The 10 Most Scariest Things About Evolution Korea
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Evolution Korea
The financial crisis that struck Asia required a major review of the old model of government-business alliances and the management by the public of private risks. In Korea this meant an evolution of the development paradigm.
In a controversial move South Korea's government has requested textbook publishers not to comply with calls to remove examples of evolution from high school science books. This includes evidence of the evolution of horses and of the Avian ancestral Archaeopteryx.
1. Evolution and Religion
A group of creationists in South Korea has successfully convinced textbook publishers to remove evidence of evolution from high school science texts. This was the result of a campaign by the Society for Textbook Revise (STR) which is an affiliate of the Korea Association for Creation Research, which wants to rid textbooks on biology of "atheist materialism." The STR claims that this kind of materialistic views create a negative image for students and leads to their eventual loss of faith.
When the STR's 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 across the country, who formed a group called Evolution Korea to organize a petition to protest the changes to the textbooks.
Researchers are also concerned that the STR campaign will spread to other regions of the world, where the prevalence of creationism is rising. The letter to Nature warned of the anti-evolution movement putting more pressure on textbook revisions, particularly in countries with large Christian and Muslim populations.
South Korea has a particularly powerful cultural backdrop for the debate about evolution. 26 percent of South Koreans are part of a religious group with the majority of them practicing Christianity or Buddhism. In addition, many Koreans adhere to Ch'ondogyo, a philosophy founded on Confucian principles which emphasizes harmony in society and personal self-cultivation. Ch'ondogyo believes that humans are in a relationship with Hanulnim, the God of the Sun, and that the heavenly blessings can be derived through good works.
All of this has made creationism a fertile ground. A number of studies have demonstrated that students with religion-based backgrounds tend to be more uncomfortable about learning about evolution than students without religion. The underlying reasons for this phenomenon are not clear. Students with a religious background might be less knowledgeable about scientific theories, which makes them more vulnerable to creationists influence. Another factor could be that those with religious backgrounds might view evolution as a concept that is not a religion, which makes them less comfortable.
2. Evolution and Science
In recent years, campaigns against evolution in schools have raised concern in the scientific community. A survey conducted in 2009 revealed that nearly 40% of Americans believed that biological evolution was wrong and that it would conflict their religious beliefs. Many scientists believe that, despite the success of creationism the best method to stop this movement is to educate the public about the evidence for evolution.
Scientists have a responsibility to instruct their students in science, including the theory of evolution. They must also inform the public about the research process and the way in which knowledge is confirmed. They should explain how scientific theories are often challenged and modified. However, misconceptions about nature and purpose of scientific research can lead to a negative view of evolution.
For instance, many people confuse the term "theory" with the everyday meaning of the word - a guess or a guess. In science, however, the hypothesis is tested thoroughly and empirical evidence is used to prove it. A theory that has survived repeated testing and observation becomes a scientific concept.
The debate on evolution theory is an excellent occasion to discuss both the importance of the scientific method and its limits. It is essential to be aware that science does not answer questions about life's purpose or meaning, but rather allows living things to develop and evolve.
Furthermore, a comprehensive education should cover all major fields of science, including evolutionary biology. This is particularly important because the jobs that people hold and the decisions they make require a understanding of how science works.
The vast majority of scientists around world believe that humans have evolved over time. In a study that predicted the views of adults on the consensus on this subject people with higher levels of education and scientific knowledge were found to be more likely to believe there is a wide consensus among scientists on human evolution. The people with more religious faith and less science-based knowledge are more likely to disagree. It is essential that teachers emphasize the importance of understanding this consensus so that people can make informed decisions regarding health care, energy usage and other policy issues.
3. Evolution and Culture
A close cousin to the mainstream evolutionary theory, the concept of cultural evolution explores the many ways humans--and other organisms--learn from and with each other. Researchers in this field utilize explanatory models and investigative tools that are adapted from those employed by evolutionary theorists, and they look back to human prehistory to find out the genesis of our capacity to learn about culture.
This approach also recognizes the difference between cultural and biological traits. While biological traits are generally inherited all at once (in sexual species, after fertilization) however, cultural traits can be acquired over a long period of time. As a result, the emergence of one cultural trait can influence the development of another.
In Korea for instance the emergence of Western fashion elements in the latter half of the 19th and early 20th century was a result of a complex series of events. One of the most important was the arrival in Korea of Japanese occupation forces who introduced Western clothing and hairstyles.
Then, when Japan departed Korea in the 1930s, a few of these trends began to revert. By the end of World War II, Korea had once again unified but this time under the rule of the Choson dynasty.
Today, Korea is a vibrant political and economic power. Despite the recent global financial crisis, the country's economy has grown consistently over the past decade and is poised to sustain its steady growth in the future.
However, the current administration faces numerous challenges. One of the most serious is its inability to find a consistent policy to address the economic crisis. The crisis has exposed weaknesses of the country's policies, especially its over-reliance on foreign investment and exports that may not last.
The crisis has shaken the confidence of investors, the government needs to review its economic strategy and come up with alternatives to increase domestic demand. It must also revamp the incentive monitoring, monitoring, and discipline systems that are in place to guarantee the stability of the financial system. This chapter offers a variety of scenarios on how the Korean economy might develop post-crisis.
4. Evolution and Education
A fundamental challenge for evolution educators is how to teach evolutionary concepts in ways that are appropriate for students of different ages and developmental stages. For example, teachers must be sensitive to the religious diversity in their classrooms and create an environment where students with both religious and secular beliefs feel comfortable in learning about evolution. Teachers must also be aware of common misconceptions about evolution and how to deal with them in their classrooms. Additionally, teachers should be able to access a range of resources available for teaching evolution and be able to find them quickly.
In this regard, the Thinking Evolutionarily Convocation played an important role in bringing evolutionary researchers and educators from various sectors to discuss the best methods of teaching about Evolution. The participants check here included representatives from scientific societies as well as educational researchers, officials from government funding agencies, and curriculum developers. The convergence of these diverse groups led to the identification of a common set of recommendations that will serve as the foundation for future actions.
It is essential to incorporate evolution in all science curricula at every level. National Science Education Standards (NRC) which require the integration of evolution across all life sciences with a progression that is developmentally appropriate, are a method to achieve this goal. A new publication from the NRC offers guidance to schools on how they can integrate evolution into the science curriculum.
Numerous studies have demonstrated that a more comprehensive explanation of evolution can lead to greater student understanding and belief in the existence of evolution. However it is difficult to determine the causal impact of teaching in the classroom is a challenge because school curriculums are not assigned randomly and change in time as a result of the predetermined dates of gubernatorial election and state board of education appointments. To overcome this problem, I use an ongoing data set that allows me to account for state and year fixed effects and individual-level variation in teacher beliefs regarding evolution.
Another important finding is that teachers who are more comfortable with teaching evolution report having fewer intrapersonal barriers to doing so. This is in line with the idea that faculty who are more confident are less likely to be hesitant about teaching about evolution in the classroom, and could be more likely to employ strategies such as the reconciliatory method known to increase the students' understanding of evolution.