We humans have a tendency to see ourselves as completely different from other animals, and the way in which large segments of the public continue to reject the theory of evolution is just one symptom of that malaise.
Kenneth R. MillerRead
There is no controversy within science over the core proposition of evolutionary theory.
Interpretation
Evolutionary theory is widely accepted in the scientific community without major disputes.
Kenneth R. Miller emphasizes that the fundamental aspects of evolutionary theory are accepted as scientific fact, and any doubts or debates typically arise from misunderstandings or misinterpretations rather than valid scientific controversy. This highlights the importance of accurate understanding of science and the need for public education about scientific theories.
In practice
In a lecture on science education, one might use this quote to emphasize the consensus in scientific circles.
We humans have a tendency to see ourselves as completely different from other animals, and the way in which large segments of the public continue to reject the theory of evolution is just one symptom of that malaise.
For much of history it was possible to believe that the great diversity of life on Earth was a fixed creation, that the living world had never changed. But when the first stirrings of industry demanded that fuel be dug from the earth and hillsides be leveled for roads and railways, the Earth's true past was dug up in abundance.
Evolution isn't just a story about where we came from. It's an epic at the center of life itself. Far from robbing our lives of meaning, it instills an appreciation for the beautiful, enduring, and ultimately triumphant fabric of life that covers our planet. Understanding that doesn't demean human life - it enhances it.
Whether conservative or liberal, fundamentalist or agnostic, the more students learn of biology, the more they accept evolution.
Science is the highest personification of the nation because that nation will remain the first which carries the furthest the works of thought and intelligence.
The sciences, even the best,-mathematics and astronomy,-are like sportsmen, who seize whatever prey offers, even without being able to make any use of it.
I can never look now at the Milky Way without wondering from which of those banked clouds of stars the emissaries are coming. If you will pardon so commonplace a simile, we have set off the fire alarm and have nothing to do but to wait. I do not think we will have to wait for long.
All sorts of computer errors are now turning up. You'd be surprised to know the number of doctors who claim they are treating pregnant men.
The roads by which men arrive at their insights into celestial matters seem to me almost as worthy of wonder as those matters in themselves.
I don't have an issue with what you do in the church, but I'm going to be up in your face if you're going to knock on my science classroom and tell me they've got to teach what you're teaching in your Sunday school. Because that's when we're going to fight.
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