 |
||||||||
|
2/01/2003 02:12:00 PM | Brad Plumer More on Dini's Papal bull... Mr. Eisenman, the pope said this about evolution: “If the origin of the human body comes through living matter which existed previously, the spiritual soul is created directly by God.' Evolutionary teaching that regards the human spirit as `emerging from the forces of living matter, or as an epiphenomenon of that matter, are incompatible with the truth about man.” That doesn’t sound like truthful and forthright affirmation to me. That sounds like hedging. I bet Dini would deny His Holiness a letter of recommendation. Anyways, here are some other problems with Dini’s “stance.” First off, a student must earn an A in one of Dini’s classes (which presumably focus on evolution) simply to be eligible for a recommendation. That means the student has proved him/herself adept at understanding and using the theories of evolution. Does it really matter that the student believes the whole thing is bunk, as long as he or she understands it thoroughly and knows how to use it? There are a lot of scholars who study ancient Greek philosophy for a living. I bet most of them aren’t all devout Platonists. Does that affect their ability to do work? Dini supposes that no one could ever do work that contradicts their innermost beliefs, that human beings cannot think in different contextual frames. Um, wrong. And if he thinks that religious beliefs are the only potential sources for bias in science, then he is both resoundingly arrogant and sadly mistaken. Yes, a creationist at heart may let his/her beliefs seep into his/her work, causing bias and error. That could happen to someone who believes in capitalism. Or the vanity of human nature. Or Democrats. But scientists deal with it. Although, now that I think about it, who says that believing in creationism is necessarily an absolute hindrance when it comes to science? Some of the best writers on Marxism think Marxism is total crap, and that counterdogma helps sharpen their thinking. I agree that no one has ever offered scientific proof for creationism. Well, here’s another question: have any creationists ever made advances in evolutionary theory? The answer is yes! Check out this book, or this one. Both written by creationists, and both apparently valuable contributions to the study of evolution. So Dini’s blanket dismissal of personal beliefs is blind. And finally, I too have heard the claims that creationist doctors harm patients by misunderstanding the nature of pathogenic evolution. But I have seen very little evidence towards this end. Mr. Alessandroni, if you can prove your claim, do so. perma link |
| 0 comments
0 Comments: |
Dartmouth The Free Press Alums for Social Change The Green Magazine The Dartmouth Dartmouth Observer Dartmouth Review Dartlog Inner Office The Little Green Blog Welton Chang's Blog Vox in Sox MN Publius (Matthew Martin) Netblitz Dartmouth Official News Other Blogs Ampersand Atrios Arts & Letters Altercation Body and Soul Blog For America Brad DeLong Brad Plumer CalPundit Campus Nonsense Clarksphere Crooked Timber Cursor Daily Kos Dean Nation Dan Drezner The Front Line Instapundit Interesting Times Is That Legal? Talking Points Memo Lady-Likely Lawrence Lessig Lean Left Left2Right Legal Theory Matthew Yglesias Ms. Musings MWO Nathan Newman New Republic's &c. Not Geniuses Ornicus Oxblog Pandagon Political State Report Political Theory Daily Review Queer Day Roger Ailes SCOTUS blog Talk Left TAPPED Tacitus This Modern World Tough Democrat Untelevised Volokh Conspiracy Washington Note X. & Overboard Magazines, Newspapers and Journals Boston Globe Ideas Boston Review Chronicle of Higher Education Common Dreams Dissent In These Times Mother Jones New York Review of Books New York Times Salon Slate The American Prospect The Nation The New Republic The Progressive Tikkun Tom Paine Village Voice Washington Monthly Capitol Hill Media ABC's The Note American Journalism Review Columbia Journalism Review CQ Daily Howler Donkey Rising The Hill Medianews National Journal NJ Hotline NJ Wake-up call NJ Early Bird NJ Weekly Political Wire Roll Call Spinsanity Search Search the DFP  |
|||||||
The opinions expressed here are not necessarily those of Dartmouth College or the Dartmouth Free Press.