AAS Statement on the Teaching of Evolution

[icymist]

I thought that a statement of this sort should be posted somewhere in this forum:
http://www.aas.org/governance/council/resolutions.html#teach

AAS Statement on the Teaching of Evolution
Adopted 20 September 2005

The American Astronomical Society supports teaching evolution in our nation’s K-12 science classes. Evolution is a valid scientific theory for the origin of species that has been repeatedly tested and verified through observation, formulation of testable statements to explain those observations, and controlled experiments or additional observations to find out whether these ideas are right or wrong. A scientific theory is not speculation or a guess -- scientific theories are unifying concepts that explain the physical universe.

<snip>

In recent years, advocates of “Intelligent Design,” have proposed teaching “Intelligent Design” as a valid alternative theory for the history of life. Although scientists have vigorous discussions on interpretations for some aspects of evolution, there is widespread agreement on the power of natural selection to shape the emergence of new species. Even if there were no such agreement, “Intelligent Design” fails to meet the basic definition of a scientific idea: its proponents do not present testable hypotheses and do not provide evidence for their views that can be verified or duplicated by subsequent researchers.

Since “Intelligent Design” is not science, it does not belong in the science curriculum of the nation’s primary and secondary schools.

[johnnypneumatic]

1. umm...they didn't really explain that correctly

evolution is one thing (it existed and was debated before Darwin), while the "origin of species" by means Of "natural selection" is the theory that Darwin originated to explain why evolution occurs.
I don't know what ID claims, do they claim natural selection is false, evolution is false, or are both false?
I was thinking they were saying that natural selection might occur, but doesn't explain everything, some things are so complex they had to have been designed?

[icymist]

2. I don't believe the AAS was referring to Darwin's work

by using the phrase 'origin of species' but were describing the literal origin of species using evolution as explanation.

[WindRavenX]

3. ID says evolution exists

But that natural selection, vis a vis shifts in allele frequencies, cannot explain the complex traits observed in the world. Instead, evolution is "fueled" by an "Intelligence" that usually isn't named- but it is almost always a Judeo-Christian monothesist God and it taught so. ID is a very well crafted stealth vehicle for creationism.

[icymist]

4. Doesn't matter what ID says exists.

What I read from the AAS statement is that ID isn't a science to begin with.

[WindRavenX]

5. Well duh

ID isn't science, and if I even gave it an air of validity, sorry. It's cheap and lazy thinking for those who don't want to think criticially or get their nose under a microscope. It's not even junk science. It's bullshit.