341: The Tangled Bank by Carl Zimmer

The Tangled Bank: An Introduction to Evolution by Carl Zimmer

Regardless of our ideological persuasion we often accept certain beliefs because of the authority of those who first exposed us to the idea. We chose faith over science because we trusted our parents and our priest. We chose science over faith because we trusted our parents and our middle school chemistry teacher.

We may self-identify as science-loving progressives, but still not be sure why intelligent design shouldn't be taught alongside the theory of natural selection.

Here's why - one of the foundational elements of science is its predictive ability. The theory of evolution has correctly predicted quite a few biological discoveries.

If your interpretation of the natural world is correct, you should be able to predict what's going to happen next. We landed a satellite on Mars because science and math helped us understand the orbit of the planets and the gravity of the sun. We didn't just keep shooting machines into the sky until we got lucky. We used science.

The theory of evolution does not address the origin of life. Nor should it be dismissed because of the word "theory." Rejecting the theory of gravity does not make gravity vanish. Nor does rejecting the theory of evolution make all the evidence supporting it vanish.

Why this is progressive/liberal: Progressives want to see the role of citizenship expanded to as many people in the population as possible. Democracy, however, is no guarantee for honorable, successful, or ethical government. The best possible government comes from a population with the best possible education. The best possible education gives you the tools to predict the results of your actions. There's no such thing as perfect prediction, but every little bit helps. For several hundred years now science has proven itself a better predictor of the natural world than religion. To understand the biological sciences you need to understand evolution.

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And, while we're on the topic of evolution, let me also recommend The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution by Richard Dawkins, Intelligent Thought: Science versus the Intelligent Design Movement edited by John Brockman, and The Origin Of Species by Charles Darwin.