LETTER:
Intelligent
Design not supported by science
We,
the
undersigned
faculty members at the University of Northern
Iowa,
join our
colleagues from Iowa State University
(http://www.biology.iastate.edu/STATEMENT.htm)
in rejecting all
attempts to represent Intelligent Design as a scientific
endeavor.
Advocates
of Intelligent
Design claim the position of our planet
and
the
complexity of
particular life forms and processes are such
that
they
may only be
explained by the existence of a creator or designer
of
the universe.
Such
claims, however,
are premised on 1) the arbitrary selection
of
features
claimed to be
engineered by a designer; 2) unverifiable
conclusions
about the
wishes and desires of that designer; and 3)
an
abandonment
by science
of methodological naturalism.
Methodological
naturalism, the view that natural phenomena can be
explained
without
reference to supernatural beings or events, is
the
foundation
of the
natural sciences. The goal of science is
to form
hypotheses
to explain
the natural world around us. Scientific
hypotheses
must be
falsifiable, tested by the evaluation of
evidence
obtained
through
observation and experimentation. The
history of
science
contains many
instances where complex natural phenomena
were
eventually
understood
only by adherence to methodological
naturalism,
and
what is more
commonly known as the scientific method.
Whether
one believes in
a creator or not, views regarding a
supernatural
creator
are, by their very nature, claims of
religious
faith,
and not within
the scope or abilities of science. We,
therefore,
urge all
faculty members to uphold the integrity of our university,
and convey to students and
the general public the
importance of
methodological naturalism in
science and reject efforts to
portray
Intelligent Design as science.
Tilahun Abebe
Assistant Professor
Department of Biology
M. Imam Alam, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Economics
Roy R. Behrens
UNI Professor of Art
Department of Art
Peter Berendzen
Assistant Professor
Department of Biology
Virginia Berg
Professor
Department of Biology
Ken Bleile
Professor
Department of Communicative Disorders
Edgar C. Boedeker
Assistant Professor
Dept. Philosophy and Religion
Dr. Mary Bozik
Professor
Department of Communication Studies
Lynn Brant
Professor
Department of Earth Sciences
Dorothy Brecheisen, Ph.D.
Instructor
Department of Biology
Karen Couch Breitbach
Instructor
Physics Department, Science Education Price Lab School
Harry Brod
Professor of Philosophy and Humanities
Department of Philosophy and Religion
Ed Brown
Professor
Department of Biology
Gregory Bruess
Associate Professor
Department of History
John E. Bruha
Emeritus, Mathematics
David J. Buch
Professor
School of Music
Adam B. Butler
Associate Professor
Department of Psychology
Jeffery Byrd
Professor
Department of Art
Christine Canning, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Teaching
College of Education
Juan Carlos Castillo
Assistant Professor
Department of Modern Languages
Jerry V. Caswell
Head of Library Information Technologies
Scott Cawelti
Professor
Department of English Language and Literature
Cliff Chancey
Professor
Department of Physics
C. David Christensen
Associate Professor - Science Education
Dept. of Curriculum & Instruction
Timothy M. Cooney
Professsor
Earth Science and Science Education
Lyn Countryman
Associate Professor
Science Education Faculty, Price Lab School
Barbara Cutter
Assistant Professor
Department of History
Dennis Dahms
Professor, Quaternary & Climate Change Studies
Department of Geography
Betty DeBerg
Professor of Religion
Head, Department of Philosophy and Religion
Francis Dominic Degnin M.P.M., Ph.D.
Medical & Clincial Ethics
Philosophy & Religion
John Deisz
Associate Professor
Department of Physics
James W. Demastes
Associate Professor
Department of Biology
Catherine DeSoto, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Psychology
Kavita R. Dhanwada
Associate Professor
Department of Biology
Prof. Robert L. Dise, Jr.
Associate Professor
Department of History
Dr. J. Ana Donaldson
Assistant Professor of Instructional Technology
Department of Curriculum and Instruction
Timothy B. Dooley
Assistant Professor
Department of Art
Linda May Fitzgerald
Associate Professor of Early Childhood Education
Department of Curriculum & Instruction
Dr. Angeleita Floyd
Professor of Flute
UNI/School of Music
Anthony J. Gabriele, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Educational Psychology and Foundations
Jean Gerrath
Professor
Department of Biology
Cynthia Goatley
Associate Professor
Theatre Department
Artur Golczewski, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Art
Nalin Goonesekere
Assistant Professor
Department of Chemistry
Dr. Joe Gorton
Associate Professor
Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Criminology
Peter Goulet
Professor
Department of Management
John Groves
Associate Professor of Geology
Department of Earth Science
Joel Haack
Interim Dean, College of Natural Sciences
Professor of Mathematics
Tom Hall
Communication Studies
Dr. Nancy Hamilton
Professor
Biomechanics
School of HPELS
Carole S. Henkin
Professor
Department of Social Work
Cynthia Herndon
Professor
School of HPELS
Melissa L. Heston
Associate Professor
Educational Psychology and Foundations
Barb Hetrick
Professor and Head
Department of Biology
Wallace Hettle
Associate Professor
Department of History
Carolyn Hildebrandt, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Psychology
Department of Psychology
Donna R. Hoffman
Assistant Professor
Department of Political Science
Margaret Holland
Associate Professor of Philosophy
Philosophy and Religion Department
Karthik S Nanjunda Iyer
Assistant Professor
Department of Marketing
Mark Jacobson
Instructor
Department of Computer Science
Laura L. Jackson
Professor of Biology
Department of Biology
Charles Johnson
Professor
Industrial Technology
Ronald Johnson
Professor
School of Music
Elana Joram, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Educational Psychology & Foundations
Sue A. Joslyn, Ph.D.
Chair of the Faculty, University of Northern Iowa
Professor of Epidemiology
Associate Dean of Graduate Academic Affairs
James Jurgenson
Professor of Biology
Department of Biology
Rick Knivsland
Instructor
Price Lab School
Alexandra Kogl
Assistant Professor
Department of Political Science
Jay T. Lees
Associate Professor
Department of History
Michael J. Licari
Associate Professor
Department of Political Science
Mary E. Losch, Ph.D.
Associate Professor and Assistant Director
Department of Psychology/
Center for Social and Behavioral Research
M. Kimberly MacLin
Assistant Professor of Psychology
Department of Psychology
Philip Mauceri
Professor & Head
Department of Political Science
Jim Mattingly, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
College of Business Administration
Dave May
Professor
Department of Geography
John McCormick
Professor
Department of Computer Science
Mary McDade
Instructor
Department of Biology
Jean McDonald
Associate Professor
School of Music
Kurtis Meredith
Associate Professor
Department of Curriculum and Instruction
Catherine M. Miller
Associate Professor
Department of Mathematics
Leslie Morgan
Associate Professor
School of Music
David Morgen
Professor Emeritus
Department of Philosophy and Religion
Christopher W. Mullins, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Criminology
Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Criminology
Tyler G. O'Brien
Assistant Professor
Dept. Sociology, Anthropology and Criminology
Steve O’Kane
Associate Professor
Department of Biology
Jim O'Loughlin
Assistant Professor
Department of English Language and Literature
Dale W. Olson
Professor of Physics
Department of Physics
Wendy M. Olson
Assistant Professor
Department of Biology
John Ophus
Assistant Professor of Science Education
Department of Biology
Bruce L. Plakke, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Communicative Disorders
Dr. Jan C. Robbins
Professor
Dept English Language and Literature
Konrad Sadkowski
Associate Professor
Department of History
Barbara Ripp Safford
Associate Professor
Department of Curriculum and Instruction
Robert Seager
Professor
Department of Biology
Hari Shankar
Visiting Professor of Mathematics
Michael Shott
Professor of Anthropology
Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminology
John W. Somervill
Professor
Department of Psychology
Theresa Spradling
Associate Professor
Department of Biology
Orlando Schwartz
Professor of Biology
Department of Biology
Doug Shaw
Associate Professor of Mathematics
Department of Mathematics
Gerald F. Smith
Professor
Department of Management
Jerry Soneson
Associate Professor of Religion and Humanities
Department of Philosophy and Religion
Adrienne Stanley
Associate Professor
Department of Mathematics
Clare Struck
Guidance Counselor at Price Lab School
Joshua Susskind
Assistant Professor
Psychology Department
Annette Swann
Associate Professor
Center for Early Developmental Education
Jeff Tamplin
Assistant Professor
Department of Biology
Carl Thurman
Associate Professor
Department of Biology
Jill Trainer
Associate Dean, College of Natural Sciences
Professor of Biology
Paul Turman
Assistant Professor
Department of Communication Studies
Linda Walsh
Associate Professor
Department of Psychology
Michael Walter
Associate Professor
Department of Biology
Robert Washut
Professor
School of Music
Jeff Weld
Associate Professor of Biology/Science education
Department of Biology
Charlotte Wells
Associate Professor
Department of History
Michael R. White, Ph.D.
Professor
Industrial Technology
Darrell Wiens
Professor
Department of Biology
Donna J. Wood
The David W. Wilson Chair in Business Ethics
Management and Philosophy & Religion
Leigh E. Zeitz, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Curriculum and Instruction
Catherine Zeman
Associate Professor
School of Health, Physical Education, and Leisure Services
[7 October]