Since humans began studying the world around them, they have wondered how the biodiversity we see around us came to be. There have been many ideas posed throughout history, but not enough observable facts and testable hypotheses to give us a final answer, at least so far. In today s workshop. We will Review some basic scientific ideas and terminology about the origin of life Consider three very different theories/schools of thought about how life on earth originated o Biochemical Abiogenesis o Panspermia o Scientific Creationism Differentiate between o The origin of life o The evolution of life Consider two very different ideas about how life on earth evolved o Natural selection o Intelligent Design Consider the legal/social implications of acceptance of these ideas as science. I. Science vs. Religion: Where did Life on earth come from? Humans have probably been debating the question of the origin of life since they huddled around campfires at night with nothing to do but chew bones and attempt to make more humans. Many cultures have creation stories very different from the ones most commonly taught in the U.S., which are based on biblical stories. Stephen Jay Gould said that Science and Religion are two means by which humans seek Truth. In Science, observable phenomena are required for verification. In Religion, the only verification required is faith. Today you will discuss and decide which of several fairly well-known ideas about the origin of life are within the realm of natural science, and which are best considered part of other disciplines.
Question: What is the difference between The origin of life on earth The evolution of life A. Abiogenesis: A Biochemical Explanation The origin of life is not yet completely understood, although scientific experiments since Miller-Urey are yielding new data about life s origins. For example: http://www.pbs.org/video/1790640610/ 1. Consider the Miller-Urey apparatus. What was it meant to simulate? 2. What elements and compounds were present in the apparatus in a. gaseous form b. liquid form 3. What energy source(s) were provided, and what was each meant to simulate? 4. What is the definition of a biological macromolecule? 5. Name two common examples of each of the following types of macromolecule: a. nucleic acid b. protein c. carbohydrate d. lipid 6. Are biological macromolecules considered to be alive? 7. What products were found in the apparatus after it was allowed to operate for various amounts of time, and under various conditions? 8. What element was notably absent from the earth's primordial atmosphere, and why was this absence essential to the formation of life? 9. Has life ever been produced in the laboratory? Why/why not? DISCUSS. 10. Is the idea that life sprang from organic molecules a scientifically testable one? 11. Is the idea that life sprang from organic molecules testable with a single overall hypothesis? DISCUSS. B. Panspermia: A Cosmic Explanation 1. Cosmic Ancestry? A hypothesis popular in some circles suggests that Life originated as a result of the "seeds of life" (e.g., primitive cells, macromolecules, etc.) having been carried here on meteorites. This idea is sometimes known as "panspermia". 1. Use your Dictionary of Word Roots and Combining Forms (Borror) to determine the meaning of "panspermia." Write it here: 2. What do you suppose the literal translation of this word refers to? 3. Pose some testable research ideas that might help determine whether this idea has any truth. 4. Is the notion of "panspermia" within the realm of science? DISCUSS. C. Creation Science: A Supernatural Explanation In many religious traditions, including those of the three Abrahamic faiths (Judaism, Christianity and Islam), life is said to have originated at the hand of divine creator. A group of people who believe in the literal translation of Biblical creation founded the Institute of Creation Research (ICR), which purports to demonstrate that the idea of divine creation is scientifically testable. They have dubbed this field "Creation Science."
The "creation scientists" stated that their version of the origin of life is scientific, not religious, in nature, and hence should be taught in public school science classes alongside scientific ideas about life s origins and evolution. The nine main tenets of "Creation Science," as stated by the ICR are listed below. For each one, you ll be asked to decide whether it is (1) an observable fact or (2) a falsifiable hypothesis If you feel it is a falsifiable hypothesis, you will- be asked to design an experiment to test it. Based on this, you will decide whether the tenet is scientific or not. Tenet 1. "The physical universe of space, time, matter and energy has not always existed, but was supernaturally created by a transcendent personal Creator who alone has existed from eternity." 4. Can you design a testable hypothesis regarding this tenet? Tenet 2. "The phenomenon of biological life did not develop by natural processes from inanimate systems but was specially and supernaturally created by the Creator." Tenet 3. "Each of the major kinds of plants and animals was created functionally complete from the beginning and did not evolve from some other kind of organism. Changes in basic kinds since their first creation are limited to 'horizontal' changes (variations) within the kinds, or 'downward" changes (e.g., harmful mutations, extinctions)." NOTE: Here, ICR moves from Origin of Life to Evolution of Life. Tenet 4. "The first human beings did not evolve from an animal ancestry, but were specially created in fully human form from the start. Furthermore, the 'spiritual' nature of man (selfimage, moral consciousness, abstract reasoning, language, will, religious nature, etc., is itself a supernaturally created entity distinct from mere biological life." Tenet 5. "The record of earth history, as preserved in the earth's crust, especially in the rocks and fossil deposits, is primarily a record of catastrophic intensities of natural processes, operating largely within uniform laws, rather than one of gradualism and relatively uniform process rates.
There are many scientific evidences for a relatively recent creation of the earth and universe, in addition to strong scientific evidence that most of the earth's fossiliferous sedimentary rocks were formed in an even more recent global hydraulic cataclysm." Tenet 6. "Processes today operate within fixed natural laws and relatively uniform process rates but, since these were themselves originally created and are daily maintained by the Creator, there is always the possibility of miraculous intervention in these laws or processes by their Creator. Evidences for such intervention should be scrutinized critically, however, because there must be clear and adequate reason for any such action on the part of the Creator." Tenet 7. The universe and life have somehow been impaired since the completion of creation, so that imperfections in structure, disease, aging, extinctions and other such phenomena are the result of 'negative' changes in properties and processes occurring in an originally-perfect created order." Tenet 8. Since the Universe and its primary components were created perfect for their purposes in the beginning by a competent and volitional Creator, and since the Creator does now remain active in this now decaying creation, there do exist ultimate purposes and meanings in the universe. Teleological considerations, therefore, are appropriate in scientific studies whenever they are consistent with the actual data of observation, and it is to assume that the creation presently awaits the consummation of the Creator's purpose." Tenet 9. "Although people are finite and scientific data concerning origins are always circumstantial and incomplete, the human mind (if open to the possibility of creation) is able to explore the manifestations of that Creator rationally and scientifically and to reach an intelligent decision regarding one's place in the Creator's plan."
4. Can you design a testable hypothesis regarding this tenet? 6. Is "Creation Science" within the realm of science? Discuss. 7. What are the differences between a hypothesis that is scientifically testable and one that is not? 8. Which of the three ideas about the origin of life described here are scientifically testable? D. Scientific Creationism vs. Darwin in the Courtroom Several times in the recent past, Creation Scientists have gone to court in an attempt to have creation science replace evolutionary theory in public school science classes. Rather than champion any scientific strengths of the tenets of creation science, those arguing for creation science in the classroom point out "weaknesses" in evolutionary theory. One Creation Scientist has claimed, "A major goal of creation science is to point out the weakness of evolutionary theory, because basically there are only two alternatives for how we got here, and if naturalistic processes are incapable of the task, then special creation must be the correct answer." 1. Do you agree with the statement above? Discuss it objectively and dispassionately. 2. In their efforts to gain credibility for creation science, its proponents often claim that "evolution is only a theory and hasn't been proven." Discuss this assertion. Is it correct? 2a. In science, what are the precise definitions of hypothesis theory law II. Science vs. Religion: How did life change once it arrived on earth? The evolution of life, unlike the origin of life, proceeds via mechanisms that we can observe and test with scientific methods. A. Evolution by Means of Natural Selection 1. By now, you are familiar with Charles Darwin's observations and inferences regarding organic evolution by means of natural selection. His work is sometimes distilled down into four basic tenets of evolution by means of natural selection. What are the four tenets? Tenet 1. Tenet 2. Tenet 3. Tenet 4. 2. Consider each of the above tenets. Which are observable/verifiable facts? If a tenet does not describe an observable fact, then can it be tested scientifically? If so, suggest a research question and experiment that addresses this tenet. Tenet 1.
Tenet 2. Tenet 3. Tenet 4. 3. Which of the above tenets are observable fact? 4. Which are testable with the scientific method?? 5. Of the latter, what evidence exists to support it/them? 6. What evidence exists to refute them? 7. Are Darwin's tenets scientific? DISCUSS. E. Intelligent Design " Intelligent Design (ID) is a proposal meant to replace the Darwinian (and neodarwinian) explanations of biodiversity. Questions #1-3 are preceded by excerpts from www.intelligentdesign.org and are shown below in bold greem. Certain phrases have been italicized for emphasis in this workshop. Pay special attention to italicized sections for discussion. The theory of Intelligent Design (ID) holds that certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection. 1. Is natural selection an undirected, random process? Discuss. Through the study and analysis of a system's components, a design theorist is able to determine whether various natural structures are the product of chance, natural law, intelligent design, or some combination thereof. Such research is conducted by observing the types of information produced when intelligent agents act. 2. Is the above a description of the modern scientific method using falsifiable hypotheses? Discuss. Scientists then seek to find objects which have those same types of informational properties which we commonly know come from intelligence. Intelligent design has applied these scientific methods to detect design in irreducibly complex biological structures, the complex and specified information content in DNA, the life-sustaining physical architecture of the universe, and the geologically rapid origin of biological diversity in the fossil record during the Cambrian explosion approximately 530 million years ago. 3. Are any of the ID ideas supported by observable evidence or processes? Discuss. 4. Are any of these ideas falsifiable? If so, design an experiment that would put the idea to the test. Is Intelligent Design a scientific theory? Yes. The scientific method is commonly described as a four-step process involving observations, hypothesis, experiments, and conclusion. Intelligent design begins with the observation that
intelligent agents produce complex and specified information (CSI). Design theorists hypothesize that if a natural object was designed, it will contain high levels of CSI. Scientists then perform experimental tests upon natural objects to determine if they contain complex and specified information. One easily testable form of CSI is irreducible complexity, which can be discovered by experimentally reverse-engineering biological structures to see if they require all of their parts to function. When ID researchers find irreducible complexity in biology, they conclude that such structures were designed. 5. Is the assumption that something with a high level of "CSI" scientifically testable? Discuss the above passage and decide whether it is consistent with the scientific method. Natural History magazine published a series of point/counterpoint essays written by ID proponents and evolutionary biologists. Read them here: http://www.actionbioscience.org/evolution/nhmag.html 6. Are the ID proposals and counter-arguments testable, or supported by observable evidence? III. Final Thoughts The First Amendment of the United States Constitution (1789; revised in 1992) states Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. This amendment prohibits Congress from making any law respecting an establishment of a particular State religion disallowing the free exercise of religion abridging the freedom of speech or the freedom of the press or the right to peaceably assemble and allows citizens to complain to or about the government without fear of reprisal or punishment. Because there are diverse religious (or areligious) philosophies in the United States, many have interpreted the First Amendment as calling for separation between Church and State. Thus, it is illegal to teach the religious doctrine of any particular faith in public schools, which are part of the State. Given what you have learned today Is Darwin s Theory of Natural Selection as some have claimed a form of religion? o Why or why not? DISCUSS Should Creation Science or Intelligent Design be taught in public schools as alternative, scientific explanations for the origin of life or for evolution? o Why or why not? DISCUSS. "When evolution is outlawed, only outlaws will evolve." --Jello Biafra