Expelled part 1
Expelled part 2
Ben Stein, presidential speechwriter turned celebrity, is looking into the academic study of evolution and intelligent design. If all of these cases in the videos are true, it seems as if alternate theories to that of evolution are often not allowed to see the light of day. If they are afforded this chance, the author is dealt with. I would hope that these publications would receive notice and be tested to see if they hold up to scrutiny. I admire Stein's approach to the issue, gathering research about the issue at hand, and then asking the question "What is so bad about ID?" I have not finished the film, but am excited to see where it goes. Hopefully Stein will be as objective as possible. Skepticism should be encouraged about ID as well as evolution, allowing both sides to be weighed equally, letting the evidence decide which view is correct.
Brian:
ReplyDeleteBen Stein is an economist and a good comedian. I regret that I have not seen the movie but let me offer this remark. Knowledge is not determined by popularity: it is determined by argument, evidence, and testing.. The fact that many people subscribe to a view does not mean that that view has credibility. In every domain of knowledge--not just the sciences--there are claims that are not “given the time of day.” There are always individuals who are on the fringe of a discipline. Occasionally fringe ideas become consensus ideas. On very rare occasions the “lone genius,” the “outlier” proves the consensus to be wrong. Knowledge is defined by a consensus of the experts who concluded that particular claims (such as “cold fusion” in physics) have no merit. Geographers no longer give the advocates of a flat earth the time of day. Cosmologists no longer give advocates of egocentrism the time of day. And so it is with particular claims in every academic discipline.
Prof. Hart