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Should creationalism be taught in public schools?
Or intelligent design, etc? If so, in what subject?
* edit: and my "creationalism" i mean "creationism." Sorry!
* edit: and my "creationalism" i mean "creationism." Sorry!
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Margaret C on -
Bless your heart. Prove it.
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Permalink Reply by Conor on -
Actually Andrew, evolution is only a theory, it's never been considered as a 'fact' by even the most militant of atheists.
The deliberate misinterpretation by the religious right (with such BS like the evolution theory claiming that 'we're descended from apes' and other bollocks) means that one of the main claims of atheism and rationalism to legitimacy is that, unlike religion, there are no undisputed 'facts', only developments which get us closer to scientific truth.
The point of believing in science against believing in superstition or 'gods' is that while those who believe in god claim to 'know' how the universe came about; people who believe in science, the laws of the universe etc know that they don't know, and may never know.
If you say evolution is 'fact', as soon as someone comes up with a better theory, then you're in a situation like the Christians, bartering what you believe to claw at some legitimacy. (Look at the way the old testament went from fact, to a myth, to a fable just so it wouldn't seem mental that people believed it.) If you keep an open mind towards atheist/agnostic scientific studies, you see that evolution just makes more sense that sky-wizards, but it's not treated as fact. Hence, the 'theory of evolution.'
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Permalink Reply by Lisa on -
Creationism? Sorry! My bad! Shows how much I know about this topic! Thanks for the correction.
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Permalink Reply by Kendall on -
The only times it was ever discussed (for me) was in History and that was in debate. Basically it was always a devil's advocate topic as I imagine it would be in a science class.
I say yes if only for people to take the facts and form their own opinions with all the information. Broadening horizons should always be encouraged. If the school had a Philosophy course then it'd be perfect for this topic. But History, Biology, or Physics would do in a pinch.
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Permalink Reply by Jeffrey on -
No, creationism should not be taught in school. Maybe in bible history class, if you have a bible history class at your school, but definitely not in a science course.
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Permalink Reply by RAY J on -
I think if all the others are being taught, then why not? Why exclude one when you're already teaching others?
Personally, I'm biased as I went to a Christian private school and so of course creationism was taught, but they did touch on Darwin's THEORY of evolution as well, just so we were aware of it, but there was an emphasis placed on the fact that it's still just Darwin's theory as it's never been proven as fact (I even had a secular college professor point that out too).
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Permalink Reply by Jeffrey on
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My problem with this approach is that a scientific theory is not the same as the theory you are referring to, which is something people like to ignore. Stephen hawking defined a scientific theory as "A theory is a good theory if it satisfies two requirements: It must accurately describe a large class of observations on the basis of a model that contains only a few arbitrary elements, and it must make definite predictions about the results of future observations." Darwin proposed his theory in 1859 and for over 150 years it is still the best scientific theory to explain life on earth. True it is not considered a scientific law, but most laws are mathematical or verbal quantifying equations that have the ability to accurately predict the occurrences of nature. Creationism isn't considered a scientific anything at all and, therefore, should not be taught in public school science classes. Naturally, private schools can teach whatever they like.
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Permalink Reply by Andrew G on -
All you need to do is whip out the OED and look up "theory" - people who say evolution is "just a theory" don't even know what the dictionary definition of theory is.
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Permalink Reply by RAY J on
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From the Dictionary:
the·o·ry
/ˈθiəri, ˈθɪəri/ Show Spelled[thee-uh-ree, theer-ee] Show IPA
–noun, plural -ries.
1. a coherent group of general propositions used as principles of explanation for a class of phenomena: Einstein's theory of relativity.
2.a proposed explanation whose status is still conjectural, in contrast to well-established propositions that are regarded as reporting matters of actual fact.
3.Mathematics . a body of principles, theorems, or the like, belonging to one subject: number theory.
4.the branch of a science or art that deals with its principles or methods, as distinguished from its practice: music theory.
5.a particular conception or view of something to be done or of the method of doing it; a system of rules or principles.
6.contemplation or speculation.
7.guess or conjecture.
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Permalink Reply by Conor on
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Haha, that's such a weak argument, Andrew
If you have to use the dictionary to suggest that you've got some greater understanding of words than everyone else and thus are correct in what you say then you're getting a bit desperate.
I agree with you about most of what you've said, but now you're clutching at straws
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Permalink Reply by leilani on -
um... "just a theory"???? the reason it isn't a law is because the actual details of proving such a theory are beyond the current scope of research and even academia as a whole. to suggest otherwise (e.g., that we have had the technology/resources/information/etc. to fully investigate evolution) is just silly.
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Permalink Reply by Margaret C on
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Like I said above. Flux capacitors.
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