Evolution is a central concept that unifies all areas of life sciences. Despite longstanding scientific efforts in science education, the public's scientific awareness of evolution still needs to improve. Furthermore, teaching evolution is subject to recurring controversy. This study aimed to investigate the gap between public understanding of…

Is good reasoning in the moral domain different from its counterpart in non-moral domains? What counts as a good moral argument, or a valid moral assertion or claim? What does 'validity' mean in the moral realm? Lots of ink has been spilled on these and related questions in the past few decades, but not much has been settled. In what follows I…

Since its origination in the late 19th Century, the warfare metaphor has been used to characterize the relationship between science and religion, especially orthodox Christianity. Though thoroughly discredited by historians of science, the ideological descendants of Thomas Huxley, who spoke of science in quasi-religious terms, have kept the…

In this paper the author examines the question of whether evolution is a theory or a dogma. He refutes the contention that there is a monolithic scientific conspiracy to present evolution as dogma and suggests that his own presentation might be more appropriately entitled "Creationism: Theory or Dogma." (PEB)

This paper is linked to the theme History and Philosophy of Science. The Evolution and creation science controversy is now in the general public's arena and poses a challenge for school science. The paper begins by briefly describing the current situation concerning this issue in Australia and the United States of America. In the subject Biology,…

This paper addresses the effects of the controversies involved in one state's decision to exclude the study of evolution from its science curriculum and to require equal time for creationism as an alternative theory. Curricula and textbooks are examined for the impacts of evolutionary and creationist controversies. The controversy is discussed…

The 1925 Scopes trial and H. L. Mencken's published opinions about it provides an excellent example for both scholar and student alike to study issues of free speech, justice, publicity, public relations, and cutting journalistic writing. "Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes was a Mencken extravaganza; he gave the trial its derisive name and…

The Scopes trial of 1925 drew many reporters to Dayton, Tennessee, to report on what they expected would be the final blow to ignorant fundamentalism. They came with many preconceived notions about Dayton, the people of Dayton, William Jennings Bryan, and creationism. Close examination of pretrial, trial, and posttrial coverage in eight…

This study: (1) comprehensively reviews previous research on the treatment of evolution in high school biology textbooks; (2) describes the treatment of evolutionary theory, including mention of creationist explanations of the development of life forms, in the most recent editions of 15 high school biology textbooks from the major publishers; and…

The world is dominated by the technological applications of scientific ideas and by the naturalistic empirical way of thinking characteristic of science. Also in this world, many people rightfully place great importance on their faith in a supernatural being and their membership in a church. The U.S. is a highly pluralistic society represented by…

An anonymous 12-item, multiple-choice questionnaire was administered to 218 southern college, introductory zoology students prior to and following a study of evolutionary theory to assess their understanding and acceptance of the credibility of the evidence supporting the theory. Key topics addressed were the history of evolutionary thought, basic…

The ten papers in this document were presented at a week-long institute in 1982 and are published now because of concerns about recurring threats to intellectual freedom and First Amendment rights. Included are: (1) "Intellectual Freedom: The First Amendment and the Right To Know" (Dennis Day); (2) "How Conflicting Values Result in…

The two religion clauses of the First Amendment of the Constitution clearly declared the objectives of the framers, toleration and separation, but the means whereby these objectives were to be achieved were left to be decided through the dynamic processes of the courts. The history of these two clauses reveals that Americans are still seeking to…

Three principles concerning children's intellectual rights are proposed and discussed. The principles are: (1) intellectual rights of children include access to ideas and freedom of expression; (2) denial of rights on the basis of lack of competence requires empirical justification; and (3) denial of rights on the basis of lack of competence…

The mandate to teach the theory of evolution and evolution-related concepts in biology and other appropriate science classes in public schools is relatively clear in 31 states and the District of Columbia. In the most recent state legislative sessions, some legislators made attempts to use the legislative processes to restrict the teaching of…