June
16, 2006
To Members
of Congress:
We,
the authors and editor of Intelligent Thought, are sending
you a copy of the book in hopes that you will consider its message. The
book is largely about Intelligent Design (ID), the latest incarnation
of creationism. ID is a movement that threatens American science
education and with it American economic predominance and credibility.
The
recent federal court decision in Dover, Pennsylvania found that
ID was not a scientific theory, but a form of religion in disguise. Judge
John Jones III, a churchgoing Republican appointed by President
Bush, concluded that teaching this doctrine in the public schools
represents both bad education and an unconstitutional violation
of the First Amendment. President Bush’s science advisor,
John H. Marburger, has affirmed that ‘evolution is the cornerstone
of modern biology’ and ‘intelligent design is not a
scientific concept.’ And Newt Gingrich has stated that
ID has nothing to do with science and shouldn’t be taught
in science courses.’
Reason
and law triumphed in Dover. But ID and its spinoffs continue
to threaten American education by ignoring the massive evidence
for evolution—the central principle that unites all the biological
sciences— and by substituting adherence to religious dogma
for the scientific method.
Our
country cannot afford substandard science teaching. Indeed, a national
science test just administered by the Department of Education showed
a decade-long erosion of scientific proficiency among American
high school seniors. We won’t cure this problem by
questioning scientifically established facts (evolution) and theories
(natural selection) and replacing them with unsupported conjectures
based on faith.
The
controversy over ID vs. evolution is not a scientific controversy. Every
scientific body in the US has opposed ID and affirmed the reality
of evolution. The “controversy” is about whether sectarian
religious views should be taught in the science classroom. Most
theologians readily accept evolution, finding it compatible with
their faith. In 1996, Pope John Paul II officially endorsed
evolution, and even with a recent change in Vatican leadership,
the Catholic Church’s position has remained unchanged.
As
the world grows more complex, and we face scientific challenges
such as addressing global warming, developing sustainable energy
sources, and preventing the spread of pandemics, it is critical
that America remain in the forefront of science. And the
key to our preeminence is education. The study of evolution has
practical benefits: it is the basis for breeding food crops,
choosing animal models that can be used to treat human disorders,
conserving species and their habitats, predicting which vaccines
should be made to prepare for epidemics like avian flu, and manufacturing
those vaccines. Science education that incorporates unscientific
issues like ID is a sure path to America’s failure against
competing countries. Conversely, given its importance for biology
and for science in general, evolution deserves to be properly taught
in American classrooms.
Respectfully
yours,
Scott
Atran
Centre
Nationale de la Recherche Scientifique
Paris,
Department
of Psychology
University
of Michigan
John
Brockman
Publisher
and Editor
Edge (www.edge.org)
New
York City
Jerry
Coyne
Department
of Ecology and Evolution
The
University of Chicago
Richard
Dawkins
Oxford
University Museum
Daniel
Dennett
Center
for Cognitive Studies
Tufts
University
Marc
D. Hauser
Departments
of Psychology and Organismal and Evolutionary Biology
Harvard
University
Nicholas
Humphrey
London
School of Economics
London,
UK
Stuart
Kauffman
The
Institute for Biocomplexity and Informatics
The
University of Calgary,
The
Santa Fe Institute
Santa
Fe, New Mexico
Seth
Lloyd
Department
of Mechanical Engineering
Massachusetts
Institute of Techology
Steven
Pinker
Department
of Psychology
Harvard
University
Lisa
Randall
Department
of Physics
Harvard
University
Scott
Sampson
Utah
Museum of Natural History and
Department
of Geology and Geophysics
University
of Utah
Neil
Shubin
Department
of Organismal Biology and Anatomy
The
University of Chicago,
The
Field Museum, Chicago
Lee
Smolin
Perimeter
Institute for Theoretical Physics
Waterloo,
Ontario, Canada
Frank
Sulloway
Institute
for Personality and Social Research
The
University of California, Berkeley
Leonard
Susskind
Department
of Physics
Stanford
University
Tim
White
Department
of Integrative Biology and
Human
Evolution Research Center
The
University of California at Berkeley |
