category: Education
"evolution is under attack. But not only by religious fundamentalists, who may reject evolution outright due to conflicts regarding the origins of life.
The Evolution Paradox in Higher Education
Author: Glenn Geher
Source: EvoS Studies
As I’ve written in several of my publications, evolution is under attack. But not only by religious fundamentalists, who may reject evolution outright due to conflicts regarding the origins of life. This particular rejection is sort of the high-profile rejection of evolution that tends to make the media.
From my vantage point, rejection of evolution (or, more specifically, rejection of certain applications of evolution) from academics in a broad sense – which is just as strong as rejection from religious fundamentalists – may well be the primary obstacle to the advancement of furthering knowledge – particularly when it comes to understanding humans (see Geher, 2006a; Geher, 2006b; Geher & Gambacorta, 2010).
In short, academics in many fields reject applications of evolution in regard to what it means to be human – often taking the stance that evolutionary accounts of human behavior are “deterministic” and perhaps politically driven to maintain existing social inequities. In short, many academics see evolutionary applications to human affairs as part of a right-wing conservative conspiracy.
Of course, from where I stand, nothing could be further from truth. Like any set of intellectual ideas, evolution can be used for all kinds of purposes. As the single most powerful set of ideas in the life sciences, individuals who are interested in improving society and helping improve the human condition writ large would be foolish to ignore this perspective. Ignoring evolution in attempts to understand human behavior would be akin to ignoring a road map (or GPS?) when trying to drive from Washington, DC to upstate New York. And several scholars have shown that evolutionary applications to human affairs can help us improve so many things about human life, from the quality of neighborhoods in cities (see Wilson, 2011) to diet and exercise regimens that improve all facets of physical and mental health (see Platek, Geher, Heywood, Stapell, Waters, & Porter, 2011).
Read more at EvoS Studies
Comments
Post: March 26 2012 9:43 pm By: Dave Gerstle
There are some problems with the article Dr. Geher introduces that need to be discussed:
This research is at least five years old.
The sample size is small (27 surveyed authors), and certainly not representative of the entirety of US higher education.
The sample size changes midway through the analysis (the charts shift between 24 and 27)
These data do not provide evidence of “dramatic levels of resistance [to evolution] within the academy”. On the whole, the BBS authors respond that their institutions neither facilitate nor discourage evolutionary training. They feel neither drastically isolated nor connected in their own institutions.
The articles cited do not offer what the authors claim, e.g. Geher & Gambacorta (2010) do not investigate academic attitudes toward evolution.
Thanks,
Dave