Examining the Controversy

Tracey Sgroi

HIS 324

Teresa Mushik

October 14, 2007

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Abstract

My research paper will examine the laughable, yet unyielding attacks on naturalistic science by the newly revived movement of the "scientific" theory of Intelligent Design. Although this movement lacks scientific credibility, somehow it is beginning to secure a strong hold in American culture. Its most notable influencers consist of politicians, legislators, and scholars in universities and colleges across the United States. If this pseudo-science is allowed to mainstream into the classroom, the impact on our education system would be a regression of our nation to pre-Enlightenment Age practices. I wish to find answers as to why the American public could so blindly accept this new science in light of the fact that there is no real science to be found in their organization.

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EXAMINING THE CONTROVERSY

There is a new "science" lurking in the darkness, just beyond the deepest shadows.

The Creation of Adam

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English: Textual analysis of the various drafts an...

If accepted by the public majority, the social and cultural implications of its acknowledgment could be immeasurable. The validity of present day science has never seen such an absurd challenge, but there are those that actually give credence to its claims. The brazenly admitted goals of this new science are to use Intelligent Design as a "wedge to reverse the stifling dominance of the materialistic worldview, and to replace it with a science more consonant with Christian and theistic convictions" (Branch, 2007, p.282). This pseudo-science constitutes a threat to the integrity of education and, in the end, clouds the ability of the public to judge past and future scientific and technological claims.

There are many questions to be considered in examining this new "I.D. Science." First and foremost, what kind of science is this really? How relevant will this...