Canadian Science Minister Won't Confirm Belief in Evolution
Summary
Canada's minister of science, Gary Goodyear, will not say if he believes in evolution or not. He confirms that he is a Christian and does not appreciate people prying into his religious beliefs. Some scientists claim that Goodyear is suspicious of evolutionary science because he is a creationist, to which Gary Goodyear supports his belief in God by saying that just because we cannot see something under a microscope does not mean it doesn't exist. It just means we don't have a powerful enough microscope yet. He also says that he does not approve of people who claim that scientists know everything, and sometimes we need to recognize that we don't know. Other scientists such as Dr. Alters at McGill University are shocked at his belief. Alters thinks evolution is a scientific fact and is the foundation of modern biology, genetics and paleontology. Evolution is taught at universities, schools and is an accepted theory by many religions around the world. Jim Turk, head of the Canadian Association of University Teachers, claimed that the tradition of science relying on provable knowledge has been the tradition for hundreds of years and this model has been responsible for our rapid advancement.
Response
This is a very interesting article because for as long as humans have started to develop and rely on science, it has created friction within the religious community. Personally, I completely disagree with Dr. Alters’ opinion because I don’t think he has a right to judge someone based on their personal beliefs. I also disagree with him because, as we learned early in the course, there is no such thing as a scientific fact. Evolution is only a true theory as long as there is no evidence to prove it false. Gary Goodyear’s religious beliefs should not be held against him simply because he has a completely acceptable and respectable scientific background; studying the sciences in university and working as a chiropractor for two full decades. I agree with Goodyear’s comments about not being able to see something under a microscope does not mean it’s not there, but it’s possible that we might not have a microscope powerful enough to see it yet. This has proven true for every major scientific theory to date and will continue to apply for major scientific theories of the future (e.g. the discovery/identification of gravity by Newton). Also, before explorers discovered that the world was, round, scientists at the time believed that the world was flat. Therefore, I also agree with Goodyear’s second point; that we should never act like we know everything because we are far from it. As a student, I believe that as a professional, Gary Goodyear should be allowed to resume his post as Minister of Science despite his religious beliefs. As a student, I don’t think that we should “bash” someone for their beliefs because in reality, we do notknow everything. We should all have a positive, open-minded outlook on life and never rule out an option, which in this case was creationism vs. evolution. The next step for us as people should be to research as much as possible about evolution and creationism. Until we find some solid, undeniable evidence for either of them, we cannot judge people based on their beliefs.
Source - MLA Format
Lohan, Alisha. "Science minister's coyness on evolution worries researchers - Technology & Science - CBC News." CBC.ca - Canadian News Sports Entertainment Kids Docs Radio TV. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 June 2012. <http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2009/03/17/tech-090317-gary-goodyear-evolution.html>.
Canada's minister of science, Gary Goodyear, will not say if he believes in evolution or not. He confirms that he is a Christian and does not appreciate people prying into his religious beliefs. Some scientists claim that Goodyear is suspicious of evolutionary science because he is a creationist, to which Gary Goodyear supports his belief in God by saying that just because we cannot see something under a microscope does not mean it doesn't exist. It just means we don't have a powerful enough microscope yet. He also says that he does not approve of people who claim that scientists know everything, and sometimes we need to recognize that we don't know. Other scientists such as Dr. Alters at McGill University are shocked at his belief. Alters thinks evolution is a scientific fact and is the foundation of modern biology, genetics and paleontology. Evolution is taught at universities, schools and is an accepted theory by many religions around the world. Jim Turk, head of the Canadian Association of University Teachers, claimed that the tradition of science relying on provable knowledge has been the tradition for hundreds of years and this model has been responsible for our rapid advancement.
Response
This is a very interesting article because for as long as humans have started to develop and rely on science, it has created friction within the religious community. Personally, I completely disagree with Dr. Alters’ opinion because I don’t think he has a right to judge someone based on their personal beliefs. I also disagree with him because, as we learned early in the course, there is no such thing as a scientific fact. Evolution is only a true theory as long as there is no evidence to prove it false. Gary Goodyear’s religious beliefs should not be held against him simply because he has a completely acceptable and respectable scientific background; studying the sciences in university and working as a chiropractor for two full decades. I agree with Goodyear’s comments about not being able to see something under a microscope does not mean it’s not there, but it’s possible that we might not have a microscope powerful enough to see it yet. This has proven true for every major scientific theory to date and will continue to apply for major scientific theories of the future (e.g. the discovery/identification of gravity by Newton). Also, before explorers discovered that the world was, round, scientists at the time believed that the world was flat. Therefore, I also agree with Goodyear’s second point; that we should never act like we know everything because we are far from it. As a student, I believe that as a professional, Gary Goodyear should be allowed to resume his post as Minister of Science despite his religious beliefs. As a student, I don’t think that we should “bash” someone for their beliefs because in reality, we do notknow everything. We should all have a positive, open-minded outlook on life and never rule out an option, which in this case was creationism vs. evolution. The next step for us as people should be to research as much as possible about evolution and creationism. Until we find some solid, undeniable evidence for either of them, we cannot judge people based on their beliefs.
Source - MLA Format
Lohan, Alisha. "Science minister's coyness on evolution worries researchers - Technology & Science - CBC News." CBC.ca - Canadian News Sports Entertainment Kids Docs Radio TV. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 June 2012. <http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2009/03/17/tech-090317-gary-goodyear-evolution.html>.