The Teaching of Evolution

The New York Times today has an article by Amy Harmon which describes the increasing inclusion of evolution in the high school curriculum in the United States. That is of course something I approve.

The article makes a very good point that a good teacher figures out ways to communicate with students, including in spite of the the students' unwillingness to learn that which is being taught, the students' preconceptions, and the students' idealogical bias. It also makes the point that the teacher's objective should be that the student comes to understand, but not that the student comes to believe.

In the teaching of evolution, it seems to me that students should understand the general structure of the scientific theory and the nature of the evidence that supports it. It seems to me that epigenetics, as it is developing, is modifying our understanding of genetics, and thus of the linkages between the theory of natural selection and genetics. These in turn are being enriched by better understanding of population dynamics and ecology. Consequently, I think evolution provides a great way to acquaint students with the way in which scientific theory can evolve, and the tentative nature of scientific knowledge, which does not undermine the support for the larger context of the structure which has been built, nor the epistemology of science.

Again, it seems to me that evolution provides a great basis to teach kids about the way in which scientists think, and about the institutions in which scientific knowledge is created and validated. Students, who learn that lesson well, should be able to apply its fruits in many ways in later life; indeed that lesson should be a part of their basic literacy, informing their later judgments on the quality of information and the credibility of assertions.

If one looks at the creation of say new breeds of animals or the improvement of crops, there is another lesson that should be made, whether or not a student ever believes that homo sapiens evolved from other species without "intelligent design". Historical observation confirms that new breeds or varieties have been developed, depending on the tendency of progeny to be like their ancestors, to exploit natural variation, through selection, to produce something new. Understanding that evolutionary processes have been observed in many circumstances to produce something new without planning is important. That understanding can be produced in classes on economics, political history, cultural history, or other venues, but often is not. Students who take a biology course should at least learn it there.