NCSE Evolution and Climate Education Update for 2013/12/13
Submitted by Peter Burns on Fri, 2013-12-13 16:44.
National Center for Science Education
(by NCSE Deputy Director Glenn Branch)
Dear friends of NCSE, Encouraging news from Texas with regard to the textbook adoption process. A reminder about NCSE's Grand Canyon excursion for 2014. Edward T. Oakes, a Catholic theologian publicly critical of "intelligent design," is dead. And a preview of Henry Gee's The Accidental Species.
ENCOURAGING NEWS FROM TEXAS When the Texas state board of education gave its final approval to all of the proposed textbooks for high school biology and environmental science courses at its November 22, 2013, meeting, there was a loose end. As NCSE previously reported, the board quarreled about whether to heed a review panel's criticisms of Kenneth R. Miller and Joseph Levine's popular biology textbook, published by Pearson, but decided to adopt it, contingent on the outcome of a further review by a panel of three outside experts. The names of the experts have now been divulged, and, as NCSE's Joshua Rosenau commented at the Science League of America blog (December 11, 2013), "it'll take about 5 minutes for them to dismiss the claims leveled against Pearson's Biology." The reviewers are Ronald Wetherington, a professor of anthropology at Southern Methodist University and a recipient of NCSE's Friend of Darwin award; Arturo De Lozanne, a professor of molecular, cell, and developmental biology at the University of Texas, Austin; and Vincent Cassone, a professor of biology at the University of Kentucky (and formerly at Texas A&M University). All three have a history of defending the teaching of evolution in the public schools; Wetherington in fact already debunked the panel's criticism of Miller and Levine's textbook. According to the Texas Freedom Network (December 11, 2013), “Decisions about whether [the panel's] objections are based on valid science will be determined by a majority vote of the three science experts.” The reviewers were appointed by three members of the board. Sue Melton-Malone selected Ronald Wetherington, Martha Dominguez selected Arturo De Lozanne, and Barbara Cargill, who chairs the board, selected Vincent Cassone. Since Cargill was involved in previous efforts to undermine the teaching of evolution in Texas, it was a surprise that she selected a reviewer who, as NCSE's Rosenau notes, is on the record as asserting, "The theory of evolution is the fundamental backbone of all biological research." But as the Texas Freedom Network commented, "Her reasons for appointing Cassone are not clear, but we applaud her decision to choose a true expert in the field." The reviewers are expected to complete their work by the end of the year. For Rosenau's and the TFN's reports, visit: http://ncse.com/blog/2013/12/texas-creationists-beware-posse-s-comin-0015244 http://tfninsider.org/2013/12/11/even-more-good-news-on-the-texas-science-textbooks/ For Wetherington's response to the panel's criticism, visit: http://tfninsider.org/2013/09/24/smu-prof-tears-apart-official-texas-review-of-leading-biology-textbook/ For the TFN's report on Cargill's antievolution activity, visit: http://tfninsider.org/2013/02/05/told-you-so-texas-ed-board-chair-wants-science-textbooks-to-teach-another-side-on-evolution/ And for NCSE's previous coverage of events in Texas, visit: http://ncse.com/news/texas NCSE AND THE GRAND CANYON 2014 Explore the Grand Canyon with NCSE! Reservations are still available for NCSE's next excursion to the Grand Canyon -- as featured in the documentary No Dinosaurs in Heaven. From July 3 to July 11, 2014, NCSE will again explore the wonders of creation and evolution on a Grand Canyon river run conducted by NCSE's Genie Scott, Steve Newton, and Josh Rosenau. Because this is an NCSE trip, we offer more than just the typically grand float down the Canyon, the spectacular scenery, fascinating natural history, brilliant night skies, exciting rapids, delicious meals, and good company. It is, in fact, a unique "two-model" raft trip, on which we provide both the creationist view of the Grand Canyon (maybe not entirely seriously) and the evolutionist view -- and let you make up your own mind. To get a glimpse of the fun, watch the short videos filmed during the 2011 trip, posted on NCSE's YouTube channel. The cost of the excursion is $2550; a deposit of $500 will hold your spot. Seats are limited: call, write, or e-mail now. For further information about the excursion, visit: http://ncse.com/about/excursions/gcfaq For information about No Dinosaurs in Heaven, visit: http://www.nodinos.com/ For NCSE's YouTube channel, visit: http://www.youtube.com/NatCen4ScienceEd And for contact information for NCSE, visit: http://ncse.com/contact EDWARD T. OAKES DIES The Catholic theologian Edward T. Oakes, S.J., died on December 6, 2013, at the age of 65, according to the Catholic News Agency (December 6, 2013). A fierce critic of "intelligent design" creationism, especially in his essays and reviews in the popular press, Oakes was known among scholars primarily for his work on theology, such as Pattern of Redemption: The Theology of Hans Urs von Balthasar (Continuum, 1997) and Infinity Dwindled to Infancy: A Catholic and Evangelical Christology (Eerdmans, 2011). Speaking to the independent Catholic news agency Zenit in 2005, Oakes was happy to endorse evolution in the sense of descent with modification and natural selection as a driving force in evolution, while insisting "that doesn't mean that any of the conclusions that so many boring positivists draw from evolution is true." He also told Zenit that the "intelligent design" movement "conflates the Thomistic distinction between primary and secondary causality. The advocates of this movement claim that if it can be proved scientifically that God must intervene on occasion to get various species up and running, then this will throw the atheist Darwinians into a panicked rout." He added, "I disagree. My view is that, according to St. Thomas, secondary causality can be allowed full rein without threatening God's providential oversight of the world." Reviewing Phillip Johnson's The Wedge of Truth in First Things in 2007, Oakes lambasted the theological inadequacies of the "intelligent design" position: "Who, pray tell, is this artificer? The God of Genesis 1-3? Visitors from outer space expert in cell engineering? David Hume's clumsy craftsman who botched the job? Malign Sartrean gods who, to paraphrase Gloucester's lament in King Lear, kill us for their sport as wanton boys do to flies?" Johnson and a host of his allies responded in a subsequent issue, and Oakes replied in turn, dismissing the underpinnings of "intelligent design" by saying, "Paley did far more damage to nineteenth-century Christianity than Friedrich Nietzsche ever managed to do to twentieth-century religion." Oakes was born in Kansas City, Missouri, on May 18, 1948. He entered the Society of Jesus in 1966 and was ordained a priest in 1979. He attended St. Louis University, from which he received his BA in 1971 and his MA in 1976, both in philosophy; the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley, California, from which he received his MDiv in scripture in 1979; and the Union Theological Seminary, from which he received his PhD in theology in 1987. He taught at New York University, Regis University, and the University of Saint Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary in Chicago. For the Catholic News Agency's story, visit: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/jesuit-theologian-remembered-for-scholarship-joyfulness/ For Zenit's interview with Oakes, visit: http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/evolution-in-the-eyes-of-the-church-part-1 http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/evolution-in-the-eyes-of-the-church-part-2 For Oakes's review of The Wedge of Truth and the ensuing exchange, visit: http://www.firstthings.com/article/2007/01/the-wedge-of-truth--splitting-the-foundations-of-naturalism-11 http://www.firstthings.com/article/2007/01/edward-t-oakes-and-his-critics-an-exchange-36 A GLIMPSE OF THE ACCIDENTAL SPECIES NCSE is pleased to offer a free preview of Henry Gee's The Accidental Species: Misunderstandings of Human Evolution (University of Chicago Press, 2013). The preview consists of chapter 2, "All about Evolution," in which Gee introduces natural selection ("All it requires to work are four things, three of which are readily apparent with eyes to see") and evolution in the sense of descent with modification ("in which life itself would from simple beginnings become more diverse, elaborate, and complex"). Carl Zimmer writes, "With a delightfully irascible sense of humor, Henry Gee reflects on our origin and all the misunderstanding that we impose on it. The Accidental Species is an excellent primer on how -- and how not -- to think about human evolution." Gee is senior editor for biological sciences at Nature; his previous books include In Search of Deep Time: Beyond the Fossil Record to a New History of Life (Free Press, 1999) and Jacob's Ladder: The History of the Human Genome (W. W. Norton, 2004). For the preview of The Accidental Species (PDF), visit: http://ncse.com/book-excerpt For information about the book from its publisher, visit: http://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/A/bo12789718.html WHAT'S NEW FROM THE SCIENCE LEAGUE OF AMERICA Have you been visiting NCSE's blog, The Science League of America, recently? If not, then you've missed: * Josh Rosenau investigating the psychological genesis of creationism: http://ncse.com/blog/2013/12/where-do-creationists-come-from-0015227 * Glenn Branch debunking creationist misuse of a passage from James Bryant Conant: http://ncse.com/blog/2013/12/conant-barbarian-part-1-0015215 http://ncse.com/blog/2013/12/conant-barbarian-part-2-0015216 * Peter Hess pondering a puzzling papal pronouncement: http://ncse.com/blog/2013/12/pope-benedict-science-fiction-evolving-universe-0015226 And much more besides! For The Science League of America, visit: http://ncse.com/blog Thanks for reading. And don't forget to visit NCSE's website -- http://ncse.com -- where you can always find the latest news on evolution and climate education and threats to them. -- Sincerely, Glenn Branch Deputy Director National Center for Science Education, Inc. 420 40th Street, Suite 2 Oakland, CA 94609-2509 510-601-7203 x305 fax: 510-601-7204 800-290-6006 branch@ncse.com http://ncse.com Check out NCSE's new blog, Science League of America: http://ncse.com/blog Read Reports of the NCSE on-line: http://reports.ncse.com Subscribe to NCSE's free weekly e-newsletter: http://groups.google.com/group/ncse-news NCSE is on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter: http://www.facebook.com/evolution.ncse http://www.youtube.com/NatCen4ScienceEd http://twitter.com/ncse NCSE's work is supported by its members. Join today! http://ncse.com/join
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