"INTELLIGENT DESIGN" ATTACKS KNOWLEDGE ITSELF

From Mother Jones:

Which brings us to the last "phenomenon," the teachings of the bible. This evidence is inherently unscientific in that it has nothing to do with phenomena. There are no data or empirical observations that could in principle come into conflict with the claim of biblical truth.

And this is the scary part of the evolution-creationism debate. It is not about a particular set of ideas, with each one being tested for validity; it is about whether we should discount the scientific method on which modern society rests. It is about whether we should abandon skepticism, use of evidence, and the willingness to modify one's ideas in light of evidence.

It seems that our education system has produced a citizenry that would be as comfortable if their children debated how many angels could dance on the head of pin in science class rather than whether continental drift is a plausible theory.

The foundation of modern civilization in the United States appears to under attack, with a majority out of touch not simply with contemporary science but with the method of knowing that undergirds science.

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I've written numerous times about how the public school system is far less about learning and knowledge than it is about indoctrinating America's children into the elites' preferred culture of obedience and authority, so it's no surprise to me that so many Americans are not hostile to the idea of teaching "intelligent design" in biology classes right alongside the theory of evolution. The bottom line is that a vast segment of the population is educationally ill equipped as far as being able to distinguish fact from opinion--the easily believed lies supporting the US invasion of Iraq are a ready example, but there are about a billion other examples as well.

I remember the times evolution came up as a topic of conversation with my high school students. Generally, the position I advocated was that science is one way of understanding reality, and the Bible is another: without trashing the Bible's validity, I pointed out that, while they don't have to agree with everything they are taught, students do have to understand science, and using religion-based arguments to dismiss evolution in class is entirely missing the point of studying biology. So, too, with the evolution "debate" taking place nationally. Teaching "intelligent design" in a science class goes waaay outside of what science actually is. That is, it blurs the distinction between these two philosophies of reality, religion and science. "Intelligent design" makes much more sense in a general philosophy or comparitive religions class, but absolutely not in a science class; "intelligent design" is just not science, and pretending that it is does a disservice to the entire country and every individual in it. Indeed, it muddies the waters of reality itself, and that's kind of creepy.

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