Re: Warning Labels

Arthur V. Chadwick (chadwicka@swac.edu)
Sun, 16 Nov 1997 14:21:09 -0800

At 10:12 PM 11/11/97 -0500, George wrote:
>Bill Payne wrote:
>> The State School Board of Alabama adopted the following
>> statement which is now placed in the front of all public school science
>> textbooks in Alabama:
>>
>> A MESSAGE FROM THE ALABAMA STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION
>>
>> This textbook discusses evolution, a controversial theory some
>> scientists present as a scientific explanation for the origin of living
>> things, such as plants, animals and humans.
>>
>> No one was present when life first appeared on earth. Therefore, any
>> statement about life's origins should be considered as theory, not fact.
>
> This contains "we can't see the past" argument, the use of which
>is _prima facie_ evidence of incompetence.

Exactly what part of this statement are you taking issue with??? Are you
suggesting that "any statement about life's origins should be considered as
fact?" That would certainly be an unusual use of the term "fact"....
Art
http://chadwicka.swau.edu