Re: Can you be objectivea about evolution?

Steve Clark (ssclark@facstaff.wisc.edu)
Tue, 16 Apr 1996 21:39:55 -0500

James wrote:
>> I also disagree with your feeling that only biologists are capable of
>> understanding and evaluating the evidence. I also wonder if it is even
>> possible to obtain an advanced degree in biology without agreeing with the
>> standard Darwinian paradigm. [...]

Frankly, this would be quite simple in many subdisciplines of biology. I
can't remember ever sitting on a PhD dissertation committee and hearing
anything about evolution. In my field, evolution, at most, only gets
passing reference in published papers, and this is a rarity. Evolution is
not terribly relevant to much research, especially in medical fields.
Thus, because they never come up, viewpoints about evolution are often not
the acid test of naturalistic orthodoxy as some would believe. On the other
hand, I have seen the creationist orthodoxy required in a church
constitution--and then there is Terry Gray's experience.

Steve

__________________________________________________________________________
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

"To disdain philosophy is really to be a philosopher." Blaise Pascal, Pensees
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