Point of Inquiry
Michael Shermer discusses evolution and Intelligent Design theory, Darwin’s impact on the world today, the conflict and the compatibility of science and religion, and the meaning of life without God.
Michael Shermer discusses evolution and Intelligent Design theory, Darwin’s impact on the world today, the conflict and the compatibility of science and religion, and the meaning of life without God.
Michael Shermer reads from Why Darwin Matters: The Case Against Intelligent Design at Town Hall in Seattle.
In the rough-and-tumble world of science, disputes are usually settled in time, as a convergence of evidence accumulates in favor of one hypothesis over another. Until now. (continue reading…)
Thirteen years after the legendary confrontation over the theory of evolution between Bishop Samuel Wilberforce (“Soapy Sam”) and Thomas Henry Huxley (“Darwin’s bulldog”), Wilberforce died in 1873 in an equestrian fall. (continue reading…)
This article was part of an invited open peer commentary on an article entitled “Is Tenure Justified? An Experimental Study of Faculty Beliefs About Tenure, Promotion, and Academic Freedom” by Stephen J. Ceci, Wendy M. Williams, and Katrin Mueller-Johnson, published in a 2006 issue of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, volume 29, pages 553–569.
The behavioral sciences have come under attack for writings and speech that affront sensitivities. At such times, academic freedom and tenure are invoked to forestall efforts to censure and terminate jobs. We review the history and controversy surrounding academic freedom and tenure, and explore their meaning across different fields, at different institutions, and at different ranks. In a multifactoral experimental survey, 1,004 randomly selected faculty members from top-ranked institutions were asked how colleagues would typically respond when confronted with dilemmas concerning teaching, research, and wrong-doing. (continue reading…)
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