Monday, November 14, 2005
Unintelligent Design 1
The validity of intelligent design (ID) is being judged, not with data collection, experiment, and the other mechanisms of science, but by Law. Arguments are being heard in the case of Kitzmiller et. al. v Dover Area School District. The question before the court is whether the addition of ID to the Dover science curricula is a violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment and therefore unconstitutional. The Dover Area School District added a statement to their science curricula standards stating students "will be made aware of gaps/problems in Darwin's Theory and of other theories of evolution including, but not limited to, intelligent design." In implementing this curricula, a statement was adopted to be read in biology classes and the book Of Pandas and People (Davis and Kenyon, 1993, 2nd ed) was recommended as a reference (see the NCSE FAQ for more).
I was in the midst of trying to compose this entry when the arguments phase of the trial came to an end. I don't think I can say any thing more, or more eloquently than the Plaintiff's Closing Statement to which you are referred. (You will need the Adobe Reader to view this PDF file.) As of the last time I checked the various sites where the transcripts were posted, the Defense closing arguments were not yet posted.
I was in the midst of trying to compose this entry when the arguments phase of the trial came to an end. I don't think I can say any thing more, or more eloquently than the Plaintiff's Closing Statement to which you are referred. (You will need the Adobe Reader to view this PDF file.) As of the last time I checked the various sites where the transcripts were posted, the Defense closing arguments were not yet posted.
