Παρασκευή, Μαΐου 06, 2005

The evolution debate...




In the 7037 issue of Nature (a very prestigious scholarly publication) the front cover is devoted to the growing "intelligent design" movement that has gradually become a significant force in the US. I am deeply concerned that this phenomenon may gradually erode the scientific status of the formal "evolutionary theory" and influence the education of school children and university students.

Let me begin by saying that all serious scientists openly support the theory of natural selection as the most plausible explanation for evolution. As an example, the Nature article clearly quotes Bruce Alberts (president of the National Academy of Sciences, and also famous for his biology textbook that is freely available online here) in saying that "(...the concept of intelligent design) doesn't deserve any attention, because it doesn't make any sense".

This is not my main point, however.

The most important thing to always remember is that religion (and any theory that involves supernatural involvement has a religious basis) and science do not address the same issues. Religion is not about how man came to be, but rather about why man came to be and what principles should guide his behaviour. The issues that religion addresses are ethical and spiritual, not scientific. In that sense, religion operates on a higher level than science and the two should not mix, because they cannot contradict each other if interpreted in their respective context.

Finally, according to the famous philosopher Karl Popper (see here and here), any "theory" that is not falsifiable (i.e. can never be proven to be false) does not constitue science. Since it is completely impossible to prove that supernatural intervention never took place, the "intelligent design" theory does not constitute science (curiously enough, the proposition that aliens from Alpha Centauri guided the evolution of life on earth is a scientifically acceptable proposition, even though it is almost certainly bogus!).

PKT