Professor's Snub of Creationists Prompts U.S. Inquiry

[goofyfish]

Is it in any way unreasonable for a scientist to insist that the people he recommends for scientific pursuits believe in the scientific method?

LUBBOCK, Tex., Feb. 2 — A biology professor who insists that his students accept the tenets of human evolution has found himself the subject of Justice Department scrutiny.

Prompted by a complaint from the Liberty Legal Institute, a group of Christian lawyers, the department is investigating whether Michael L. Dini, an associate professor of biology at Texas Tech University here, discriminated against students on the basis of religion when he posted a demand on his Web site that students wanting a letter of recommendation for postgraduate studies "truthfully and forthrightly affirm a scientific answer" to the question of how the human species originated.

"The central, unifying principle of biology is the theory of evolution," Dr. Dini wrote. "How can someone who does not accept the most important theory in biology expect to properly practice in a field that is so heavily based on biology?" (Full text here - free registration required)

Does asking someone to "truthfully and forthrightly affirm a scientific answer to the question of how the human species originated" mean they are forced to believe it? I can think of many things I studied in college that I didn't necessarily agree with. Isn't that the point of education - to take in the most information possible in order to make informed decisions?

Evolution is one of the basic notions in biology. I don't know why fundies can’t get it through their heads that evolution is a description of the mechanism of creation. Science provides a description of how, not why, things occur. F=m*a is a description of dynamics, it tells one nothing of why a force acting on a given mass produces an acceleration, it merely describes the phenomenon and allows one to predict motion.

If a student does not understand what science is, and how science is done, there is no reason to recommend that student as a scientist. If you don't play by the rules of science you are not doing science - you may be getting correct answers, or you may not - but you simply are not doing science.

Our tax dollars are being spent investigating a professor for exercising his first amendment rights (that just happen to conflict with the religious views of John Ashcroft). Considering that Osama is still unaccounted for, I'd say this isn't the best utilization of departmental resources.

:m: Peace.

 

[Adam]

I started a thread once, asking if people see the USA as a religious state. To many around the world, the USA is a religious fundy state. It's funny and sad to see Americans talk of "Islamic extremists" and foreign religious fundamentalism, as though the USA is above such things, when in fact the USA is far more religious as a state than most other places.

 

[Tiassa]

Letter of allegiance?

Asking someone to sign a declaration of anything in exchange for a recommendation is horsepucky. If the guy graduating from the program you teach is not enough for you, then don't write recommendations at all.

thanx,
Tiassa

 

[wantknoght]

If one of the tenents of my religion is that the earth is flat, does my geology teacher have to accept that, to avoid violating my first amendment rights?

 

[Persol]

The only possible response to the creationist theory and the world being flat would be "What do I have to do to prove you are wrong?" If they can not tell you then it is a lost cause.

 

[jps]

I think that this professors position is perfectly reasonable.
If a person believes that 1 plus 1 equals three, you wouldn't want to write that person a recomendation for graduate school in mathematics, even if their belief was religious.

 

[goofyfish]

Re: Letter of allegiance?

When I "recommend" someone else, I am saying, "I stand behind this person". The recommendation is a statement in belief in that person and what that person believes and is likely to do. It is not a guarantee, but as close as I can come to a guarantee. If Dr. Dini is not convinced that the prospective recommendee meets his personal standards, why would he bestow the gift of his personal recommendation?

Originally posted by tiassa
If the guy graduating from the program you teach is not enough for you, then don't write recommendations at all.

There is a difference between “passing” and excelling. I am not going to recommend a person that performs in an average manner.

The prof didn't say he'd discriminate in grading students who want to continue to insist that some gray-bearded anthropomorphic masculine deity created the universe and everything in it. What he said was, "I won't write letters of recommendation." It seems to me that nobody has a right to a letter of recommendation, whether for a job or to get into grad school.

:m: Peace.

 

[spuriousmonkey]

i would like to say that these students are a bunch of wankers, but they might sue me. Therefore: you are not a bunch of wankers, you just look like a bunch of wankers.

 

[zanket]

jps sums up my opinion. Additionally I see no conflict between creationism and evolutionism. Why couldn’t God have created billions of years of evolution in an instant? Consider that science tells us an astronaut can in principle survive a jump to 1 billion A.D. in 1 second on his clock.

 

[Nasor]

The last time I checked, the bill of rights didn't include the right to a letter of recommendation from your professor.

 

[Tiassa]

An interesting point

World is flat/1+1=3

If such a belief demonstrably affects your ability to do the job you seek recommendation for, then recommendation should not be given. However, one can believe and get paid for teaching another idea. It's all a matter of conscience.

And due consideration ought to be given to the difference between merely passing and actually excelling. There is that.

See, the problem comes when an applicant holds a religious tenet so deeply that he cannot realize what has been pointed out in this thread--that creation and evolution do not clash. At that point, it is definitely a hindrance to one's scientific capability. Furthermore, the inability of the mind in question to make this realization casts a degree of doubt on the quality of the applicant that is entirely its own.

Nonetheless, the best thing for this professor should be to simply not write recommendations. He is obviously going out of his way to make a point, and in this case, it's inappropriate. Seriously, having read this article, if I happened to get an applicant bearing a recommendation with this professor's name on it, that applicant would be shuffled to the "nay" pile. As the story goes so far, this professor's actions cast doubt on his ability to make a recommendation in the first place.

(Edit: It is postgraduate studies, I suppose. I guess what a recommendation from this professor would show is that you still are willing to jump through the hoops--whatever it takes to get what you want. And that's the important thing, isn't it?)

thanx,
Tiassa