Monday, September 11, 2006
Oh, Those Dogmatic Darwinists
There's a vigorous debate going on right now over Ken Miller's speech at KU last Thursday. You can find a guide to the various blogs talking about this issue -- and links to audio of the speech -- here.
Creationists who take delight in this debate among supporters of evolutionary theory should remember that the fact that this discussion is happening gives lie to one of their central propaganda tools:
The ID Fantasy:
"The problem with scientific naturalism as a worldview is that it takes a sound methodological premise of natural science and transforms it into a dogmatic statement about the nature of the universe." -- Phillip Johnson, Evolution as Dogma: The Establishment of Naturalism First Things October 1990.
"Darwinists aren't interested in keeping non-evolutionary views just out of the science classroom, they want non-evolutionary views out of students minds completely. If anyone ever doubted the full measure of Darwinist dogmatism, this lawsuit should dispell those doubts." -- Casey Luskin, Evolution News and Views.
"No dogma, scientific or religious, belongs in a science classroom. Instead of being indoctrinated in Darwinism, as they are now, students should be provided with the resources to think critically about it." Jonathan Wells, Topeka Capital-Journal, November 22, 1999.
"Darwinism has become pseudo-scientific dogma." -- William Dembski, Uncommon Descent.
The reality:
"[Ken] Miller is an excellent speaker. He's persuasive, he's clear, he knows his science well, and he was an impressive participant in the conflict at Dover…and he was on the correct side. Here's the problem: he's wrong now." -- PZ Myers, Pharyngula.
"... over the years, [Stephen Jay] Gould himself has lent real strength to the creationist movement." -- Robert Wright, The Accidental Creationist: Why Stephen Jay Gould is Bad for Evolution.
"[Daniel] Dennett explains the strict adaptationist view well enough, but he defends a miserly and blinkered picture of evolution in assuming that all important phenomena can be explained thereby. His limited and superficial book reads like a caricature of a caricature... " -- Stephen Jay Gould, Darwinian Fundamentalism.
If dogma is defined as a statement that must be accepted without proof, then who, in this instance, are the real dogmatists?
Creationists who take delight in this debate among supporters of evolutionary theory should remember that the fact that this discussion is happening gives lie to one of their central propaganda tools:
The ID Fantasy:
"The problem with scientific naturalism as a worldview is that it takes a sound methodological premise of natural science and transforms it into a dogmatic statement about the nature of the universe." -- Phillip Johnson, Evolution as Dogma: The Establishment of Naturalism First Things October 1990.
"Darwinists aren't interested in keeping non-evolutionary views just out of the science classroom, they want non-evolutionary views out of students minds completely. If anyone ever doubted the full measure of Darwinist dogmatism, this lawsuit should dispell those doubts." -- Casey Luskin, Evolution News and Views.
"No dogma, scientific or religious, belongs in a science classroom. Instead of being indoctrinated in Darwinism, as they are now, students should be provided with the resources to think critically about it." Jonathan Wells, Topeka Capital-Journal, November 22, 1999.
"Darwinism has become pseudo-scientific dogma." -- William Dembski, Uncommon Descent.
The reality:
"[Ken] Miller is an excellent speaker. He's persuasive, he's clear, he knows his science well, and he was an impressive participant in the conflict at Dover…and he was on the correct side. Here's the problem: he's wrong now." -- PZ Myers, Pharyngula.
"... over the years, [Stephen Jay] Gould himself has lent real strength to the creationist movement." -- Robert Wright, The Accidental Creationist: Why Stephen Jay Gould is Bad for Evolution.
"[Daniel] Dennett explains the strict adaptationist view well enough, but he defends a miserly and blinkered picture of evolution in assuming that all important phenomena can be explained thereby. His limited and superficial book reads like a caricature of a caricature... " -- Stephen Jay Gould, Darwinian Fundamentalism.
If dogma is defined as a statement that must be accepted without proof, then who, in this instance, are the real dogmatists?
