6.1 Disclaimer on Evolution

Disclaimer on Evolution

I know many of you were raised in homes and communities that taught that evolution was not true. Perhaps you were taught divine creation, intelligent design, or some other version of creationism. I respect your beliefs, even if I disagree with them. The presentations I give in class on evolution will be one-sided. I have been studying evolution for a long time and have weighed the evidence both for and against evolution and have personally come to the conclusion that there is no doubt to me (and most of the scientific community) that evolution occurred. Granted, the exact details of the process and the mechanisms involved (i.e. natural selection, artificial selection, sexual selection, etc.) are still being discovered, but as a general thing, evolution has occurred and is still occurring. Evolution forms the basis of much of science, biology and psychology in particular.

I would hope that you would come to these presentations with an open mind. One of the greatest skills that you all NEED to bring with you when you leave college is the ability to think critically. In order to think critically, you must view both sides of an argument and consider the evidence with an open mind. Yes, skepticism is also an important part of science and critical thinking, but a healthy dose of skepticism, not a shutting out of ideas that run contrary to your beliefs.

With all of that said, if you carefully weigh all of the evidence with an open mind and still do not agree, that is fine. However, as a college educated individual, you must understand what this evolution thing is all about in order to be able to have meaningful discussions with colleagues.