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.

[Doctor Stochastic]

Link

[shubi]

"It IS possible to run out of ideas without being so obvious about it..."

We can see you have run out of ideas, except to use attacks against people you don't even know.

[shubi]

"I am beginning to think that evolutionism actually reverses, or at least stunts, the evolution of humanity."

Most of your data for devolution of humans would come from creationists. ;-)

[shubi]

Tch Tch, and you are a loving Christian?

[shubi]

Right. Genetic engineering is really the only hope for a cure for some diseases of the elderly.

[shubi]

I really would hope you would stop associating abiogenesis with the ToE. It is not there. Biology doesn't need abiogensis to do what it does.

Whatever people you are getting your information from, I doubt if they are biologists.

[shubi]

I can't believe they have foisted this ID/creation science con game off on so many. It is really sad.

[shubi]

Paluxy was debunked.

http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/paluxy.html

Read the above link to try to cleanse your mind of creationist propaganda.

[longshadow]

"I love the smell of slaughtered bat in the morning. It smells, like.... like victory."

[gobucks]

"Yeah, right. He was a baptized Catholic, he asked for and drew support from Christians, he made statements that he was doing God's work;"

He saw himself as a racial messiah, so indeed he saw himself doing God's work.

He did not say anything favorable about JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF in the post you chose. The entire quote reveals his twisting of the sacrifice was simply made in order to 'get' jews. "For as a Christian I have also a duty to my own people." Here is the racial justification which is non existent in the N.T. - in other words, he wrote the word 'Christian' yes; he misused it.

"The anti-Semitism of the new movement [Christian Social movement] was based on religious ideas instead of racial knowledge."

RWP, I grant you found a quote where on the surface it appears he speaks of Christians. He doesn't speak favorably of Jesus himself, nor of any of Jesus's teachings. I don't think that is an accident.

Your quote that anti-semitism is based on religious ideas I agree with. But not in the sense I think you meant; did you read my post regarding the charges of antisemitism against the Passion?

((I find it incredible you attribute the primary motivator of Hitler to his Christian background. Someone in your Christian background is likely to have badly betrayed you for you to make these statements. Of course you'll never reveal that wound to me ... but I have heard this tone before from folks wounded in a similar manner. Their anti-Christian actions/feelings are often bottomless as a result, and that 'Hitler was a Christian' even becomes a rational statement. Whatever it was, this Christian tells you this: sometimes it is the Christians that are most attractive targets for the enemies of Christ.))

I say again: you are absolutely wrong to claim that Hitler promoted Christianity in Germany as a Christian. I'm guessing you'll see this as dishonorable of me.

[superloser]

I can't believe they have foisted this ID/creation science con game off on so many. It is really sad.

Yes it is, but.....you know how these guys operate and why....

My one comment is this: Its all about people wanting to be handed answers (rather than seeking for themselves) and/or controlling the flock.

I'd be happy to discuss with you offline if you'd like. Maybe we can compare notes.

[Kleon]

"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."

Did they really put that on textbooks? All that would do is confuse the student, because the word "theory" here is misused. It's like saying, "This textbook contains material on gravity. Gravity is a theory, not a fact, regarding natural forces of attraction. This material should be approached with an open mind, studied carefully, and critically considered."

[Outraged]

Biology doesn't need abiogensis to do what it does.

You are right, biology doesn't need abiogenesis, it needs an intelligent designer. Order does not spring from chaos spontaneously. Evolution theory is a farce, the joke is on you shu...Shame really, all that time you have devoted to uselessness, a blind leap of faith into a dark abyss of ignorance...pity.

[shubi]

Sad...

[AndrewC]

So basically, you've got a solution, and now all you need to do is find the problem it solved.

People die as a result of sickle cell don't they?

[js1138]

Everyone dies. What is your specific point?

[AndrewC]

Deters and mitigates are about the same thing.

Nope.

[shubi]

What is your problem, man? LOL

[general_re]

People die from malaria too. Which group do you suppose has historically had a higher mortality rate from 0-12 in malarial zones, carriers or non-carriers?

[js1138]

The question is, do you have an analysis of sickle cell that demonstrates conclusively that it is deleterious to populations that live in malaria zones? Would you care to share the numbers with us, or just snipe.

I happen to think you are very careful and observant with your posts, but you don't contribute much beside sniping. I would love to see you post something straightforward rather than snide.