Let's try to be rational about this.
This month marks fifteen years since the conclusion of the Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District trial which ruled that Intelligent Design (ID) is a form of creationism and, therefore, could not be taught as a scientific theory in American public schools. Recently, several of the people involved in the trial have given interviews about it, among them biochemist Michael Behe, the most prominent proponent of ID to testify at the trial.
Continue reading “Michael Behe: 15 Years After Dover”
This month marks the fifteenth anniversary of the conclusion of the Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District trial, a significant event in the history of the conflict between creationism and science. In 2004, Young Earth Creationist members of Pennsylvania’s Dover Area School District were engaged in efforts to alter the school curriculum to suggest that there were serious weaknesses to the theory of evolution and that creationism was a legitimate alternative. Their efforts eventually culminated in the board passing a resolution that required biology teachers to read a statement to their class that said, in part:
Continue reading “Kitzmiller v. Dover 15 Years Later”This blog has been quiet for the past few months. The reason is it has just been difficult for me to find time to add to it because of life events (Nothing major or catastrophic, just regular life stuff, or at least whatever passes for “regular life” during a global pandemic.) But I’ve managed to get things together enough to finish some of the articles I have been working on and, while they may not be as timely as they were when I begun them, I’ll be posting them regardless.
However, the first few articles to follow will be timely, in that they touch on an event in recent history that is marking a significant anniversary.
Last month I told you about an unusual geographic feature of Toronto, the Leslie Street Spit. Today, I’d like to introduce you to another interesting local ecosystem.
Continue reading “Hidden wilderness: The ravines of Toronto”In the above video from Peaceful Science, philosopher JP Moreland argues for the existence of immaterial souls and minds, and is challenged by the scientists S. Joshua Swamidass, a Christian, and Nathan Lents, an atheist. Despite the fact that all three participants hold quite different views on the subject, the discussion is respectful and collegial. And I’m not entirely sure it should have been.
Continue reading “J.P. Moreland tries to defend substance dualism – and anti-gay bigotry.”(The following is a slightly edited version of an article that appeared previously on The Panda’s Thumb.)
Have a look at this article from the Khan Academy, in particular the section entitled Natural Selection:
Darwin, evolution, & natural selection
What do you think? Is it a reasonably accurate and informative, if perhaps a bit bland and prosaic, summary of some of the key elements of the theory of evolution, suitable for the average high school student?
What if someone was to tell you that it is, instead, a “mass-mind tool of financial interests”, designed to indoctrinate unwitting students into accepting an outdated concept that is no longer accepted by modern science? That is the view of Suzan Mazur, who has written a scathing response to this seemingly benign article on her blog.
Continue reading “Is teaching natural selection “a mass-mind tool of financial interests”?”
Some listening suggestions to help pass time in quarantine:
Continue reading “Music Reviews #2”
It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything here. I have been mostly preoccupied with the COVID-19 pandemic, and the measures we have had to take to prevent its spread, as I suspect you have been as well. However, yesterday was a lovely spring day so my wife and I decided to take a bike ride to one of our favourite spots in the city: Tommy Thompson Park, located on the Leslie Street Spit. (While observing physical distancing precautions, of course.)
Continue reading “The resilience of nature: Toronto’s Leslie Street Spit”
Are science and religion compatible with one another? More specifically: Can one accept the scientific fact that human beings are the result of the 4 billion year process of evolution in which we share common ancestry with all other organisms that inhabit the earth, and at the same time believe the Biblical and Quranic accounts according to which we are all descended from a single couple who were directly created by God? For many the answer is an unequivocal “No”. This includes the members of creationist organizations such as Answers in Genesis, the Institute for Creation Research and the Discovery Institute who try to discredit the theory of evolution in favour of the belief that humans are a special creation of God. On the other side are atheist scientists such as Richard Dawkins, Jerry Coyne and PZ Myers who argue that acceptance of scientific ideas like evolution renders belief in God untenable.
However, there remains a number of people who take an in-between position. In fact, I suspect a majority of people, professional scientists and laypersons alike, simply hold to their religious beliefs (or lack thereof) with little or no thought given to how these relate to the scientific principles which they accept. But there exist a group of people, often referred to as theistic evolutionists or evolutionary creationists, who are equally as devoted to theism as they are to science and actively work to create a reconciliation between the two.
Panpsychism is the idea that mental properties are not restricted to humans and other organisms with highly developed nervous systems, nor even to living things. Rather, according to panpsychism consciousness is a property of everything in the natural world. That is to say, in addition to possessing physical properties such as mass, energy and charge, every constituent of the natural world also possesses mental properties.
Continue reading “Is panpsychism as crazy as it sounds?”