In weeks 1 and 2, via your introduction to the critical thinking process, you are briefly introduced to some of the most powerful and complex questions humans have ever asked: What is truth? What is knowledge? How do you know what you know?
In this assignment, you will start using what you have learned about critical thought by examining these questions in terms of the current heated debate between proponents of intelligent design and evolution. Begin by carefully reading two documents in the ITT Tech Virtual Library:
Shipman, Pat. "Being Stalked by Intelligent Design." American Scientist 93, Issue 6 (2005): 500-502.
Heeren, Fred, "The Lynching of Bill Dembski." American Spectator 33, Issue 9
(2000): 44-50.
You can find both by accessing the ITT Tech Virtual Library, clicking Periodicals, EbscoHost (all), and entering the article's title information in the Search field.
Write a 2-3 page paper, double-spaced in Times, Times New Roman or Ariel 12-point font, with 1" margins that addresses these questions:
Can you identify which theory of life's origin is "true"? By what basis do you make your decision?
Should one theory or the other, or both, be taught in school? If so, should they both be examined in science class? If both, should one be taught as "true" and the other as a "theory"?
Each of these articles has a detectible bias. Does that mean they are not written objectively? Are there facts that are left out? If so, what are they?