Month: September 2006
Shermer: “Right on, Darwin!”
Scientific American is carrying a new piece by Michael Shermer on “Why Christians and conservatives should accept evolution.” Shermer is a libertarian, agnostic Darwinist, so it is curious that he would make this argument. It reminds one of Eugenie Scott‘s lectures in churches. (Recall that they are both original signatories of Humanist Manifesto III.) But perhaps this is all the more reason to hear Shermer’s argument. After all, if ID advocates and their detractors merely speak to their natural constituencies, this controversy-that-does-not-exist will go nowhere. Shermer makes six quick arguments.
Banned Book of the Year: Of Pandas and People
Sept. 23-30 is “Banned Books Week,” sponsored by the American Library Association. In commemoration of this annual event, I’d like to submit my nomination for the top banned book of the past year: Of Pandas and People, published by the Foundation for Thought and Ethics. An early pro-intelligent design textbook, Pandas was at the heart of the lawsuit filed by the ACLU against the hapless school district in Dover, Pennsylvania. The Dover school board wanted teachers to tell students that if they desired information about intelligent design they could go to the school library and read Of Pandas and People. What an outlandish idea: A school district actually wanted to encourage students to consult a book for more information!
Response to Barbara Forrest’s Kitzmiller Account Part VII: Exposing the “Correlation = Causation” Fallacy
[Editor’s Note: A single article combining all ten installments of this response to Barbara Forrest can be found here, at “Response to Barbara Forrest’s Kitzmiller Account.” The individual installments may be seen here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10.] According to Wikipedia, a classic example of the “Correlation implies causation” logical fallacy might assert, “Sleeping with one’s shoes on is strongly correlated with waking up with a headache. Therefore, sleeping with one’s shoes on causes headache.” The way to refute this argument is to point out that it is based upon a logical fallacy which proves causation via correlation, and explain how a third explanation better Read More ›
Censorship Rears Its Ugly Head in Michigan as Debate over Evolution Heats Up
It used to be that when politicians spoke up against censorship and in support of academic freedom they were applauded. Not anymore, at least in Michigan. Now if you express support for academic freedom and speak out against censorship and dogmatism, you get attacked by rabid Darwinists and their knee-jerk supporters in the mainstream media.
British Organization Seeks to Incorporate Teaching Scientific Criticisms of Evolution in UK
There’s a new player in the United Kingdom in the debate over how best to teach evolution. A new website launched this week, “Truth in Science,” seeks to “promote good science education in the UK.” Because of the different education and policy environment in the UK, versus that of the United States, TiS endorses teaching both the criticisms of evolution and the scientific theory of intelligent design. We consider that it is time for students to be permitted to adopt a critical approach to Darwinism in science lessons. They should be given fair and accurate presentations of alternative views. … Truth in Science promotes the critical examination of Darwinism in schools, as an important component of science education.