Bernard d'Abrera

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Bernard d'Abrera (born 1940) is a natural history photographer and publisher, particularly noted for his books on Papilionoidea (true butterflies). Since 1982 his work has been openly critical of the modern evolutionary synthesis.

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[edit] Education and career

D'Abrera was born in the United Kingdom, and attended the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. He received a Bachelor of Arts from UNSW in 1965, with a double major in History & Philosophy of Science and History. He published his first book, Butterflies of the Australian Region, in 1966. His magnum opus comprises a series of works forming a synoptic reference to the four million specimens of butterflies and moths in the Natural History Museum, illustrated with over 66,000 figures.

In 1982, d'Abrera and his wife Lucilla founded Hill House Publishers, a publishing house based in Melbourne and London, to publish his own work. Hill House has also published facsimiles of naturalist John Gould's work under contract from the Natural History Museum, copies of antiquarian maps, an atlas of the Dutch Indies, and other historical materials under license from bodies such as the Royal Dutch Geographical Society.[1]

D'Abrera produced most of the photographs, illustrations, and text in his 31 volumes (so far) about the butterflies and moths from different areas around the world.

D'Abrera visits a variety of museums to inspect and use their collections for his books, including the Natural History Museum in London, the Macleay Museum[2] in Sydney, the Museum Victoria in Melbourne, the Royal Museum for Central Africa at Tervuren, Belgium, and assorted private collections.

Although sometimes he is addressed as "Dr." in the literature, d'Abrera does not have a PhD,[3] being openly critical of what he perceives as a requirement that PhD researchers embrace evolutionary theory.[4]

[edit] Creationist activities

D'Abrera is listed as a signatory on the petition known as "A Scientific Dissent from Darwinism", a campaign begun in 2001 by the Discovery Institute. D'Abrera is also a fellow of the pro-intelligent design organization, International Society for Complexity, Information and Design.[5]

D'Abrera is strongly opposed to the theory of evolution. He asserts that needless study of evolution is one of the largest factors contributing to environmental problems around the world. He reasons that energy that should have been available for conservation has instead been spent "worthlessly" learning about evolution.[3] Creationist Carl Wieland, of Creation Ministries International, writes that

Those he calls the ‘elite’ in ‘ivory towers’ bear, in his view, ‘a deadly responsibility for their criminal neglect if they should continue to ignore the plight of our planet in their futile pursuit of the phantom of Evolutionism.[3]

Wieland is in no doubt that d'Abrera's 2001 opus, Concise Atlas of the Butterflies of the World, displays a passionate loathing of evolution. D'Abrera describes evolution theory as "viscid, asphyxiating baggage" that requires "blind religious faith".[3][6]

D'Abrera's Hill House Publishers is the publisher of a pro-Intelligent Design biology textbook, Explore Evolution, co-authored by three Discovery Institute members, Stephen C. Meyer, Scott Minnich and Paul A. Nelson, as well as Jonathan Moneymaker and Kansas evolution hearings participant Ralph Seelke.[7][8]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Official Website for Hill House Publishers. Hill House Publishers. Retrieved on 2007-11-26.
  2. ^ Macleay Museum News, edited by Julian Holland, No. 8, October 1996.
  3. ^ a b c d Butterfly blast, Carl Wieland, Creation 25(3):16–19 June 2003.
  4. ^ What Have Butterflies Got to Do with Darwin?, William A. Dembski, Review of Bernard d'Abrera, The Concise Atlas of Butterflies of the World (London: Hill House, 2001), 353 pages., from "Metanexus: The Online Forum on Religion and Science <http://www.metanexus.net>", 2001, retrieved August 18, 2007.
  5. ^ Society Fellows, International Society for Complexity, Information and Design official website.
  6. ^ Concise Atlas of the Butterflies of the World, Bernard d'Abrera, Hill House Publishers, Melb.& Lond., 2001, ISBN 978-0-947352-37-0.
  7. ^ Explore Evolution Textbook and Website, Staff, Discovery Institute, June 1, 2007, from Discovery Institute official website, Retrieved on 2007-08-03.
  8. ^ About the Authors, Explore Evolution official website

[edit] References