Authorities in our lives tell us what to believe. Thus we grow up with certain prejudices about people and the way the world works. Parents, teachers, radio & television commentators, journalists, the clergy, and politicians all participate in this indoctrination. In this society, certain words such as "environmentalist," "bussing," "choice," and "gay" evoke strong emotional reactions in part because the truths of different authorities do not agree. It is impossible to be aware of and examine all those things we believe to be true. Nevertheless, challenging one's personal truths is part of becoming a credible independent authority.

This course deals with evolution, a subject that can evoke strong emotional reactions. Whether or not a person "believes" in evolution, few people have a solid understanding of evolution. While virtually everyone has heard of Darwin's The Origin of Species, very few have read it. One can agree or disagree with the theory of evolution by natural selection after one has studied the evidence, but to simply believe implies reliance on another's authority. This course aims to make you a credible independent authority on evolution with an emphasis on biochemical evolution. This is a subversive goal. Independent thinkers threaten the status quo. You should challenge ideas through out this course.

A collection of Letters to the Editor of The News Journal (Wilmington, Delaware) on the creation vs. evolution issue will be distributed in class. These appeared in the Summer of 1995. Clearly they reveal a lack of public consensus on this issue. Because such letters are limited to about 200 words, there is little opportunity to develop arguments based on evidence. Consequently, correspondents on both sides of the issue make unsupported assertions.

Newspapers provide a poor forum for scientific discussion. Consensus in science is not decided by public polls or majority vote. Rather, competing hypotheses are evaluated by analysis of evidence and repeatedly challenged. Debate and disagreement among scientists is healthy provided all sides attempt to understand conflicting arguments, are willing to challenge their own ideas, and avoid personal attack. In that spirit, consider the following assignment.

A. The table that follows lists 11 anatomical or physiological characteristics of different groups of living organisms that are not characteristics of humans. However, they are characteristics that may have been possessed by distant human ancestors. Examine the list and consider each characteristic as a separate hypothesis about your own distant ancestry.

B. Without worrying about evidence for the moment, fill in your position on each hypothesis - agree, disagree, or uncertain.

C. In the final column, write a brief justification for your position. When you are done, raise your hand to be put in a group. Note: This will be a temporary group for today and next period.
 

Non-human Characteristic (Hypothesis)	Present in Human Ancestor? Results from initial responses			Justification/Evidence
	Yes	No	Not sure
1. Unicellular	7
2. Aquatic	5		2
3. Prehensile tail	7
4. Scales	1	3	3
5. Photosynthetic		6	1
6. Anaerobic	3		4
7. Knuckle walker	3	1	3
8. Egg laying	2	3	2
9. Asexual	6	1
10. Wings		7
11. Chitinous exoskeleton		7

A. Compare your individual responses for each hypothesis and fill in a duplicate table for the group to summarize the positions of individuals within the group.

B. Discuss those hypotheses that lack group consensus or show the greatest amount of uncertainty. See if the group can reach consensus, agree or disagree, on each hypothesis.

C. Turn in the group's table at the end of class.

A. At the end of class (8/29), identify those hypotheses that lack consensus and distribute them among the group members trying to match hypotheses with individual interests. Using resources available in the Morris Library and on the Internet, find out as much as you can about your hypothesis and write a ~1-2 page argument based on evidence (provide references) that agrees, disagrees, or confirms uncertainty. Make copies to distribute to the other members of your group.