Monday, September 26, 2005
False Dichotomies and Misinformation
RSR reader Bill F. may have been chased from this home in Sugar Land, Texas by Hurricane Rita, but he's still on the intelligent design case. From his daughter's condo in Austin (where his thoughtful, pre-Rita, decision to install wireless Internet access now seems almost prophetic, he's called our attention to this guest commentary by Wade Worthen in The State -- from that well-known hotbed of atheistic science, South Carolina.
Proponents of intelligent design have suggested that its exclusion from classrooms is simply another assault on victimized Christians. This is an excellent example of the intelligent design strategy: Use false dichotomies and misinformation to obscure the real issue. Whether it should be taught in public school science curricula should not be about politics or religion. The real issue is this: Is intelligent design a legitimate scientific theory?
