Science & evolution

[Richard Jensen]

Gee Rod,

Welcome to the world.  First, I don't have any idea what you mean by
"post-modern" civility.  You may wish to redefine civility, but that
doesn't mean the rest of us have to accept your new definition.  I, for
one, regard resorting to personal attacks and the use of four letter words
as uncivil and inappropriate - I'm willing to be that the majority of
Taxacom subscribers will agree.

Second, this matter is one that continues to appear simply because it does
have ramifications for thos of us who work in systematic and evolutionary
biology.  If you have followed these postings for longer than the past
several months, then you know that in the US this is not a small political
problem.  The status of evolution as science is constantly under attack by
(mostly) religious fundamentalists whose agenda is clearly one of
introducing their particular religious views into school curricula.  If
members of this list wish to explain how they are able to reconcile their
own religious beliefs with the acceptance of evolution as science, perhaps
others of us will become more enlightened about the true nature of the
problem.

If you don't accept anyone's attempt to recognize that these matters are,
in one sense, irreconcilable, that's OK.  But to denigrate someone's
personal beliefs the way you did does nothing but create animosity.  I
don't need to know your position on religion in order to critically
evaluate the quality of your science.



Richard J. Jensen      |   E-MAIL: rjensen at saintmarys.edu
Dept. of Biology       |   TELEPHONE: 219-284-4674
Saint Mary's College   |   FAX: 219-284-4716
Notre Dame, IN  46556  |