Reciprocating Bill
Posts: 4265 Joined: Oct. 2006
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This is not really the thread for this, so this will be my last comment here on this topic. But since we (and FTK) are on the topic of moderation, I am reproducing below some thoughts I posted on FTK's blog that go to this discussion - a message she did NOT allow to appear. It pertained to her putative "open mindedness," which I find less than genuine. Note that this was a reconstruction from memory later the same day; I didn't anticipate it would be blocked, and didn't keep a copy of the original: Quote | You’re right: it is certainly my belief that creationism of all types (scientific creationism, ID) is pseudoscience, adopts “sciencey” language for the purpose of advancing a cultural and religious agenda, and has no place in a science classroom. No scientific research has been performed (or even attempted) from within this framework; why would you allow it in a science classroom?
With respect to dogma, so long as students are introduced to the engine of empirical scientific investigation, critical thinking and open inquiry will take care of themselves.
But all that has been done to death.
My point is that your characterization of yourself as open-minded with respect to the main claims of evolutionary biology is inaccurate, as demonstrated by the above posts, including your reply to mine. Indeed, “open mindedness” in the sense of being open to any and all ideas regardless of their coherence or value is not a virtue. Are you open to Scientology, in that you are willing to spend considerable time and money to remove your body thetans? Similarly, I am not open to the “scientific” claims of creationism and/or intelligent design, because I have concluded that they are either absurdly inaccurate (in the case of YEC assertions regarding the flood, the age of the earth, etc.) or scientifically empty (in the case of ID), and because I have concluded that the principals who advance them are untrustworthy, sometimes due to wrong-headedness but more often due to dishonesty.
You have obviously concluded that you are not open to evolutionary biology and its naturalistic framework, as indicated in your posts and the parody of your little blob story, perhaps for similar reasons.
So why not drop the pretense? |
-------------- Myth: Something that never was true, and always will be.
"The truth will set you free. But not until it is finished with you." - David Foster Wallace
"Here’s a clue. Snarky banalities are not a substitute for saying something intelligent. Write that down." - Barry Arrington
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