Noted educator defends evolution

The recent push in some states to incorporate the teaching of "intelligent design" into public school science curricula has brought the old debate of creationism versus evolution into a new light.\nIntelligent design is the belief that the development of life on earth is too complicated to be explained by nature and therefore can be better explained as the design of a higher, supernatural power. It has recently been proposed as an addition to some state science curricula, such as Kansas and Pennsylvania, according to The Associated Press. Supporters say this theory should be taught alongside evolution in public school classrooms.\nEugenie C. Scott addressed this issue Wednesday night at the IU Auditorium in a lecture titled "The Pillars of Creationism and the Teaching of Evolution."\nScott, director of the National Center for Science Education and author of "Creationism and Evolution: An Introduction," refuted the arguments against evolution and argued that science and religion do not necessarily have to be incompatible in her discussion of the theories of evolution, creationism and intelligent design.\n"The debate between evolution and creationism is not a dichotomy," Scott told a crowd of hundreds. "On the contrary, there is a creation and evolution continuum. There are intermediate positions ranging from one extreme to another, and actually most American Christians are somewhere in between."\nProponents of the incorporation of intelligent design into the science curricula of public schools argue that the introduction of both the theory of evolution and the theory of intelligent design is more fair than an evolution-based curriculum because it exposes students to more than one idea, said Scott. \nBut she disagreed. The incorporation of religion into the intelligent design theory makes it inappropriate for science classes, she said.\n"When it comes right down to it, science is not a democratic process," Scott said. "When it comes right down to it, it is a highly discriminative process. We cheerfully discriminate against those ideas that don't work."\nScott went on to say that religion deserves more educational attention, but not in public school science classrooms.\nThe lecture attracted students of different majors with different questions in mind. \nZain Zaidi, a freshman majoring in biology, was previously unsure of how evolution fit into his faith.\n"The speaker brought up reasons why evolution can be accepted by religious people and the scientific community," Zaidi said. "She cleared up several questions about the validity of evolution."\nScott will speak again at 4 p.m. today in Myers Hall 130. This lecture will be part of the Joan Wood Lecture series and is titled "Tracking Those Incredible Creationists: Adventures as a Public Scientist"