"I hate your opinions, but I would die to defend your right to express them." This famous quote by the 18th-century philosopher Voltaire applies to the debate currently raging in Ohio. The Board of Education is discussing whether to include alternate theories of evolution in the classroom. Some board members however, are opposed to Voltaire's defense of rational inquiry and intellectual tolerance. They are seeking to prohibit different theories other than Darwinism, from being taught to students. This threatens freedom of thought and academic excellence.
Today, the Board of Education will discuss a proposal to insert "intelligent
design" alongside evolution in the state's new teaching standards.
Supporters for a change in teaching standards want the board to include the
idea that living things could have been "designed" in some meaningful
way. Sen. Ted Kennedy, Massachusetts Democrat, approves of having alternate
theories taught in the classroom. He believes children should be "able
to speak and examine various scientific theories on the basis of all information
that is available to them so they can talk about different concepts and do it
intelligently with the best information that is before them."
The theory of intelligent design, which predates ancient Greece, contends that nature shows tangible signs of having been created by a pre-existing intelligence. This is in contrast to Charles Darwin's theory, which assumes all physical and material reality has gradually evolved through pure chance and natural selection, whereby the fittest members of each species survive and reproduce.
Critics of intelligent design, such as the newly formed Ohio Citizens for Science,
claim that intelligent design is not a viable scientific theory and should not
be taught in the classroom. They fear it is creationism in disguise, and hence,
propagates religion in public schools. Despite a recent poll that shows overwhelming
support for including the theory in the new teaching standards, these critics
continue to resist its adoption.
This opposition to intelligent design is surprising since there is an increasing
body of theoretical and scientific evidence that suggests an alternate theory
is possible. Research has shown that the odds that even one small protein molecule
has been created by chance is 1 in a billion. Thus, some larger force or intelligence,
or what some call agent causation, seems like a viable cause for creating information
systems such as the coding of DNA. A number of scientists contend that alternate
theories regarding the origins of the human species including that of
a greater intelligence are possible.
Therefore, intelligent design is a legitimate scientific theory that should
be taught in science classes.
Yet, opponents of intelligent design contend that by including the theory in
the new teaching standards, the separation of church and state will be weakened.
This is false. Proponents of intelligent design are not trying to teach religion
via science, but are trying to establish the validity of their theory as a scientific
alternative to Darwinism.
Students should be taught a variety of viewpoints in the classroom. Dissenting
theories should not be repressed, but discussed openly. To do otherwise is to
violate intellectual freedom. Such efforts at censorship abrogate critical thinking
and will ultimately thwart scientific progress.
Stifling freedom of discussion is wrong because it undermines the pursuit of
truth and the presentation of different points of view, which should be the
primary goal of education.
In order to protect intellectual freedom in the classroom from the dangers of political correctness, I drafted an amendment to an education bill that emphasizes how students studying controversial issues in science, such as biological evolution, should be allowed to learn about competing interpretations. Teachers have a constitutional right to teach scientific controversies so long as the discussion is about science, not religion or philosophy. Teachers must teach these theories, even if some believe they have religious or philosophical implications. There is no reason to ignore or trivialize scientific issues involving controversial theories, regardless of their implications for religion or philosophy.
The bipartisan amendment was adopted 91-8 by the Senate. It was strongly supported by both Republicans and Democrats. In short, the conviction that students should be taught alternate scientific points of view, no matter how controversial, is not a conservative or liberal position; rather, it is a pro-education, pro-learning position that champions excellence in the classroom.
At the beginning of the year, President Bush signed into law the "No Child Left Behind" bill. The new law includes a science education provision where Congress states that "where topics are taught that may generate controversy (such as biological evolution), the curriculum should help students to understand the full range of scientific views that exist." If the Education Board of Ohio does not include intelligent design in the new teaching standards, many students will be denied a first-rate science education. Many will be left behind.
File Date: 03.21.02