Dear Ecolog-Listers: These links may be pertinent:
1. Cultural Cognition project - http://www.culturalcognition.net/kahan/ , http://www.evolutionnews.org/2014/07/yale_law_school087601.html 2. NOVA Video - *Intelligent Design on Trial* - http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/evolution/intelligent-design-trial.html 3. https://blaypublishers.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/leb-31santiago-blay-et-al-pp-33-56-sencerizing.pdf <-- Note least of resources (not comprehensive) towards the end of the paper. Cheers, Jorge On Mon, Jul 6, 2015 at 2:36 AM, Warren Aney <[email protected]> wrote: > Good discussion! My first encounter with this religious/evolution > conflict was in high school many decades ago. I was very intrigued by > science class descriptions of dinosaurs and fossils. During a Sunday > evening youth gathering led by our conservative Presbyterian pastor I asked > him about the difference between the biblical story he was teaching us that > describes creation as a fairly recent event with no mention of much older > dinosaurs and other fossils. His answer: “Those were previous creations > that failed.” My unspoken reaction: “So God made mistakes!” It took me a > long time to recover a religious perspective. Now I am still Presbyterian > and have no trouble talking about evolution with my progressive church > friends. > > I’ve led tours and nature walks and taught church classes that included > evolution-related features. If I thought that an audience might not all > accept evolution, I’ll just use the preface “scientists say…” rather than > disturb them by implying that I was promoting rather than just describing a > viewpoint. And, as described in some of the previous posts, the task of a > class instructor is not to change student beliefs but rather to teach them > the information they need to understand (but not necessarily accept) > scientific principles. > > And evolution is not a “belief” -- it’s a little weak to say “I believe > in evolution” when evolution is a scientific theory that explains, > describes and predicts biological development. We don’t say “I believe in > calculus” but, even if we don’t fully comprehend it, we know that it > provides useful tools and methods for turning numerical information into > reliable facts. > > > > > > > Warren W. Aney > > Senior Wildlife Ecologist > > 9403 SW 74th Ave. > > Tigard, OR 97223 > > (503) 539-1009 > > [email protected] > > > > > > > > *From:* Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news [mailto: > [email protected]] *On Behalf Of *wresetar > *Sent:* 05 July, 2015 12:51 > *To:* [email protected] > > *Subject:* Re: [ECOLOG-L] teaching evolution in ecology courses > > > > You are absolutely correct – it is a sticky wicket. But to the extent > that Christianity as a whole is viewed as a religion, albeit with many > denominations, it is (perhaps – always context dependent) worth at least > dispelling the widespread notion that opposition to evolution is a > universal Christian thing. This is certainly the impression one gets from > many elements of mainstream media, even those that know better. > > > > *William J. Resetarits, Jr.* > > *Professor of Biology *and > > *Henry L. and Grace Doherty Chair in Freshwater Research* > > Department of Biology > > The University of Mississippi > > P.O. Box 1848 > University, MS 38677-1848 > > Phone: (662) 915-5804 > > Fax: (662) 915-6554 > > http://www.olemiss.edu/resetaritslab > > > > *Experiments are only experience carefully planned in advance. * R. A. > Fisher > > > > *You can’t step twice in the same river. * Heraclitus > > > > *From: *Malcolm McCallum <[email protected]> > *Date: *Sunday, July 5, 2015 at 2:40 PM > *To: *William Resetarits <[email protected]> > *Cc: *"[email protected]" <[email protected]> > *Subject: *Re: [ECOLOG-L] teaching evolution in ecology courses > > > > I think the value of what you just mentioned is that most people don't > know that there is no issue with their own religion and evolution. > > > > However, where I was coming from is a step different from that, because > most whose religion have no issue, end up having no issue. > > However, there is a serious risk of the student thinking you are > criticizing their religion, which will literally cause tons of grief. When > you say, plenty of religions have no problem with it, SOME (not all or even > most) will interpret that more like "other religions have no problem, so > what is wrong with yours?" or other sorts of imagined criticisms. Its a > real tight rope with some of the extreme religious views. Also, I suspect > that teh approach you take is going to be very dependent on the kind of > student you are dealing with. I suspect that the students you get at Ole > Miss are significantly more prepared than a open (wide-open) enrollment > university. The approaches to students are completely different. I learned > this going from LSUS to TAMUT to UMKC. At UMKC students largely knew > exactly why they were in school ad how to be their. They were more > prepared, but by NO MEANS were they on average smarter. However, your > approach would have worked well with most of them, I suspect. IF students > have poor academic backgrounds (in attainment or in exposure) their ability > to interpret your motives are also poorly developed. At least that is my > experience. I'm sure others have plenty of other views. > > > > On Sun, Jul 5, 2015 at 2:32 PM, wresetar <[email protected]> wrote: > > While care needs to be taken to avoid seeming confrontational, it may also > be worth pointing out to students, if the issue arises, that even in this > country a large majority of the populace belong to religions that do not > consider their doctrine and the theory of evolution to be incompatible. > http://www.pewforum.org/2009/02/04/religious-groups-views-on-evolution/ > > > > This is true even among the Christian population – so not everyone > considers religion and evolution at odds. I doubt many of those who reject > evolution are remotely aware of this. > > > > Then there is my personal favorite for mainstreaming evolution… Sigh. > http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_U7QmAM2W0g/UVFm9wyrWSI/AAAAAAAAjFg/EzTKrMO7nOg/s1600/DarwinTenPoundNote.jpg > > > > *William J. Resetarits, Jr.* > > *Professor of Biology *and > > *Henry L. and Grace Doherty Chair in Freshwater Research* > > Department of Biology > > The University of Mississippi > > P.O. Box 1848 > University, MS 38677-1848 > > Phone: (662) 915-5804 > > Fax: (662) 915-6554 > > http://www.olemiss.edu/resetaritslab > > > > *Experiments are only experience carefully planned in advance. * R. A. > Fisher > > > > *You can’t step twice in the same river. * Heraclitus > > > > *From: *Malcolm McCallum <[email protected]> > *Reply-To: *Malcolm McCallum <[email protected]> > *Date: *Sunday, July 5, 2015 at 12:07 PM > *To: *"[email protected]" <[email protected]> > *Subject: *Re: [ECOLOG-L] teaching evolution in ecology courses > > > > I have no doubt that many who are from firm, literalistic religions have > this problem. > > Early on when I was a student, I struggled with the conflict I thought > existed between religion and evolution. After taking a pile of evolution > coures I slowly transitioned. IT was not a sudden lightbulb coming on. > I think everyone deals with it differently when confronted with the logic > of evolution and how it sometimes conflicts with the dogma of some > religions. I concluded as an instructor that I was not going to change in > a semester, a set of beliefs that this person has evolved over 18 or more > years of life. I also kinda believe that many of the most intelligent are > the most stubborn to accept contrary views. So, my goal was not to > challenge those beliefs, but avoid the entire issue via a cop out. Rather, > get the student to learn the facts they need to know and understand them. > For the most part, I was able to do this. > > > > 1) Most of my classes are entrenched in evolutionary biology as I often > bring it up even in A&P, but seldom ever have any problems, even though I > have taught it in some very bible beltish areas. However, when I teach > ecology its there from day one, they know it is going to be there and I use > an abbreviated version of my introduction from general bio shpeal. IN > general bio, I tell them, "I am not trying to change your beliefs, or turn > you into an athiest. You have a right to believe whatever you want, I'm > not here to change what you believe. I'm here to teach you biology, and > evolution is central to biology. Whether you believe in evolution or not, > if you are in biology, you must understand it and you must know how it > works. Besides, learning what it is and what it is not can only > strenghthen your beliefs because you are not blindly saying you don't > believe in something, instead you know what it is you don't believe. > Regardless, if you are going to be a biologist, MD, Nurse or dentist, you > must be versed in evolution, period. IF you don't, you will not make it > through freshman biology. This course is about learning what the science > of biology is about, it is not about religion. Evolution is biology. If > you do not learn it, your will be as successful in biology as someone who > can't add would be in mathematics. You can disbelieve the laws of addition > all you want, but if you cannot follow their rules, you are not going to > make it through math. Likewise, you must know the rules of evolution or > you will not make it." > > > > This is in a lot of ways a cop out for both the instructor and the > student. It allows the instructor to approach the issue without > challenging student beliefs, and it allows students who do not want to > believe, the opportunity to learn without the conflicting underlying moral > and emotional conflicts getting in the way. They are not being asked to > believe anything, they are being asked to repeat what they don't believe. > That is basically how I approach it. THe commentary is not exactly worded > like that everytime, but that is pretty darn close. It might not work for > every instructor, but it has for me (I think). > > > > 2) Of course, the first thing I do after this in freshman biology class is > tell them the downright basic idea of evolution is "things change over > time." I state that exact phrase everytime I teach it. then, "A major > question in biology is why did they change?" > > > > I then insert a simple example with dogs or cows or something very > familiar, "for example, we have tons of breeds of dogs. They are all > different breeds, but they are all actually wolves, right? We know they are > wolves. This is not new. But, why have the breeds of dogs changed so much > over time? > > > > Well, because a bunch of people chose to select some traits over others > while breeding them. Some people wanted great sheep herders, others wanted > dogs that could run fast, or could rip your arm off. So, they kept > breeding teh ones with the most muscular jaws or fastest speed or best > herding ability. Over time, this selective breeding led to pit bulls, > border collies, and greyhounds....all wolves! > > > > In some cases, we have selected dogs so extremely that they are largely > incompatable for breeding. For example, there is nothing stopping a Saint > Bernard sperm from fertilizing a chiuahua's egg (usually some giggles from > the class), but if it did, the resulting embryo may grow too big to pass > thorugh the birth canal, resulting in the death of the pup and mother. > Also, there are mechanical problems here that transcend that minor problem. > (almost always there are giggles here by the class). Obviously, the two > dogs cannot breed naturally anymore. > > > > This same thing can happen in nature too. For a ficticous example, you > can have one forest where dogs that are bigger survive better than little > dogs because the available prey are really big making it easier for big > dogs to get food. In a nearby forest the opposite thing is hapening. > THere are only a few prey species available, and the dogs must live off of > these measley little animals. OVer time, smaller dogs do better and the > smaller they are the better they do in that forest, so the food supply > continues to select smaller and smaller dogs among the litters of pups. > The smaller dog requires less food, so it can live off of these prey very > easily, and the bigger the dog the more food it needs, so the larger the > dog, the worse it does in that forest. Over time, teh selection due to the > kinds of available prey cause big dogs to largely disappear from the second > forest leaving smaller dogs. The forests for some reason get re-connected > after a long time (centuries or millenia) and the two groups of dogs > intermingle, one bigger than a saint bernard, teh other smaller than a > chihuahua. They won't interbreed due to mechanical reasons so largely, > you will have the start of two groups of animals changing over time or > evolving to form tow different and increasingly more divergent organsims. > Over thousands of years, they may easily become so different as to be two > separate species, one a mouse-sized dog, the other a elephant-sized dog. > > > > The only difference between the artifical selection that resulted in two > different dogs, and the natural selection that resulted in the same outcome > is the cause, or why the dogs changed over time or evolved. That is how > evolution works, and it is pretty easy to understand how it works." > > > > 3) I've used this basic strategy since I first taught a college biology > class in 1995 (before I went back for a phd), and I have never had more > than an inquiry about evolution-religion conflicts. They complain about > tests being too hard or having to read the book, like in anyone else's > class, but seldom ever about the evolution-religion issue. > > > > In the very few times a student talked to me about the conflict, I just > tell him or her that its good that they have well-formed beliefs and I am > not asking you to believe anything. In fact, you should not just blankly > accept what I tell you just because I or anyone else said it. You should > require proof something is right or wrong. But, for this class you need to > be able to repeat what I tell you and what you read in class about > evolution and understand what it means. I will say that I believe 90% of > telling them this is body language and manerisms that ensure them that I am > just wanting them to learn what they need to know. It certainly defuses > nearly all conflicts. YOu are just helping them learn what they need to > know for the tests. > > > > Frankly, I don't see how someone can learn what evolution and natural > selection are and not conclude some level of acceptance, but everyone is > different, I am not going to change 20 years of religious learning, but I > can at least end up with an informed student walking out of my door at the > end of the semester. Maybe that attitude has more to do with it than > anything? Heck if I know. All I know is that this has worked for me and > if it helps a student learn the material without moral conflicts to get in > the way, all the better. > > > > On Sun, Jul 5, 2015 at 10:09 AM, David Inouye <[email protected]> wrote: > > It would be interesting to preface discussions of evolution in ecology > courses with a few minutes about the cognitive differences considered in > the paper mentioned in this NPR story: > > > http://www.npr.org/sections/13.7/2015/06/29/418289762/don-t-believe-in-evolution-try-thinking-harder?utm_source=npr_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=20150705&utm_campaign=mostemailed&utm_term=nprnews > > I wonder whether some of the students I taught in introductory > ecology/evolution who were resistant to the idea of evolution might have > been influenced by this. > > David Inouye > > > Dr. David W. Inouye, Professor Emeritus > Department of Biology > University of Maryland > College Park, MD 20742-4415 > > 2014-15: President, Ecological Society of America > > Principal Investigator > Rocky Mtn. Biological Laboratory > PO Box 519 > Crested Butte, CO 81224 > > [email protected] > 301-405-6946 > > > > > > -- > > Malcolm L. McCallum, PHD, REP > > Environmental Studies Program > > Green Mountain College > > Poultney, Vermont > > Link to online CV and portfolio : > https://www.visualcv.com/malcolm-mc-callum?access=18A9RYkDGxO > > “Nothing is more priceless and worthy of preservation than the rich array > of animal life with which our country has been blessed. It is a > many-faceted treasure, of value to scholars, scientists, and nature lovers > alike, and it forms a vital part of the heritage we all share as Americans.” > -President Richard Nixon upon signing the Endangered Species Act of 1973 > into law. > > "Peer pressure is designed to contain anyone with a sense of drive" - > Allan Nation > > 1880's: "There's lots of good fish in the sea" W.S. Gilbert > 1990's: Many fish stocks depleted due to overfishing, habitat loss, > and pollution. > 2000: Marine reserves, ecosystem restoration, and pollution reduction > MAY help restore populations. > 2022: Soylent Green is People! > > The Seven Blunders of the World (Mohandas Gandhi) > Wealth w/o work > Pleasure w/o conscience > Knowledge w/o character > Commerce w/o morality > Science w/o humanity > Worship w/o sacrifice > Politics w/o principle > > Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail message, including any > attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may > contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized > review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not > the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and > destroy all copies of the original message. > > > > > > -- > > Malcolm L. McCallum, PHD, REP > > Link to online CV and portfolio : > https://www.visualcv.com/malcolm-mc-callum?access=18A9RYkDGxO > > > “Nothing is more priceless and worthy of preservation than the rich array > of animal life with which our country has been blessed. It is a > many-faceted treasure, of value to scholars, scientists, and nature lovers > alike, and it forms a vital part of the heritage we all share as Americans.” > -President Richard Nixon upon signing the Endangered Species Act of 1973 > into law. > > "Peer pressure is designed to contain anyone with a sense of drive" - > Allan Nation > > 1880's: "There's lots of good fish in the sea" W.S. Gilbert > 1990's: Many fish stocks depleted due to overfishing, habitat loss, > and pollution. > 2000: Marine reserves, ecosystem restoration, and pollution reduction > MAY help restore populations. > 2022: Soylent Green is People! > > The Seven Blunders of the World (Mohandas Gandhi) > Wealth w/o work > Pleasure w/o conscience > Knowledge w/o character > Commerce w/o morality > Science w/o humanity > Worship w/o sacrifice > Politics w/o principle > > Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail message, including any > attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may > contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized > review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not > the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and > destroy all copies of the original message. > -- Jorge A. Santiago-Blay, PhD blaypublishers.com 1. 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