Thoughts in a Haystack: God Watching

Sunday, March 01, 2009

God Watching

Amanda Gefter, a book reviews editor at New Scientist, shows why she maybe ought to be switched to features editor, with her article on "How to spot a hidden religious agenda" in "so-called science books which after a few pages reveal themselves to be harbouring ulterior motives."

As creationists in the US continue to lose court battles over attempts to have intelligent design taught as science in federally funded schools, their strategy has been forced to... well, evolve. That means ensuring that references to pseudoscientific concepts like ID are more heavily veiled. So I thought I'd share a few tips for spotting what may be religion in science's clothing.

Short version: look for terms like "scientific materialism," "irreducibly complex," "astonishingly complex molecular [or other] machines," and "academic freedom." Also look for the invocation of such concepts as "Cartesian dualism" (where the mind is asserted to be made up of material and immaterial aspects), quantum physics (favorite also of New Agers) used to explain phenomenon other than at the subatomic level, "common sense," and the cultural implications of science

Or just go to the UnDiscovery Institute's Ministry of Misinformation for a dose of Evolution News & Views, which proudly declares "[t]he misreporting of the evolution issue is one key reason for this site."

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Via Stephen Law
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Link - Posted by John Pieret @ 2:00 PM