10 Reasons Why People Hate Evolution Korea. Evolution Korea
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Evolution Korea
The economic crisis that swept Asia forced a major reappraisal of the old system of government-business alliances and the management by the public of private risks. In Korea this meant a change in the development paradigm.
In a controversial decision the South Korean government has asked textbook publishers to ignore requests to remove examples of evolution from science texts for high school students. This includes evidence of the evolution of horses as well as the Avian an 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 independent branch of the Korea Association for Creation Research that wants to rid biology textbooks of "atheist materialism," was behind the decision. The STR asserts that such materialism creates negative images to students, causing them to abandon their faith.
When the STR's campaign made the news, scientists from all over the globe expressed worry. In a letter addressed 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 up by colleagues across the country, who formed an organization called Evolution Korea to organize a petition to protest the changes to the textbooks.
Some researchers are concerned that the STR will be spread to other regions of the world, where the belief in creationism has been increasing. The letter to Nature warned of the anti-evolutionist campaign putting pressure on textbook revisions, specifically in countries with large Christian and Muslim population.
South Korea has a particularly strong cultural background for the evolution debate. 26 percent of the nation's citizens are members of one of the religious groups and the majority adhere to Christianity or Buddhism. In addition, many Koreans adhere to the philosophy of Ch'ondogyo. It is that is based on Confucian principles that emphasizes harmony among people and individual self-cultivation. Ch'ondogyo is a way of teaching that the human being is one with Hanulnim the God of Sun and that the heavenly blessings are achievable through good works.
All of this has created an ideal environment for the spread of creationism. Numerous studies have revealed that students with religious backgrounds to be more reluctant to learn about evolution as compared to those who do not. The reasons behind this aren't obvious. One possible explanation is that students with a religious background tend not to be as well-versed in scientific concepts and theories, which makes them more susceptible to the influence of creationists. Another reason could be that students with religious backgrounds may see evolution as a belief system that is not a religion, which makes them feel uncomfortable.
2. Evolution and Science
In recent years, campaigns against evolution in schools have raised concern within the scientific community. A survey conducted in 2009 revealed that nearly 40% of Americans believed that biological evolution was wrong and that it would be in conflict with their religious beliefs. Many scientists believe that, despite the success of creationism the best way to combat this movement is to educate the public about the evidence that supports evolution.
Scientists are responsible to instruct their students in science, which includes the theory of evolution. They should also educate the public on the process of scientific research and how knowledge is validated. They should also explain that scientific theories are often challenged and revised. However, misconceptions about the nature and purpose of research can lead to a negative view of evolution.
For instance, many people are able to confuse the term "theory" with the common meaning of the word - a hunch or a guess. In science, however an hypothesis is rigorously tested and empirical data is used to prove it. A theory that is repeatedly tested and observed is then a scientific principle.
The debate on the theory of evolution is a wonderful chance to discuss the importance of scientific method and its limitations. It is important to realize that science is not able to answer questions about the purpose or meaning of life but only provides a mechanism that allows living things to grow and change.
A well-rounded education must include exposure to the vast majority of scientific fields including evolutionary biology. This is particularly important because the jobs people are employed in and the decisions they make require knowledge of how science works.
The majority of scientists across the world agree that humans have changed over time. A recent study predicting adults' views of the consensus around this issue found that those with higher education levels and scientific knowledge were more likely to believe that there is a broad agreement among scientists about human evolution. People with more religious faith and less science knowledge are more likely to disagree. It is crucial that teachers insist on understanding the consensus on this issue to ensure that people have a solid basis for making informed decisions regarding their health care, energy use and other policy issues.
3. Evolution and Culture
A close cousin to the mainstream evolutionary theory, the concept of cultural evolution studies the numerous ways that organisms, including humans, learn from and interact with one another. Researchers in this field use elaborate tools and investigative models that are adapted from evolutionary theorists and reach back to human prehistory to find the origins of culture.
This approach also acknowledges the differences between biological and cultural characteristics. While biological traits are generally acquired in one go (in sexual species, at fertilization) however, cultural traits can be acquired over a lengthy period of time. The acquisition of one cultural characteristic can affect the development and growth of a different.
In Korea For instance, the adoption of Western fashion elements in the latter half of the 19th century and the early 20th centuries was the result of a complex series of events. One of the most important was the arrival of Japanese occupation forces, who introduced Western hairstyles and clothing styles to Korean society.
When Japan left Korea in the 1930s, a few of these changes began to reverse. At the close of World War II, Korea was once again united and was again under the rule of the Choson dynasty.
Today, Korea is a vibrant economic and political power. Despite the current global financial crisis, the country's economy has grown consistently over the last decade and is poised to sustain its here steady growth in the near future.
The current government faces numerous challenges. One of the most significant is the inability to come up with an effective strategy to tackle the economic crisis. The crisis has revealed the weaknesses of the country's economic policies, particularly its dependence on exports and foreign investment which might not be sustainable over the long term.
The crisis has shaken the confidence of investors, the government needs to rethink its economic strategy and come up with alternative ways to boost domestic demand. To ensure a stable economic climate, the government will have reform its incentive, monitoring and discipline systems. This chapter offers a number of scenarios of how the Korean economy could grow after the crisis.
4. Evolution and Education
The challenge for evolution educators is to teach evolutionary concepts that are appropriate for different ages and stages of development. Teachers need to, for instance be mindful of the diversity of religions in their classrooms and create a welcoming environment where students from both religious and secular perspectives feel comfortable. Teachers must also be able recognize common misconceptions regarding evolution and be able to correct them in the classroom. Teachers should also have quick access to the numerous resources that can be used to teach evolution.
In this regard, the Thinking Evolutionarily Convocation played an important role in bringing together evolutionary researchers and educators from different sectors to discuss the best methods for teaching about Evolution. Participants included representatives from scientific societies as well as educational research, government funding agency officials and curriculum developers. The convergence of diverse participants helped to identify the common recommendations which will serve as the basis for future actions.
It is important to include evolution in all science curricula, at every level. To achieve this goal, the National Science Education Standards (NRC) call for evolution to be taught in a seamless way across the life sciences, with a progression of concepts that are developmental appropriate. A new publication from NRC provides guidance to schools about how to integrate evolution in the life science curriculum.
Multiple studies have proven that a more thorough presentation of evolution leads to greater student understanding and belief in evolution. It is difficult to estimate the causal effects of evolution in the classroom since school curricula do not change randomly and are influenced by the timing of state board of education and gubernatorial elections. To overcome this limitation I employ a longitudinal data set which allows me to control for fixed state and year effects and the individual-level variation in teacher beliefs regarding changes in the curriculum.
Another important result is that teachers who feel more comfortable teaching evolution report having less personal barriers to doing so. This is in line with the hypothesis that faculty who are more confident are less likely to avoid questions about evolution in the classroom, and could be more likely to employ strategies such as a reconciliatory approach which is used to increase the students' understanding of evolution.