The Crafty Attacks on Evolution

The New York Slimes ^ | 23 January 2005 | EDITORIAL

[rdb3]

January 23, 2005

EDITORIAL

The Crafty Attacks on Evolution

ritics of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution become more wily with each passing year. Creationists who believe that God made the world and everything in it pretty much as described in the Bible were frustrated when their efforts to ban the teaching of evolution in the public schools or inject the teaching of creationism were judged unconstitutional by the courts. But over the past decade or more a new generation of critics has emerged with a softer, more roundabout approach that they hope can pass constitutional muster.

One line of attack - on display in Cobb County, Ga., in recent weeks - is to discredit evolution as little more than a theory that is open to question. Another strategy - now playing out in Dover, Pa. - is to make students aware of an alternative theory called "intelligent design," which infers the existence of an intelligent agent without any specific reference to God. These new approaches may seem harmless to a casual observer, but they still constitute an improper effort by religious advocates to impose their own slant on the teaching of evolution.•

The Cobb County fight centers on a sticker that the board inserted into a new biology textbook to placate opponents of evolution. The school board, to its credit, was trying to strengthen the teaching of evolution after years in which it banned study of human origins in the elementary and middle schools and sidelined the topic as an elective in high school, in apparent violation of state curriculum standards. When the new course of study raised hackles among parents and citizens (more than 2,300 signed a petition), the board sought to quiet the controversy by placing a three-sentence sticker in the textbooks:

"This textbook contains material on evolution. Evolution is a theory, not a fact, regarding the origin of living things. This material should be approached with an open mind, studied carefully, and critically considered."

Although the board clearly thought this was a reasonable compromise, and many readers might think it unexceptional, it is actually an insidious effort to undermine the science curriculum. The first sentence sounds like a warning to parents that the film they are about to watch with their children contains pornography. Evolution is so awful that the reader must be warned that it is discussed inside the textbook. The second sentence makes it sound as though evolution is little more than a hunch, the popular understanding of the word "theory," whereas theories in science are carefully constructed frameworks for understanding a vast array of facts. The National Academy of Sciences, the nation's most prestigious scientific organization, has declared evolution "one of the strongest and most useful scientific theories we have" and says it is supported by an overwhelming scientific consensus.

The third sentence, urging that evolution be studied carefully and critically, seems like a fine idea. The only problem is, it singles out evolution as the only subject so shaky it needs critical judgment. Every subject in the curriculum should be studied carefully and critically. Indeed, the interpretations taught in history, economics, sociology, political science, literature and other fields of study are far less grounded in fact and professional consensus than is evolutionary biology.

A more honest sticker would describe evolution as the dominant theory in the field and an extremely fruitful scientific tool. The sad fact is, the school board, in its zeal to be accommodating, swallowed the language of the anti-evolution crowd. Although the sticker makes no mention of religion and the school board as a whole was not trying to advance religion, a federal judge in Georgia ruled that the sticker amounted to an unconstitutional endorsement of religion because it was rooted in long-running religious challenges to evolution. In particular, the sticker's assertion that "evolution is a theory, not a fact" adopted the latest tactical language used by anti-evolutionists to dilute Darwinism, thereby putting the school board on the side of religious critics of evolution. That court decision is being appealed. Supporters of sound science education can only hope that the courts, and school districts, find a way to repel this latest assault on the most well-grounded theory in modern biology.•

In the Pennsylvania case, the school board went further and became the first in the nation to require, albeit somewhat circuitously, that attention be paid in school to "intelligent design." This is the notion that some things in nature, such as the workings of the cell and intricate organs like the eye, are so complex that they could not have developed gradually through the force of Darwinian natural selection acting on genetic variations. Instead, it is argued, they must have been designed by some sort of higher intelligence. Leading expositors of intelligent design accept that the theory of evolution can explain what they consider small changes in a species over time, but they infer a designer's hand at work in what they consider big evolutionary jumps.

The Dover Area School District in Pennsylvania became the first in the country to place intelligent design before its students, albeit mostly one step removed from the classroom. Last week school administrators read a brief statement to ninth-grade biology classes (the teachers refused to do it) asserting that evolution was a theory, not a fact, that it had gaps for which there was no evidence, that intelligent design was a differing explanation of the origin of life, and that a book on intelligent design was available for interested students, who were, of course, encouraged to keep an open mind. That policy, which is being challenged in the courts, suffers from some of the same defects found in the Georgia sticker. It denigrates evolution as a theory, not a fact, and adds weight to that message by having administrators deliver it aloud. •

Districts around the country are pondering whether to inject intelligent design into science classes, and the constitutional problems are underscored by practical issues. There is little enough time to discuss mainstream evolution in most schools; the Dover students get two 90-minute classes devoted to the subject. Before installing intelligent design in the already jam-packed science curriculum, school boards and citizens need to be aware that it is not a recognized field of science. There is no body of research to support its claims nor even a real plan to conduct such research. In 2002, more than a decade after the movement began, a pioneer of intelligent design lamented that the movement had many sympathizers but few research workers, no biology texts and no sustained curriculum to offer educators. Another leading expositor told a Christian magazine last year that the field had no theory of biological design to guide research, just "a bag of powerful intuitions, and a handful of notions." If evolution is derided as "only a theory," intelligent design needs to be recognized as "not even a theory" or "not yet a theory." It should not be taught or even described as a scientific alternative to one of the crowning theories of modern science.

That said, in districts where evolution is a burning issue, there ought to be some place in school where the religious and cultural criticisms of evolution can be discussed, perhaps in a comparative religion class or a history or current events course. But school boards need to recognize that neither creationism nor intelligent design is an alternative to Darwinism as a scientific explanation of the evolution of life.

[WildTurkey]

The age of science began when the Church started accepting that the earth was not the center of the universe ...

That's one way of looking at it. Myopic, to be sure, but a story you can tell for ages to come. Make the best of it. The age of science was confirmed when the Church accepted evolution.

[LiteKeeper]

what part of it is "superstitious nonsense?" And which part of forbidding the questioning of evolution is critical thinking a part of?

[shubi]

"Matter has never been observed apart from both intelligence and design."

This is very cryptic. Do you mean that it takes intelligence to observe a rock? Again, we are getting into the if a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it, does it make a sound type of philosophical sophistry.

[shubi]

Creation science/ID is superstitious nonsense in its entirety.

[AndrewC]

So let me get this straight, you don't think genetics are true? What exactly IS the point you are trying to make

You are wandering deeper into the forest. My exact point has been stated numerous times. I believe "Find a human skeleton in the same strata as dino bones and you would falsify evolution." is a false statement. I used genetics to assist my argument, therefore it is highly unlikely that I "don't think genetics are true".

[rdb3]

No, the courts are protecting our children from being indoctrinated with superstitious nonsense passed off as Christian doctrine.

And there it is. The admission.

[WildTurkey]

But evolution is the only system that is protected from criticism by the courts...in fact, it is a crime to question evolution in the classroom. Name another discipline with the same kind of protection by the courts.

Please cite even ONE example where a student has been disciplined by the courts for criticizing evolution ...

[shubi]

"You are wandering deeper into the forest. My exact point has been stated numerous times. I believe "Find a human skeleton in the same strata as dino bones and you would falsify evolution." is a false statement. I used genetics to assist my argument, therefore it is highly unlikely that I "don't think genetics are true"."

How does misunderstanding of an experiment removing some neutral mouse DNA have anything to do with finding a human fossil in the same strata as a dinosaur?

[WildTurkey]

The categorical position of evolutionists is that the evidence of evolution is too overwhelming to be questioned.

And thus you show your total ignorance of the scientific community.

[Alacarte]

How familiar are you with world history during that time?

Major technological advancements are pretty easy to see. After the greeks and the romans, advancement almost stopped for 1500 years, until we adopted naturalism.

There seems to have been a certain "lack of advancement" since Darwin appeared on the scene, too.

On the contrary, technology for the past 400 years has advanced exponentially, even with your evil darwinism. Since Darwin we've had germ theory, space travel, antibiotics, computing, nuclear energy, mass information mediums... Biology makes no sense outside of evolution. So everything the life sciences gives us, is in part due to evolution. Not that science 'owes' us anything.

But please advise as to how conjectural recapitulations of history serve the interest of science in the present moment, let alone qualify as science.

I was just responding to you saying the church didn't hurt science, I didn't start the discussion, sorry.

Does Einstein stand on the shoulders of Darwin?

Einstein was a physicist... Darwin was a biologist... I'm not sure I see your point.

[AndrewC]

This shows a complete misunderstanding of the concept of inheritance. Neutral sequences would be preserved, since they are not selected positively or negatively.

Are negative sequences preserved?

[WildTurkey]

what part of it is "superstitious nonsense?" And which part of forbidding the questioning of evolution is critical thinking a part of?

When one cites the false propaganda of the creationists' web-sites, that is NOT called critical thinking.

[shubi]

Yep, creation science/ID is an attempt to corrupt our children and destroy science education. We can't let AIG or DI put there cons in the classroom. It is fraud.

Now, I don't think that the establishment clause should have been used. I think the people that put the sticker on the text should be arrested for conspiracy to commit fraud.

[AndrewC]

How does misunderstanding of an experiment removing some neutral mouse DNA have anything to do with finding a human fossil in the same strata as a dinosaur?

You can best answer that. You've misunderstood just about everything.

[LiteKeeper]

Teachers are forbidden by law from questioning evolution. [Sorry, I don't have the citations.] It is not the children that are disciplined, it is the teachers that are forbidden for raising any criticism.

Check out LeVake v. Independent School District No. 656

[Alacarte]

You are wandering deeper into the forest. My exact point has been stated numerous times. I believe "Find a human skeleton in the same strata as dino bones and you would falsify evolution." is a false statement.

There is no comparison between the two! I don't think you understand what 'predictions' are. Seriously, one too many philosophy classes...

[shubi]

Sequences that give even a small percent disadvantage in survival eventually get eliminated. But if the environment changes, they might become positive and reverse the process.

This is what we observe with sickle cell anemia in malarial areas.

[Fester Chugabrew]

This is very cryptic. Do you mean that it takes intelligence to observe a rock?

There's nothing cryptic about it. Yes, it takes intelligence to observe a rock. It also takes design. How else is any information going to be conveyed so that the observer knows he is looking at a rock as opposed to a Freudian slip? Both intelligence and design are needed before science can even get a start. Understand?

[judywillow]

And tens of thousands of scientists are merely co-conspirators to present this bogus science for some illicit agenda....

I say again, the agenda isn't that difficult to discern.

[Fester Chugabrew]

Einstein was a physicist... Darwin was a biologist... I'm not sure I see your point.

My point is that science can do very well without the Philosophy of Evolution.