Friday, March 05, 2004

Well, it looks like creationism is trying to get in through the back door again.
An engineer from Boeing, Joe White, is working to pass a bill through the house that would require the teaching of "intelligent design" in schools. Intelligent design is the often discredited notion that the development of biology has been guided in some way by a higher intelligence.
While many advocates try to play it off as a genuine theory or a critique of evolution, is widely recognized as trying to insert creationism into the science curriculum.
Evolution has not been proven without a doubt, it's a theory and as such does not claim to be foolproof, but it explains observances and can make verifiable predictions. That basic idea is the foundation of science and scientific thought; "what did we see?", "how did it happen?". "will it explain x?"
That's a simplified version, but that's the basic idea.
By introducing creationism, you introduce arbitrary ideas.
The idea of science is not that the complexity of existence proves the existence of a creator, that's what creationism is after. Creationism is a metaphysical/spiritual/religious theory.

It's doubtful the measure will get very far. The speaker of the house, Catherine Hanaway (R-Warson Woods) is already backing off the conversation.
Missouri already does not include the word "evolution" in the teaching of biology.

The education system in Missouri already has enough diffculties without trying to insert someone's religious beliefs into the science classes.

No comments: