry of butterflies, how butterflies challenge Darwinian evolution, and how they point toward intelligent design. This 94-page book includes more than twenty stunning full-color photos (many taken during the production of the film) and is introduced by a special message from best-selling novelist Dean Koontz.

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About the Book

Throughout history, butterflies have fascinated artists, philosophers, scientists and schoolchildren with their profound mystery and beauty. Illustra Media’s new film Metamorphosis explores the remarkable world of butterflies as few documentaries have before, tracing their amazing transformation from caterpillars into winged masterpieces through MRI imaging, computer animation, and stunning nature footage. How did these extraordinary creatures come into being? Are they the products of a blind, undirected process? Or were they the result of intelligent design? In this digital companion to the film, learn more about both the science and artistry of butterflies, how butterflies challenge Darwinian evolution, and how they point toward intelligent design. This 94-page book includes more than twenty stunning full-color photos (many taken during the production of the film) and is introduced by a special message from best-selling novelist Dean Koontz.

Film Site

Metamorphosis the Film

Contributors

LAD ALLEN

Lad Allen is co-founder of Illustra Media, a motion picture production company based in Southern California. Lad has produced, written, and directed more than 100 films and received numerous international awards. Illustra’s documentary trilogy—Unlocking the Mystery of LifeThe Privileged Planet, andDarwin’s Dilemma—has helped popularize the scientific case for intelligent design in the universe. These films have been translated into more than two dozen languages and distributed throughout the world. Illustra’s most recent documentary is Metamorphosis: The Beauty and Design of Butterflies, which was released during the summer of 2011.

BERNARD D’ABRERA

Bernard d’Abrera is an Australian entomological taxonomist and philosopher of science. His magnum opus comprises a series of works forming a synoptic reference to the true butterflies, hawk moths and saturniid moths of the world, which is based largely on the collections of the Natural History Museum in London, and other worldwide museums, public and private. The works comprise taxonomic text of over 4 million words, illustrated with over 66,000 colored figures, over approximately 7,500 pages. (See the Hill House Publishers website for a list of titles, regions and families treated.) D’Abrera has described several new genera as well as over 100 new species and subspecies. The D’Abrera’s Tiger, Parantica dabrerai, an Indonesian butterfly species, is named for him, as is Gnathothlibus dabrera, a species of Indonesian moth.

David Klinghoffer

Senior Fellow and Editor, Evolution News
David Klinghoffer is a Senior Fellow at Discovery Institute and the editor of Evolution News & Science Today, the daily voice of Discovery Institute’s Center for Science & Culture, reporting on intelligent design, evolution, and the intersection of science and culture. Klinghoffer is also the author of six books, a former senior editor and literary editor at National Review magazine, and has written for the Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Seattle Times, Commentary, and other publications. Born in Santa Monica, California, he graduated from Brown University in 1987 with an A.B. magna cum laude in comparative literature and religious studies. David lives near Seattle, Washington, with his wife and children.

Ann Gauger

Senior Fellow, Center for Science and Culture
Dr. Ann Gauger is Director of Science Communication and a Senior Fellow at the Discovery Institute Center for Science and Culture, and Senior Research Scientist at the Biologic Institute in Seattle, Washington. She received her Bachelor's degree from MIT and her Ph.D. from the University of Washington Department of Zoology. She held a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard University, where her work was on the molecular motor kinesin.

Paul Nelson

Senior Fellow, Center for Science and Culture
Paul A. Nelson is currently a Senior Fellow of the Discovery Institute and Adjunct Professor in the Master of Arts Program in Science & Religion at Biola University. He is a philosopher of biology who has been involved in the intelligent design debate internationally for three decades. His grandfather, Byron C. Nelson (1893-1972), a theologian and author, was an influential mid-20th century dissenter from Darwinian evolution. After Paul received his B.A. in philosophy with a minor in evolutionary biology from the University of Pittsburgh, he entered the University of Chicago, where he received his Ph.D. (1998) in the philosophy of biology and evolutionary theory.

Jonathan Witt

Executive Editor, Discovery Institute Press and Senior Fellow, Center for Science and Culture
Jonathan Witt, PhD, is Executive Editor of Discovery Institute Press and a senior fellow and senior project manager with Discovery Institute’s Center for Science and Culture. His latest book is Heretic: One Scientist’s Journey from Darwin to Design (DI Press, 2018) written with Finnish bioengineer Matti Leisola. Witt has also authored co-authored Intelligent Design Uncensored, A Meaningful World: How the Arts and Sciences Reveal the Genius of Nature, and The Hobbit Party: The Vision of Freedom That Tolkien Got, and the West Forgot. Witt is the lead writer and associate producer for Poverty, Inc., winner of the $100,000 Templeton Freedom Award and recipient of over 50 international film festival honors.

Michael Flannery

Professor Emeritus of UAB Libraries, University of Alabama at Birmingham
Michael A. Flannery is professor emeritus of UAB Libraries, University of Alabama at Birmingham. Much of his recent scholarship has focused on the ideas and legacy of the co-discoverer of evolution by natural selection, Alfred Russel Wallace (1823-1913). Flannery’s books about Wallace include Nature’s Prophet: Alfred Russel Wallace and His Evolution from Natural Selection to Natural Theology (University of Alabama Press, 2018), Alfred Russel Wallace’s Theory of Intelligent Evolution: How Wallace’s World of Life Challenged Darwinism (Erasmus Press, 2008), and Alfred Russel Wallace: A Rediscovered Life (Discovery Institute Press, 2011). Flannery’s peer-reviewed journal articles include “Alfred Russel Wallace’s Intelligent Evolution and Natural Theology” (Religions, 2020). Flannery discusses the intellectual legacy of Wallace in the documentary Darwin’s Heretic. Flannery holds degrees in library science from the University of Kentucky and history from California State University, Dominguez Hills. He has written and taught extensively on the history of medicine and science.

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