[Phys-L] Re: [SPAM-6.111] Re: [SPAM-4.611] Re: THE WEDGE STRATEGY of The ID Movement

[Dan.MacIsaac at NAU.EDU (Dan MacIsaac)]

On Oct 19, 2005, at 12:25 PM, Bernard Cleyet wrote:
> I've mentioned that in one region of India it's much more than 8
> days.  I think when an HB becomes a person evolves according to the
> technology and status of health, (inter alia).  The legal
> definition I think certainly has, just as has the definition of
> premature. I suspect for most people a person is an HB who has a
> soul.  So the question boils down to what is a soul and when do
> "we" get one.  I don't believe souls exist, and, therefore, take
> extreme positions.
>
> bc

Actually, I'm the PHYS-L listowner (there's NO moderator) and I think
that most of this conversation is dead on-topic and appropriate for
PHYS-L.  I just wrote a series of references to ID websites for
physicists for the forthcoming WebSites column in The Physics Teacher
-- E.g. the Astronomy Education review journal <http://aer.noao.edu>
just devoted an issue to dealing with ID related issues in Astronomy
Teaching, and the NSTA, APS and AAPT all have explicit policy
statements on creationism, evolution and the nature of science.  I
expect sometime they will issue comments in ID.  Bob Park's column on
the interplay of physics with politics, fraud and misrepresentation
also frequently comments on these issues <http://
bobpark.physics.umd.edu/>.

Just to out-extreme bc for a moment (if possible), I'm an agnostic,
and I take an extreme Vygotskian view regarding thought and language
and human person hood.  I think language acquisition and use is a
critical part and perhaps a definitive part of being fully human.
You can probably guess how I might feel about abortion, and how I
feel about the treatment of animals (chimps,  gorillas, etc) who have
been taught language use.  I think the development and use of
advanced language and thought is very relevant to the teaching of
physics, and that this implies thinks about the role of student
discourse in physics teaching.

Dan M,

PHYS-L listowner (not moderator)

PS -- I do appreciate civility in this discourse, please and thank you.

Dan MacIsaac, Associate Professor of Physics, SUNY-Buffalo State College
222SciBldg BSC, 1300 Elmwood Ave, Buffalo NY 14222 USA 716-878-3802
<macisadl@buffalostate.edu>  <http://PhysicsEd.BuffaloState.edu>