The Evolution of Knowledge: Communities Debate Life and Education

Some Christian groups are saying that America’s culture war has a strategic front: the evolution/creationism debate. And they may be right. Because there, one finds suppositions about man’s existence and purpose, and those beliefs bear a crowd of ideas about how humankind should conduct itself, and how culture (including politics) should develop.

Theories of human existence dictate even the most abstract political policy. Those who see procreation as a divine directive are trying to legislate against same-sex unions. Others who are certain of an apocalypse don’t see the point in environmental protections. Basic concepts of human responsibility - every person for herself/himself versus we’re all in this together - are informing current debates on Social Security, healthcare and education.

And education is the sphere in which the evolution/creation debate thrives. It’s as if the meaning of life is most important when we’re teaching it to our kids. That may be why 19 state legislatures are considering challenges to science curricula that teach evolution.

The state of the evolution/creation debate

From east to west, state and local governments are thinking about science, religion, and the Constitution. In Georgia and Alabama, lawmakers have introduced bills that would allow science teachers to question evolutionary theory in their classrooms. And teachers in Ohio, New Mexico, and Minnesota already have that right.

The most-watched fight is in Kansas, where the State Board of Education plans to revise the science curriculum to include various theories of origin. The board is responding to Creationists who say that evolution and creationism are competing theories that should be presented equally and conditionally to students.

Most of the scientific community objects to this charge, saying that creationists are confusing the meanings of "theory." The popular notion of theory is an idea that can’t be proven, but a scientific theory like evolution must be established and confirmed with replicable data. Therefore, they say, evolution and creation theories are not at all equal, the latter having no basis in the scientific method.

Most evolutionists would gladly see creationism taught in religious studies classes. The creationism theory belongs in that context, they say, where the origins of life are explored in a non-scientific way.

But one celebrated scientist argues that religion and science aren’t so different after all.

Can science and religion converge?

Charles H. Townes, inventor of the laser and winner of the Nobel and Templeton Prizes, argues that religion and science have much in common and that the two disciplines should come together.

In an interview with National Public Radio, Townes said, "consider what religion is. Religion is an attempt to understand the purpose and meaning of our universe. What is science? It’s the attempt to understand how our universe works. Purpose and meaning must have something to do with how it works, so those two must be related."

Townes argued that science, like religion, operates on faith in the form of postulates. Scientists "believe in [postulates] but we can’t prove them," Townes said, "and sometimes these postulates are wrong. For example, most scientists in the past thought the universe could not have had a beginning; it had to always be here, always be the same. Einstein felt that very strongly. Now, scientists have discovered that, yes, there was a beginning to our universe."

Townes said that in the last 40 years, as scientists have begun to discover the intricacies of our physical world, the scientific community has started to acknowledge that some intelligent force may have had a hand in organizing and guiding the universe.

But Townes is weary of the term "intelligent design," which refers to the idea that the universe is so complex and ordered that an intelligent being must have had a hand in its creation.

Although skeptical of the debate over intelligent design, Townes himself believes in a spiritual being that he says he "can’t describe ...I don’t think anyone can [describe it] appropriately."

Intelligent design theory

Intelligent design advocates differ from creationists in that they accept the notions that some species change and that the earth is more than 6,000 years old. However, they deny that evolution is entirely responsible for the vast variety of life forms.

Those who believe in intelligent design say that certain structures found in living things, such as the extra wings on certain fruit flies or the flagella of bacteria, cannot be explained by Darwinian concepts of natural selection and random variation.

More specifically, they argue that the complexity of the flagella and the various "machines" inside cells could not have evolved from other life forms. Like a mousetrap or a wristwatch, they say, it is evident that there was a designer.

Evolutionists argue that gaps in evolutionary theory should not be assumed to be proof of god or a godlike being. Further, they assert that intelligent design theory is more attuned to religious theories of existence, rather than scientific ones, because science cannot prove the existence of a god. Since the supposition of a godlike being is central to intelligent design theory, they say, it does not belong in the science classroom.

But In November 2004, school officials in Dover, Pennsylvania ordered teachers to include intelligent design in ninth-grade biology courses.

Back to education

Teaching future generations about the origins of life seems to be vital to the human experience - considering existence, making meaning of life, and passing on knowledge are essential activities for us. And these activities inform much of our decision-making both at home and in the statehouse.

That’s why WomenMatter encourages women to weigh their own beliefs when considering political policies.

What do you think and believe?

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Posted on: 3/22/2005