Re[2]: Of PhDs, priests and logic
David S. Buchanan (buck353@okway.okstate.edu)
Wed, 24 Apr 1996 02:51:58 -0500 Chuck writes:
>Very good. It's really "Catch-22" logic:
> 1. Only scientific experts can evaluate evolutionary theory.
> 2. To be an expert, you must have an advanced degree.
> 3. To obtain an advanced degree, you must buy into evolutionism.
> 4. Thus, *all* experts agree on "the fact of evolution."
> 5. Therefore, evolution is a fundamental, unarguable truth.
>Neat, huh?
>Chuck
Neat, but also quite wrong, particularly point # 3. I hold advanced degrees in
Quantitative Genetics, a field which has some bearing on evoltionary theory. At
the time I received my M.S. degree, my views on evolution were consistent with
the YEC crowd. I had read books by Morris, Seagraves et al and was comfortable
with their views. By the time I earned my Ph.D. I saw more clearly how wrong the
YEC proponents (at least those who wrote the books I had read) were about many
things and had altered my views on evolution. These views had no bearing on my
ability to earn either degree. My committee simply did not care about how I felt
about evolution.
Maybe there are places where a young earth view would prevent a person from
receiving a Ph.D. in a scientific field. Certainly it is not true everywhere. I
think I can safely say that it would have no effect at all in my department.
Dave