Evolution Be Taught in Schools? Introduction /
Should Evolution be Taught in Schools?
Introduction / Thesis (Part One)
The debate between those that believe in creationism – or "intelligent design," a refined offshoot of the creationism theory – and those who believe in the science of evolution, spilled over into the schools in the United States many years ago. Conservative Christians and others who are in denial vis-à-vis Charles Darwin's research and theory argue that at the very least their religious-based theories should be placed side-by-side in public school textbooks. Scientists, biologists, teachers, scholars and others who accept the empirical nature of scientific evolution have battled to keep creationism and intelligent design (ID) out of the science textbooks – with some degree of success albeit in certain conservative communities and states politicians and school board members have overruled logic by those insisting that ID be part of science textbooks. Some objective scholarship sees this debate as another example of the recent trend toward the rejection of science among certain groups in the country – including the dismissal of enormous volumes of empirical data related to global climate change. Journalists, scholars, and other informed observers view the recent refutation of science-based research as related more to political ideology and religious beliefs – embraced by conservatives, evangelicals and others in the U.S. – than to fact-filled dialogue that leads to scholarly debate.
Thesis: Notwithstanding the pronouncements and beliefs of conservative ideologues, politicians and spokespersons within the evangelical and other movements, evolution is no longer a theory, it is science, and hence it should be taught in public schools and indeed teachers should be well informed and prepared to defend science against attacks from the right.
Research Paper
Undergraduate
Intelligent Design vs. Evolution: Theories, Cases & Opinion
One of the major issues concerning evolution and speciation -- or, rather, how the flora and fauna that we see around us came to be, starting from species that are largely now extinct -- is the process or mechanism by…