>No need to put it in caps. I did not claim that *you said* that the virtual
>consensus of EBs affirm the undirectedness of evolution. I take it as a fact
>that
>at least 98% of EBs would affirm that evolution is undirected. However, Doug
>Hayworth pointed out this morning that there is an ambiguity in the question
>which might artificially inflate that number. Yet, even if the survey question
>distinguished between (1) undirected by the population themselves and (2)
>undirected by a transcendent intelligent agent, I still believe that at least
>90%
>of EBs would say that evolution is undirected by a transcendent intelligent
>agent.
One further distinction may be important, namely does the respondent
believe that it is undirected versus believing that evolution represents a
challenge to the idea of a transcendent intelligent agent. Steve Gould and
Eugenie Scott both acknowledge the compatibility of theistic faith and
evolution despite their own personal views.
I do not know of any specific survey aimed at the question. The number of
people expressing a theistic view at the Paleontological Society short
course on evolution and creation last fall would suggest that the
percentage is a lot lower, but this is clearly not adequate evidence.
Exactly whom you consider to be an evolutionary biologist would have some
effect, though I think unlikely to make the percentage near your estimate.
David C.
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