Are You Sick Of Evolution Korea? 10 Inspirational Sources That Will Bring Back Your Love
Evolution Korea
The financial crisis that struck Asia required a major review of the old model of government-business alliances and the public management of private risks. In Korea this meant a change in the development paradigm.
In a controversial decision, the South Korean government has asked textbooks publishers to ignore calls to remove examples of evolution in high school science textbooks. These include the evidence of the evolution of horses and the bird ancestor Archaeopteryx.
1. Evolution and Religion
A South Korean creationist group has persuaded textbook publishers to eliminate evidence of evolution from high school science texts. The Society for Textbook Revise, an offshoot of the Korea Association for Creation Research which aims to rid biology textbooks of "atheist materialism," was behind the decision. The STR claims that such materialism creates negative images to students, causing them to abandon their faith.
When the STR's ad campaign made the news, scientists across the world expressed worry. In a letter to the editor of Nature, evolutionary biologist Jae Choe from Ewha Womans University in Seoul complained that South Korea had given in to religious prejudice. He was backed by colleagues around the country, who set up an organization called Evolution Korea to organize a petition against the changes to the textbooks.
Some scientists are worried that the STR will expand to other parts of the globe, where creationism is increasing. The letter to Nature warned of the anti-evolutionist campaign putting pressure on textbook revisions, especially in countries with large Christian and Muslim populations.
South Korea has a particularly strong cultural background for the debate about evolution. Twenty-six percent of the country's citizens are members of an organized religion, and most adhere to Christianity or Buddhism. In addition, many Koreans adhere to the philosophy of Ch'ondogyo. It is based on Confucian principles that emphasizes social harmony and individual self-cultivation. Ch'ondogyo teaches that human beings are in a relationship with Hanulnim, the God of the Sun, and that heavenly blessings can be derived by doing good deeds.
All of this has made creationism a fertile field. Multiple studies have shown students with a religious background to be more reluctant to learn about evolution than those who don't. The underlying causes are not clear. One reason is that students with religious backgrounds tend to be as familiar with scientific concepts and theories and are therefore more vulnerable to the influence of creationists. Another possibility is that students who have a religious background tend to view evolution as an atheistic concept and therefore less at ease with it.
2. Evolution and Science
In recent years, scientists have been concerned about anti-evolution initiatives in schools. A 2009 survey revealed that nearly 40% of Americans believe that biological evolution is a lie, and that a belief in it could be in conflict with their religious beliefs. Many scientists believe that despite the fact that creationism has been successful the best method to stop this movement is to educate the public about the evidence supporting evolution.
Scientists have a duty to instruct their students in science, including the theory of evolution. They should also inform the public about the scientific process, and how scientific knowledge is collected and confirmed. They must also explain that scientific theories are often challenged and reformulated. However, misconceptions about the nature of research conducted by scientists often create anti-evolution beliefs.
For instance, many people may confuse the word "theory" with the everyday meaning of the word - a hunch or guess. In science, however the theory is rigorously tested and verified through evidence. A theory that is repeatedly tested and observed is then a scientific principle.
The debate about evolutionary theory is an excellent occasion to discuss the importance of the scientific method and its limitations. It is essential for people to recognize that science is not able to answer questions about the purpose or meaning of life, but only provides a mechanism by which living things can evolve and change.
A well-rounded education should also include exposure to the major fields of science including evolutionary biology. This is especially important since the jobs people are employed in and the decisions they make require understanding of how science functions.
The vast majority scientists in the world believe that humans have evolved over time. A recent study that predicted the adults' opinions of the consensus on this subject found that those who had higher levels of education and scientific knowledge were more likely to believe there is a consensus between scientists regarding human evolution. The people with more religious beliefs and have less science-based knowledge are more likely to disagree. It is essential that educators insist on knowing the general consensus on this issue to ensure that people have a solid basis for making informed decisions regarding their health care, energy usage and other policy issues.
3. Evolution and Culture
Cultural evolution is a close cousin of the mainstream evolutionary theory. It explores the ways that humans and other species learn from one another. Researchers in this field use elaborate models and tools that are adapted from the ones used by evolutionary theorists, and they reach back into human prehistory to determine the genesis of our capacity for cultural understanding.
This approach also recognizes the difference between biological and cultural traits. Cultural traits can be acquired slowly, whereas biological traits are usually acquired at the same time (in sexual species at fertilization). The acquisition of one cultural characteristic may affect the development and growth of a different.
In Korea, the adoption of Western style elements in the latter part of the nineteenth and early 20th century was the result of a complex sequence of events. One of the most important was the appearance in Korea of Japanese occupation forces that introduced Western hairstyles and clothing.
After that, when Japan departed Korea in the 1930s, a few of those trends began to reverse. At the end of World War II, Korea was once more united, this time under Choson dynasty rule.
Today, Korea is a vibrant political and economic power. Despite the recent financial crisis, Korea's economy has been growing steadily over the last decade. It is expected to keep this trend going in the coming years.
The current administration is faced with many challenges. One of the most serious is the inability to come up with a coherent policy to deal with the economic crisis. The crisis has revealed weaknesses of the country's policies particularly its dependence on exports and foreign investment that may not last.
The crisis has shaken the confidence of investors, the government needs to review its economic strategy and look for alternatives to increase domestic demand. To ensure a stable economic climate the government needs to reform its incentive system, monitoring and discipline. This chapter offers a variety of scenarios for how the Korean economy might grow in a post-crisis environment.
4. Evolution and Education
One of the biggest challenges for evolution educators is how to teach evolutionary concepts in a way that is suitable for students of different levels of development and ages. Teachers should, for instance be aware of the diversity of religions within their classrooms and create an environment where students with both religious and secular perspectives are comfortable. Additionally, teachers must be aware of common misconceptions about evolution, and how to address these in their classrooms. Additionally, teachers should have access to a range of re sources available to teach evolution and be able to locate them quickly.
In this regard, the Thinking Evolutionarily Convocation was an important step towards bringing evolutionary scientists and educators from a range of disciplines to discuss best methods for teaching evolution. The participants included representatives from scientific societies, educational researchers, officials of government funding agencies, and curriculum developers. The convergence of various participants helped to identify a set of shared recommendations which will serve as the basis for future actions.
It is crucial to include evolution in all science curricula, at every level. To achieve this it is recommended that the National Science Education Standards (NRC) require that evolution be taught in a seamless manner across all sciences using a sequence of ideas that are developmentally appropriate. A new publication from the NRC provides guidelines to schools about how to integrate evolution in the life science curriculum.
Multiple studies have proven that a more complete presentation of evolution leads to a greater understanding of students and belief in evolution. It is difficult to quantify the causal effects of evolution in the classroom, since school curricula do not change on a regular basis and are influenced by the timing of state board of education and gubernatorial elections. To overcome this limitation, I use a longitudinal data set which lets me control for state and year fixed effects as well as individual-level variations in teacher beliefs about the evolution of their curriculum.
Teachers who are more comfortable teaching evolution also have fewer internal barriers. This is in line with the hypothesis that more experienced faculty are less likely to be hesitant about questions about evolution in the classroom. They may also be more inclined to employ strategies like a reconciliatory method which is used to increase the students' understanding of evolution.