Without definitive evidence, evolution and intelligent design remain theories
Throughout this last summer, the teaching of evolution in classrooms has been making news all over the country.
Most of the news is coming from teachers in Florida talking about the change that they have had to make now that they are going more in-depth when teaching human evolution to their students.
Living in Michigan, our schools have been teaching biological and human evolution to its students for sometime now, but the question always remains, should we be learning about evolution not as a theory but as a fact, when others believe in the biblical theory of creation?
Who has that right to decide what is fact and what is theory, and how did they get that right? If you are a scientist, does that give you the right to declare what is fact, false, a theory and a fairy tale?
I personally have no problem learning about evolution, for me it is just a theory, and I will learn it as such. However, I am bias for I believe in intelligent design which means that because living organisms are so complex that there must be a higher force other than evolution that helped create what we see everyday.
I am not saying that I will debate with a science teacher and with those that do not believe in biblical creation, but even if they teach that evolution is factual, I will still interpret it anyway that I please. Students should be able to do the same thing. It should be up to the student what they want to believe not up to the teacher, or the state.
The fact of the matter is that we will never have enough evidence to truly find the answer to which creation theory is correct; biblical or evolution. Some even say both are correct.
The New York Times calls it a “cultural war.” This “cultural war” that took place in our schools started in 1925 with a teacher named John Scopes from Tennessee that violated a law that banned evolution from being taught in schools in the state of Tennessee.
In 1986 in Epperson v. Arkansas, the U. S. Supreme Court ruled that bans on teaching evolution in public schools to be unconstitutional. Then in 1987 in Edwards v. Aguillard, the U.S. Supreme Court rules that teaching creationism in public school was unconstitutional.
Over the years, the question of teaching creationism or evolution is constitutional or not has been answered, re-answered and answered again. Why our country is facing such a big problem with evolution being taught as life-on-Earth’s true creation is the fact that this country is based upon Christian beliefs. Due to this factor most people in this country are Christian and believe in intelligent design.
In 2005 in Gull Lake Michigan, reports of intelligent design being taught in classes raised questions again. Jennifer Granholm said Michigan schools needed to teach evolution in science classes but not intelligent design. One year later in 2006, the State Board of Education approved public schools curriculum guidelines that supported the teaching of evolution but not intelligent design.
Evolution should be taught in school, but it should be taught as a theory and not as a fact. Evolution is of great importance that has made many scientific breakthroughs possible over the years. Even though something makes sense does not mean that it is factual, and something what does not make sense is not always wrong or false.
What makes something factual? Evidence. How much evidence is needed and what kind of evidence can be used to argue the point that evolution and intelligent design are either fact or theory?
No matter what, there will never be enough evidence needed to argue that evolution is fact or fiction and there is not enough physical evidence to conclude that biblical creation is fact or fiction.
Heather Forgione, a Western Herald opinion columnist, is a senior majoring in journalism and can be reached at heather.m.forgione@wmich.edu
Short URL: http://www.westernherald.com/?p=262
Posted by HeraldAdmin
on Sep 8 2008. Filed under Opinion.
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I’m disappointed in the state of education when a current college student demonstrates a lack of understanding on just what a theory is and is not. To help Ms. Forgione out a bit, a theory is not just a good-sounding idea, as it is often (mis)used in everyday communication. Rather, a theory is built upon one or more hypotheses and also it is built on evidence. A theory is also a fact. Despite what some people might think when they say, “Well, it’s ONLY a theory,” the word theory carries significant weight. Ms. Forgione is tossing around the casual usage of the word “theory” instead of using it properly.
Evolution is a fact. Evolutionary theory is the theory that attempts to explain the fact. Intelligent design is not a theory nor is it a fact. A theory requires some level of testing, some evidence that can be factually gathered, free of bias. To quote Richard Olmstead, “Intelligent design offers no testable hypotheses and, instead, offers only an explanation for observations of complex structures and phenomena in biology that must be taken on faith.”
As WMU offers many classes that help explain this further, I’ll not elaborate on this one. I strongly urge you to take a few classes in biology from WMU and ask them to explain to you why your usage of the word “theory” is incorrect and misunderstood. Evolution is a fact. It is also a theory. Intelligent Design is, well, wishful thinking and nothing more than religious creationism trying to sound scientific.
One last note to the author: This country was not founded on Christian principles. Again, I am saddened that a college student does not know the history of this country and why this country was founded. Religious rhetoric is not the same thing as fact. A few more classes before you graduate, especially from the biology and philosophy department, might help you with the muddy understanding.