Evolution Korea
The economic crisis that hit Asia caused a significant rethinking of the old system of business-government alliances and the public management of private risks. In Korea this required a change in the development model.
In a controversial move, South Korea's government has asked textbook publishers not to comply with calls to eliminate examples of evolution from high school science books. This includes the evidence for evolution of horses and of the bird ancestor Archaeopteryx.
1. Evolution and Religion
A group of creationists in South Korea has successfully convinced textbook publishers to remove evidence of evolution in high school science textbooks. The move was a result of a campaign by the Society for Textbook Revise (STR), an independent branch of the Korea Association for Creation Research, which wants to rid textbooks on biology of "atheist materialism." The STR claims such materialism portrays negative images to students, causing them to be skeptical.
Scientists across the globe expressed worry when the STR campaign gained attention. Jae Choe, an evolutionary biologist at Ewha Womans University, Seoul wrote in an email to Nature's editor that South Korea had succumbed to religious prejudice. He was supported by colleagues across the country, who set up a group called Evolution Korea to organize a petition against the changes to the textbooks.
Some researchers are also concerned about the possibility that the STR campaign could spread to other regions of the world, where the prevalence of creationism is rising. The letter to Nature warned that the anti-evolution movement will increase pressure for textbook revisions in other countries, notably those with strong Christian and Muslim populations.
The South Korean culture is particularly strong in the evolution debate. 26 percent of the country's citizens belong to an organized religion and the majority adhere to Christianity or Buddhism. In addition, many Koreans adhere to the Ch'ondogyo philosophy, which is founded on Confucian principles that emphasizes harmony among people and individual self-cultivation. Ch'ondogyo teaches that the human being is one with Hanulnim, the God of Sun and that the heavenly blessings are possible by doing good deeds.
All of this has made creationism fertile ground. Numerous studies have found that students who have religious backgrounds to be more hesitant to learn about evolution than those who do not. However, the underlying reasons for this phenomenon are unclear. One possible explanation is that students who have a religious background tend not to be as familiar with scientific concepts and theories and are therefore more vulnerable to the influence of creationists. Another reason could be that students who have a religious background may view evolution as a concept that is atheistic, making them feel less comfortable.
2. Evolution and Science
In recent years, scientists have been concerned about the anti-evolution agenda in schools. A survey in 2009 revealed that 40% of Americans believed that biological evolution was not true and that it would conflict their religious beliefs. Many scientists believe that despite the fact that creationism has been successful the best way to stop this movement is to educate the public on the evidence that supports evolution.
Scientists have a responsibility to educate their students about science including the theory of evolution. They should also inform the public about the research process and the way in which knowledge is confirmed. They should explain how scientific theories are frequently challenged and modified. However, misperceptions about the nature of scientific research often cause people to believe that evolution is not real.
Some people confuse the word "theory" as a guess or guess. In science, however, an hypothesis is rigorously tested and empirical evidence is used to prove it. A theory that has survived repeated testing and observation is an established scientific principle.
The debate over evolution theory is a great opportunity to discuss both the importance of scientific methodology and its limits. It is essential for people to understand that science is not able to answer questions about the meaning or meaning of life, but only provides a mechanism through which living organisms can develop and adapt.
Furthermore, a comprehensive education must include exposure to all major fields of science including evolutionary biology. This is essential because a variety of jobs and decisions require that people know how science works.
The vast majority of scientists around the world agree that humans have evolved over time. A recent study that predicted adults' view of the consensus on this subject found that those with higher education levels and knowledge of science were more likely to believe that there is a general consensus among scientists on the subject of human evolution. People with more religious beliefs and less science-based knowledge tend to be more skeptical. It is crucial that teachers emphasize the importance of knowing the consensus on this issue, so 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 relative of mainstream evolutionary theory. It examines the ways that humans and other species learn from one another. Researchers in this field utilize elaborate models and tools that are adapted from those employed by evolutionary theorists, and they go back to human prehistory to determine the genesis of our capacity to learn about culture.
This approach also acknowledges the distinction between biological and cultural traits. While biological traits are typically acquired at once (in sexual species, after fertilization) however, cultural traits can be acquired over a lengthy period of time. As a result, the acquisition of one cultural trait may affect the development of another.
In Korea, for example the emergence of Western fashion elements in the latter part of the 19th century and early 20th centuries was the result of a complex series of events. One of the most important was the arrival in Korea of Japanese occupation forces that introduced Western hairstyles and clothes.
When Japan departed Korea in the 1930s, a few of these trends began revert. By the end of World War II, Korea was once more united but this time under the rule of the Choson dynasty.
Today, Korea is a vibrant economic and political power. Despite the financial crisis of recent, Korea's economy has been growing at a steady pace over the past decade. It is anticipated to continue to grow in the coming years.
The current administration is faced with many challenges. The government's inability to formulate a coherent strategy to deal with the current economic crisis is one of the biggest obstacles. The crisis has exposed the weaknesses of the country's economic policies, including its excessive dependence on foreign investment and exports, which may not be sustainable over the long term.
The crisis has shaken confidence of investors. This means that the government must rethink its strategy and find other ways to boost the domestic demand. To ensure a stable economic climate the government needs reform its incentive system, monitoring and discipline. This chapter offers a variety of scenarios of how the Korean economy might develop in a post-crisis world.
4. Evolution and Education
The challenge for teachers of evolution is to teach evolutionary concepts that are appropriate for various ages and stages of development. Teachers need to, for instance, be sensitive to the diversity of religions in their classrooms and create an environment where students from both secular and religious beliefs are comfortable. Teachers must be able to recognize common misconceptions regarding evolution and know how to address them in the classroom. Teachers should also have quick access to the many resources to teach evolution.
In this regard, the Thinking Evolutionarily Convocation had a key role in bringing evolutionary researchers and educators from various sectors to discuss the best practices for teaching Evolution. The participants included representatives from scientific societies as well as educational researchers, officials from government funding agencies as well as curriculum developers. The convergence of these diverse stakeholders led to the identification of a common set of recommendations that will be the foundation for future actions.
A key recommendation is that the subject of evolution should be included in all science curricula at any level. National Science Education Standards (NRC), which call for the integration of evolution across all life sciences with the developmentally appropriate, are a good way to achieve this goal. A new publication from the NRC offers guidance to schools on how to integrate evolution into their life science curriculum.
Multiple studies have shown that a more thorough presentation of evolution is linked to better understanding by students and belief in the concept of evolution. Read More Listed here is difficult to estimate causal effects in the classroom since school curricula don't change in a random manner and are influenced by the timing of state board of education and gubernatorial elections. To overcome this problem, I use a longitudinal data set which allows me to account for state and year fixed effects and individual-level variation in teacher beliefs about evolution.
Teachers who are more comfortable in teaching evolution have fewer internal barriers. This is consistent with the hypothesis that a more experienced faculty is less likely to avoid discussing evolution topics in the classroom. Additionally, they might be more likely employ strategies, such as the reconciliatory approach that has been proven to increase the acceptance of undergraduate students of evolution (Harms and Reiss, 2019; Tolman et al., 2020).