Það sem að Guðfinna gat ekki skrifað undir

lokaorð ályktunarinnar: 

The Parliamentary Assembly therefore urges the member states, and especially their education authorities:

19.1.       to defend and promote scientific knowledge;

19.2.       strengthen the teaching of the foundations of science, its history, its epistemology and its methods alongside the teaching of objective scientific knowledge;

19.3.       to make science more comprehensible, more attractive and closer to the realities of the contemporary world;

19.4.       to firmly oppose the teaching of creationism as a scientific discipline on an equal footing with the theory of evolution and in general resist presentation of creationist ideas in any discipline other than religion;

19.5.       to promote the teaching of evolution as a fundamental scientific theory in the school curriculum.

 

 

Athugasemdir

[Luca Aceto, 16.10.2007 kl. 14:13]

Let me quote Harry Kroto, a much higher authority on this issue, than I ever will be. (The source is here.)

"The failure of our general science educational policy is manifest in the fact that so few are aware of the true level of our dependence on science and technology, or the truly humanitarian contributions that science and technology have made to society: from raising the health of the population (half of all 18th-century children died by the age of eight) to the advanced technologies that pervade our everyday lives (the internet and mobile phones being archetypal examples).....

The scientific method is based on what I prefer to call the inquiring mindset. It includes all areas of human thoughtful activity that categorically eschew "belief", the enemy of rationality. This mindset is a nebulous mixture of doubt, questioning, observation, experiment and, above all, curiosity, which small children possess in spades. I would argue that it is the most important, intrinsically human quality we possess, and it is responsible for the creation of the modern, enlightened portion of the world that some of us are fortunate to inhabit......

Do I think there is any hope for UK? I am really not sure. It is beyond belief that in the 21st century, our prime minister and the Department for Education and Skills are diverting taxpayers' money to faith-based groups intent on propagating culturally divisive dogma that is antagonistic to the secular, enlightened philosophy that created the modern world.

It is a scandal that the present system is enabling a car salesman to divert significant government funds to propagate dogma such as "intelligent design" in our schools. State funds are also being used to support some schools that abuse impressionable young people by brainwashing them into believing that non-believers will burn for all eternity in the fires of hell."

For what it's worth, I believe that signing under the five points mentioned in the post would have given a strong signal that Iceland is willing to uphold the cultural values discussed by Kroto, and that it considers the nurturing of the scientific mindset a very important component in the country's educational system. 

[Magnús Karl Magnússon, 17.10.2007 kl. 13:30]

Luca og Pétur:

Góðar og þarfar áminningar. Vísindasamfélagið hefur allt of lengi setið hjá í þjóðfélagsumræðu. Vísindaleg hugsun hefur verið fótum troðin og fengið á sig óorð sem leiðinleg, ógagnleg og jafnvel skaðleg hugsun. Að lesa orð Kroto eru upplyftandi, sérstaklega þetta:

"The scientific method is based on what I prefer to call the inquiring mindset. It includes all areas of human thoughtful activity that categorically eschew "belief", the enemy of rationality. This mindset is a nebulous mixture of doubt, questioning, observation, experiment and, above all, curiosity, which small children possess in spades. I would argue that it is the most important, intrinsically human quality we possess, and it is responsible for the creation of the modern, enlightened portion of the world that some of us are fortunate to inhabit......"

Kveðja,

[Luca Aceto, 19.10.2007 kl. 08:55]

I think that  I'll order a copy of this book for the RU library.

A quick look at the preface has given me the feeling that the book should belong in every school library. Order one for your local library too!