The Yellow Brick Road leads nowhere...

[Kipling Will]

I definitely agree with John that evolution is quite often wrongly
presented as empirical fact. However, I think that the program of reform
that the Fundamentalist Christians (FC) would force on all us has many
implications beyond whether evolution or creation is taught as dogma.
The FC believe that they are operating under a mandate from providence
to eliminate diversity of thought in general. They know well that by
removing evolution an explanatory vacuum is created that their
particular religion will step up to fill. We won't see other creation
myths being taught in schools, e.g. African or Native American stories
of creation. Just look to history... no look at the world today... to
see the effects of fundamentalism. I shudder.

There is no equivalence between "belief in God" (their particular one),
an untestable and empirically empty concept, and evolution as an
explanatory scientific hypothesis (I think a really good explanation).
Somehow we have to convince people that these are not interchangeable
and each has an appropriate way and place to be taught.

k.




John Grehan wrote:
>
> I for one am not suprised about the Kansas decision considering how badly
> evolution is taught - at least what I have seen about teaching evolution
> is the obsession with evolution having occured or evolution being a fact
> rather than evolution as a scientific research program. The persistant
> question from students asking what is a particular structure or
> other biological feature "for" indicates, to me at leas,t that what students
> learn from current evolutionary biology is little better than someone
> who would regard themselves as a creationist.
>
> One document I read on teaching evolution produced by a
> teaching organization was simply a list of beliefs rather than an outline
> of a coherent methdology that would circumscribe evolution as a
> scientific research program. Some of the items I would not ascribe
> to, so by their doctrine I cannot be an evolutionist. I think proponents
> of evolution are creating the problem as much as the creationists.
>
> Given the doctrinal emphasis in the teaching of evolution in
> schools and universities, perhaps the Kansas students will
> not be so badly off as they will simply be replacing one dogma
> with another rather than losing out on learning a scientific methodology.
>
> John Grehan

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Kipling Will
2144 Comstock Hall
Dept. of Entomology
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY 14853
607-255-1351
http://henry.ento.cornell.edu/CUIC/will.htm
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The grand fact of the natural subordination of organic beings in groups
under groups, which, from its familiarity, does not always sufficiently
strike us, is in my judgement thus explained.  -Darwin