Author: Alan M. Feuerbacher (alanf@tekig6.pen.tek.com) Title: Francis Hitching: Commonly q

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Author: Alan M. Feuerbacher (alanf@tekig6.pen.tek.com)
 Title: Francis Hitching: Commonly quoted by Creationists
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   Francis Hitching is the author of, among other books,
_The Neck of the Giraffe_." He believes evolution is
directed by some sort of cosmic force, but does not like
Darwinism.  He wrote in this book [ _The Neck of the
Giraffe_, Ticknor & Fields, New Haven, Connecticut, 1982,
p. 12 (p. 4, paperback)] that:

   For all its acceptance in the scientific world as the
   great unifying principle of biology, Darwinism, after
   a century and a quarter, is in a surprising amount of
   trouble.  Evolution and Darwinism are often taken to
   mean the same thing.  But they don't.  Evolution of
   life over a very long period of time is a fact, if we
   are to believe evidence gathered during the last two
   centuries from geology, paleontology, molecular biol-
   ogy and many other scientific disciplines.  Despite
   the many believers in Divine creation who dispute this
   ..., the probability that evolution has occurred
   approaches certainty in scientific terms....  On the
   other hand Darwinism (or neo-Darwinism, its modern
   version) is a theory that seeks to explain evolution.
   It has not, contrary to general belief, and despite
   very great efforts, been proved.

   Research on Hitching turned up the following: Hitching is
basically a sensational TV script writer and has no scien-
tific credentials.  In _The Neck of the Giraffe_ he claimed
to be a member of the Royal Archaeological Institute, but an
inquiry to that institute said he was not.  He implied in
the "Acknowledgements" of _The Neck of the Giraffe_ that
paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould had helped in the writing
of the book, but upon inquiry Gould said he did not know him
and had no information about him.  Hitching also implied
that his book had been endorsed by Richard Dawkins, but upon
inquiry Dawkins stated: "I know nothing at all about Francis
Hitching.  If you are uncovering the fact that he is a char-
latan, good for you.  His book, _The Neck of the Giraffe,_
is one of the silliest and most ignorant I have read for
years."

   Hitching believes in the paranormal and has written on
Mayan pyramid energy and for some "In Search Of..." episodes
on BBC television.  The reference work _Contemporary
Authors,_ Vol. 103, page 208, lists him as a member of the
Society for Psychical Research, the British Society of
Dowsers and of the American Society of Dowsers.  His writ-
ings include: _Earth Magic,_ _Dowsing: The Psi Connection,_
_Mysterious World: An Atlas of the Unexplained,_ _Fraud,
Mischief, and the Supernatural_ and _Instead of Darwin_.

   Hitching's book spends much of its time attacking Dar-
winian evolution, borrowing heavily and uncritically from
young-earth creationist arguments.  Many of Hitching's "ref-
erences" are lifted from young-earth creationist literature
rather than being quoted directly from their original
sources.  One magazine had this to say [_Creation/Evolution
Newsletter_, 7, No. 5, pp. 15-16, September/October 1987]:

   Speaking of the Biblical Creation Society, there was
   an interesting letter in the January 1983 issue of
   their journal Biblical Creation (p. 74) concerning a
   review of Francis Hitching's 1982 book _The Neck of
   the Giraffe_.  Hitching's book is strongly anti-
   Darwinist, and is enthusiastically hailed by most cre-
   ationists (though he also pokes fun at fundamentalist
   creationists).  The letter, by creationist Malcolm
   Bowden (author of _The Rise of the Evolution Fraud_),
   points out that Hitching simply "culled his informa-
   tion from the creationist literature."  This is indeed
   the case:  many creationist works are cited favorably
   (Anderson, Coffin, Clark, Daly, Davidheiser, Dewar,
   Gish, Morris, Segraves, Whitcomb, and Wysong, plus
   various anti-Darwinists).  Hitching does cite Bowden's
   earlier book _Ape-Men -- Fact or Fallacy?_, but Bowden
   accuses Hitching of "lifting" several passages and
   illustrations from his book without acknowledgment:
   in other words, plagiarism.  "Hitchin's [sic] book is
   largely an exposition of the creationists [sic] view-
   point from the beginning to almost the end," Bowden
   points out....  Hitching is also a paranormalist, an
   advocate of psychic evolution.... [Hitching's book]
   _Earth Magic_ is a wild, extremely entertaining and
   thoroughly psychic interpretation of megalithic struc-
   tures....  Hitching also includes in his scheme cosmic
   cataclysms, Atlantis, pyramidology, dowsing, ESP,
   miraculous healing, and astrology.