Regardless whether one is talking about these examples or about the Kenyon
episode, teaching something that is not advertised or that does not properly
belongs in a course, borders on ethical malpractice, in my mind. It is a
type of "bait-and-switch" scam that can be used to indoctrinate rather than
to teach. But the context in which the "offense" is made is important.
Let me explain how I deal with such issues in my teaching. I teach PhD
students molecular biology, but I feel that there is much more to science
than what they receive in these technically oriented classes. However, I
feel that it would be inappropriate to spend time in my molecular biology
class on issues of scientific integrity, the limits of science,
non-empirical ways of knowing, etc (e.g., many of the issues that recently
have been raised on this reflector). So, I invite the class to meet with me
one evening a week where we open the discussion to these topics. We even
explore the possibility of the existence of God and how it might affect
one's approach to science. Here I use my own belief in God as an
illustration. If I did this in my molecular biology classroom, I could
feasibly face the same fate of Kenyon--and perhaps rightly so. On the other
hand, in the format in which I do this, the university can exert no
influence. In fact if I developed a class around the philosophy of science,
I could easily teach on the junction between religion and science with no
problem from the university.
So, any problem with what Kenyon or Provine do in their classes, needs to be
viewed in the context of what they are supposed to be teaching.
Steve
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Steven S. Clark, Ph.D. Phone: (608) 263-9137
Associate Professor FAX: (608) 263-4226
Dept. of Human Oncology and email: ssclark@facstaff.wisc.edu
UW Comprehensive Cancer Ctr
University of Wisconsin
Madison, WI 53792
"Now how does one alter the charge on the niobium ball? 'Well at that
stage', said my friend, 'we spray it with positrons to increase the charge
or with electrons to decrease the charge.' From that day forth I've been
a scientific realist. So far as I'm concerned, if you can spray them then
they are real". Ian Hacking, Representing and Intervening, 1983
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