Re: [asa] Quoting Evolution [was Darwin] out of context

Gregory Arago wrote:

> At the same time you educate people about evolutionary theories in
> biology, geology, zoology, chemistry, and other natural sciences (a
> legitimate endeavour), what do you do about the prevalence of
> evolutionary theories in psychology, anthropology, sociology,
> economics, political science and philosophy? Do you just disregard
> them or say they are illegitimate, that they do not use 'true'
> definitions of evolution?

I see that my previous post probably missed the point you were
making. I would say that MN is descriptive of the natural and
physical sciences. Other disciplines examine aspects of what it
means to be human that enter the realm of values, meaning, and
morality. These enter into areas that transcend the ability of the
natural and physical sciences to address. However, I would contend
that no discipline of knowledge, other than revelation, can confirm
or test the existence or action of the supernatural. Other
disciplines, such as those you list, can investigate the evolution of
culture (including ideas of meaning, value, religion, etc), but they
cannot test or demonstrate the supernatural realities believed by
those cultures. Evolution is a valid term that can be applied to a
wide range of disciplines -- but carrying concepts from one
discipline to another needs to be done with caution. Certain
techniques (such as statistical analysis) also are employed in a wide
range of disciplines -- and these give some unity of method to
different disciplines. But again, this does not mean that
disciplines do not have their own unique area of inquiry and their
unique set of possible questions and answers.

Keith

Keith B. Miller
Research Assistant Professor
Dept of Geology, Kansas State University
Manhattan, KS 66506-3201
785-532-2250
http://www-personal.ksu.edu/~kbmill/

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Received on Tue Aug 22 11:07:24 2006