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ACTIVITY # 2 – THE SCOPES “MONKEY” TRIAL（Due17）

This is your Activity # 2 and it is a required assignment. In order to earn the full 10 points for this activity, you must participate in the discussion by posting at least one thoughtful and relevant response to the question below. It does not need to sound scholarly.  The best way to respond is with simple statements in your own words. Do not look up information on the Internet or anywhere else. Your discussion should make reference only to the sources provided to you in this course, as detailed in the next paragraph.

In order to adequately complete this activity, you must first complete your Chapter 2 reading, review the Chapter 2 lecture, and read The Problem of Egocentric Thinking and The Problem of Sociocentric Thinking on pages 21-22 of The Miniature Guide to Critical Thinking, posted under the Critical Thinking folder under Files. Critical Thinking Booklet.pdf Download Critical Thinking Booklet.pdf

There is no minimum or maximum number of words required; your grade for this activity is based solely on the quality of your response with references to the material provided in Chapter 2 lecture video link (Slide # 12 – Scopes Trial) and pages 21-22 in Critical Thinking Guide. Please be respectful of others’ feelings, even if you don’t agree with their opinions.

Answer the following question and make reference only to what you learned from the video included on Slide # 12 of Chapter 2 lecture (Scopes Trial) and what you learned from reading pages 21-22 in the Critical Thinking Guide: What dangers do sociocentric and egocentric thinking pose for us today? Note: Apply what you have learned about the sociopolitical circumstances of 1925 surrounding the Scopes trial to current issues and attitudes about evolution, the concept of race, and climate science. (Think about what you learned from the video, specifically with regard to the discussion of “… the battle of two different tendencies in America…”)

Some additional things to think about before you post your response:

Science is not meant to belittle or discount peoples’ belief systems, but some people mistakenly believe that is so. What is important to understand is that science is based on natural causality, empiricism, and facts. Teleology (which is supernatural explanations for phenomena) is based on beliefs relating to existence outside the natural world. Because teleology is not based on facts and there are no ways to test teleological hypotheses, these types of explanations are not scientifically valid. To put it simply – science is based on facts and teleology is based on beliefs. Racism is a plague that infects the minds of people and our institutions. The idiotic idea that human “races” exist is nothing more than an erroneous belief that has been completely disproven by modern science, specifically in the fields of human biology and genetics. Race does not exist scientifically, but ignorant people believe that it does, even though there are no facts to support that belief. Race is only real as a cultural construct. People invented the idea of race and have embedded that belief in all aspects of society.

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