Re: [asa] Ken Miller: Evolangelist

On 11/30/07, Rich Blinne <rich.blinne@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
> Ken Miller said:
>
> > Q. On the second page of that under the 30-2 subheading, it has in bold
> > "Evolution is random and undirected." Do you see that?
> >
> > A. Yes, I do.
> >
> > Q. Is that a scientific statement or philosophical statement?
> >
> > A. I took an oath to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the
> > truth, and I will tell you the truth, which is I think that's a
> > philosophical statement, and I don't think it belongs in the book.
> >
>
Some more on this from Miller's web site (
http://www.millerandlevine.com/km/evol/disclaimer.html):

> [Alabama Disclaimer:]Evolution also refers to the unproven belief that
> random, undirected forces produced a world of living things.
>
>
> This statement is false on two accounts. Evolution is not a "random"
> process, and to characterize it as such seriously misleads students. Natural
> selection, the most important force driving evolutionary change, is not
> random at all, but an observable, verifiable process that fine-tunes
> variation in populations of a species to the demands of the environment in
> which they live. It is true, of course, that variation in a species arises
> from sources such as mutation and sexual recombination, which are inherently
> unpredictable. Therefore evolution, like any historical process, can be
> influenced by random forces.
>
> But a larger problem with this statement is the attribution to evolution
> of an idea outside of science. Whether evolution is "undirected" or
> "directed" is a matter of theology or philosophy, not of science. Writers of
> the disclaimer wish students, most of whom are religious, to believe that
> acceptance of evolution is incompatible with faith. This is demonstrably
> false: far too many scientists (and clergy) accept both evolution and a God
> who creates through evolution. Students should not be taught the evolution
> equates with atheism, and, incredibly, that is exactly what this portion of
> the disclaimer says.

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Received on Fri Nov 30 13:21:37 2007