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Perhaps related (and certainly self-promotional) is the position I recently took in a short piece. Quoting from the conclusion: “Public school science curricula cannot include creationism or intelligent design. Nor can these theories be used to cast doubt on scientific knowledge about the developing cosmos or the life within it. However, the Establishment Clause and intellectual honesty both mandate that science curricula include the truth about the current limitations of scientific knowledge about the origins of these phenomena. Specifically, science has provided reliable information about the processes and development of the physical universe and life within it. No scientific information, however, exists about how these processes began…. Specifically, the science curricula must include clear communication that science provides no information about these origins. This is true regardless of whether schools teach creationism or intelligent design elsewhere in the nonscience curricula.” 55 Okla.L.Rev. 613 (2002).
Dan Gibbens University of Oklahoma College of Law
-----Original Message-----
On Monday, March 15, 2004, at 06:04 PM, Nathan Oman wrote:
Not from the two premises you stated: ID is bad science and ought not be taught as a matter of sound pedagogy.
But those are not the only premises that apply. For example, ID is inherently religious - a creator that created - is another premise. If one is examining philosophical ideas, or even the philosophy of science, or the the history of ideas, or the sociology of paradigm shifts, etc., one could teach ID in such a context.
But if the subject is science, and the science utterly rejects as outside of its domain matters of creators and such, then to force it to be included is indeed religious. And the only motive of those pushing to include it is in fact religious, all erstwhile protestations of detached academic inquiry aside. There are only two reasons to push such a theory - you believe it and that it should be taught in schools because religion should be taught in schools; or you like to play the part of the troublemaker just for the heck of it - and there are a lot of those sort of folk around.
Steve
-- Prof. Steven D. Jamar vox: 202-806-8017 Howard University School of Law fax: 202-806-8567 2900 Van Ness Street NW mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Washington, DC 20008 http://www.law.howard.edu/faculty/pages/jamar/
"A life directed chiefly toward the fulfillment of personal desires sooner or later always leads to bitter disappointment."
Albert Einstein |
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