The truth about my background: dispelling some misinformation

Recently I found that some people have published false information about me on the web. Apparently they did this because they are unhappy about my critique of Richard Dawkins' book The God Delusion. Among other things, they have made false statements about my academic background. It's best to be skeptical of any negative statements about me that you find on the Internet, especially on web forums or blog comments. Look things up and decide for yourself.

Here are a few facts to set the record straight.
  • I am a chemical physicist by training. I have a PhD in chemistry, specializing in chemical physics, from the University of California, Los Angeles. (Chemical physics is an interdisciplinary field belonging both to physics and to chemistry.) You can find my doctoral dissertation in the UCLA Library online catalog. My dissertation describes my research on the physics of liquid crystalline phases of matter.
     
  • While doing research in chemical physics, I had the pleasant opportunity to work with some noteworthy chemical physicists. Some of them became coauthors of my papers on my research.
     
  • Besides my PhD, I have an MS degree in biochemistry and a bachelors' degree with a double major in physics and philosophy, all from UCLA. (I also have a CPhil in chemistry, which is an in-progress degree earned on the way to the PhD.)
     
  • I performed research in philosophy both before and after I worked in chemical physics. I published papers in several philosophical journals. Some of these journals were highly regarded in their disciplines, according to professional philosophers I knew at the time. Without slighting other journals, I'll mention the Journal of Symbolic Logic and Analysis.

  • My papers on the philosophy of science have appeared in peer reviewed journals. Also, my website contains some unpublished papers (preprints) on the philosophy of physics. Some of these preprints have been cited favorably in scholarly publications.
     
  • For most of my peer reviewed papers, I saw the referees' reports before publication. This shows that the papers got reviewed in the normal way.

If you read anything on the web contrary to these facts, or if you read anything else negative about my background, don't assume it's true. Instead, review my website and look up my publications - and think for yourself.

This list is not meant to trumpet anything I have done.  I just want to set the record straight.

Apart from the attacks on my background, certain followers of Dawkins have made some very ignorant comments on my ideas. One especially stupid criticism is the accusation that I believe in Intelligent Design Theory (ID). This accusation is complete nonsense. I have never believed in ID. I believe the standard scientific version of evolution. I think ID is utterly unscientific. Anyone who claims that I believe in ID is either making things up or failing to read my writings.

To read my critique of Dawkins, click here. To read my rebuttals to peoples' objections to my critique, click here.

- Mark F. Sharlow

Page last updated December 16, 2011.

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The university and paper coauthors mentioned on this page are mentioned for informational purposes only. No inferences should be made about their opinions on the author's philosophical ideas or their agreement or disagreement with the contents of this page.