Required Reading

What is the evidence for evolution? A court's answer

Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School Dist. 400 F.Supp.2d 707 M.D. Pa. 2005. Pay particular attention to the section entitled "4. Whether ID is Science" up to but not including "F. Application of the Lemon test to the ID policy." This is a detailed scientific critique of intelligent design. Although we will focus on the scientific critique of intelligent design, we will also look at the legal arguments against teaching intelligent design in public schools. See "3. Whether an objective Dover citizen should perceive defendants' conduct to be an endorsement of religion" and "F. Application of the Lemon test to the ID policy." Just look at the conclusions and main arguments, and do not read in detail the chronology presented in part F. of the opinion.

Popular summaries of evidence for evolution

National Geographic Society A fin is a wing is a limb

Musseling in on evolution

Intelligent design

Meyer, S.C. 2004 Intelligent design: The origin of biological information and the higher taxonomic categories. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 117: 213-239. This article is long, and I certainly do not expect you to read it line by line. It is notable because it is one of the few articles on intelligent design published in a peer review scientific journal.

Questions for class discussion

1. We will work through the court's analysis in Kitzmiller as to whether intelligent design is science.

2. What is intelligent design? What is the key evidence cited by its supporters?

3. Suppose you were given a copy of Meyer's paper, but did not have any access to the scientific literature. How would you go about evaluating whether the claims that Meyer makes are correct or not? This question is surprisingly difficult, and also important. Not infrequently attorneys must evaluate the quality of scientific information, but do not have the time or money needed for a thorough investigation. Restated, how can you get to the bottom line as to whether a scientific paper is reliable, without expending more effort on your analysis than is absolutely necessary?

4. What is the line between science, philosophy and psychology? Consider Buddism. The Dali Lama has, for example, recently encouraged Buddist monks to cooperate with neurobiologists interested in studying meditation, and has himself spoken at national meetings of neurobiologists. Could the results of this scientific research be taught in public schools without violating the establishment clause? Work through the Lemon test with this set of facts. Why should Buddism be allowed in a science curriculum, but not intelligent design? Or should both be prohibited?