How can someone be a biology student without accepting the theory of evolution?

I accept it, but I don't understand how someone can be a dedicated biological science student without accepting this. Isn't the basis of modern biology centered around evolution (genetics)?

I bring this question up because I remember during the beginning of the semester some guy came to my bio lecture and a gave a short promotion of a presentation. He and his group were going to have on a presentation showing that evolutionary theory is a farce and use some type of pseudo-science to back up creationism. Most of the class laughed out loud at this but some people believed him.

inb4religioustards

Originally Posted by ms92

How can someone be a biology student without accepting the theory of evolution?

Not saying that I don't accept it, but I don't understand how someone can be a dedicated biological science student without accepting this. Isn't the basis of modern biology centered around evolution (genetics)?

I bring this question up because I remember during the beginning of the semester some guy came to my bio lecture and a gave a short promotion of a presentation. He and his group were going to have on a presentation showing that evolutionary theory is a farce and use some type of pseudo-science to back up creationism. Most of the class laughed out loud at this but some people believed him.

I have a friend who's unsure about it. She's not crazy, she just has an issue thinking that all the mutations, etc, worked out so well (I think, we don't really discuss it much). Kinda makes sense, actually. She's not a creationist, I don't think, but questions how everything could have happened out of chance, even with x billion years to go.

Stop thinking so narrowly. Besides, biology is a huge field. Not everything needs to deal with the theory, or be taught through that spectrum.

I could ask you how a a nursing student could believe in euthanasia - isn't their whole career centered around saving life?

/avoids History and WWII reference

haha i went to see that lecture simply to amuse my self......it was TOTAL BULLS***...the guy had no clue what he was talking about....had had some college degree in eng or something.....and used outdated txt books to source his arguments....his arugments were also complete fallacies ...honestly it was sop pathetic lol..

though the wierdest part was that there were like middle aged-old adults there and some were taking notes as if they were going to go and use his arugments to show off or w.e --- sad -_-

best part was at the end this dude from one of my bio classes just started to tare apart his arguments and he got so flustered and tried to avoid the questionslol epic fail

Originally Posted by krup92

haha i went to see that lecture simply to amuse my self......it was TOTAL BULLS***...the guy had no clue what he was talking about....had had some college degree in eng or something.....and used outdated txt books to source his arguments....his arugments were also complete fallacies ...honestly it was sop pathetic lol..

though the wierdest part was that there were like middle aged-old adults there and some were taking notes as if they were going to go and use his arugments to show off or w.e --- sad -_-

best part was at the end this dude from one of my bio classes just started to tare apart his arguments and he got so flustered and tried to avoid the questionslol epic fail

lol i was gonna go just for fun as well but then i forgot about it.

Originally Posted by britb

I have a friend who's unsure about it. She's not crazy, she just has an issue thinking that all the mutations, etc, worked out so well (I think, we don't really discuss it much). Kinda makes sense, actually. She's not a creationist, I don't think, but questions how everything could have happened out of chance, even with x billion years to go.

Stop thinking so narrowly. Besides, biology is a huge field. Not everything needs to deal with the theory, or be taught through that spectrum.

I could ask you how a a nursing student could believe in euthanasia - isn't their whole career centered around saving life?

/avoids History and WWII reference

I am not thinking narrowly, evolution is a theory. As a science student I believe that every theory should be challenged, nothing should be blindly "believed", as you put. But it is the best we have so far so it must be accepted until something better comes along.

Also, one does not "believe" in a theory, you can choose to either accept it or not accept it. As well, euthanasia is not a theory. You can find euthanasia unethical but you can't say that evolution is "unethical".

Originally Posted by britb

I have a friend who's unsure about it. She's not crazy, she just has an issue thinking that all the mutations, etc, worked out so well (I think, we don't really discuss it much). Kinda makes sense, actually. She's not a creationist, I don't think, but questions how everything could have happened out of chance, even with x billion years to go.

What biology specialization is she in?

Originally Posted by britb

Stop thinking so narrowly. Besides, biology is a huge field. Not everything needs to deal with the theory, or be taught through that spectrum.

I agree that there are some discipline paths that are possible without needing to learn it, but it encompasses most of biology.

Originally Posted by britb

I could ask you how a a nursing student could believe in euthanasia - isn't their whole career centered around saving life?

/avoids History and WWII reference

Nursing is based around patient care; respecting people on the grounds of informed consent, as well as letting people make their own decision.
/refutation to random irrelevant analogy

Originally Posted by ms92

I am not thinking narrowly, evolution is a theory. As a science student I believe that every theory should be challenged, nothing should be blindly "believed", as you put. But it is the best we have so far so it must be accepted until something better comes along.

Also, one does not "believe" in a theory, you can either accept it or not accept it. As well, euthanasia is not a theory. You can find euthanasia unethical but you can't say evolution is unethical.

"how can a biology student not agree with evolution" is pretty narrow to me. You're making the stipulation that any competent biology student must abscirbe to the theory, otherwise is does not make sense.

Accept a theory and believe a theory are the same. I accept a theory because I believe, for the time being at least, is explanation of an event is adequate. Don't try to make a semantic argument in place of a real one.

Euthanasia was simply to demonstrate people can have different beliefs, even if they seem to run counter to their degree/career/whatever, and still function perfectly fine. Maybe she doesn't agree with the practice, but she has to know procedures, protocols around it, and may need to assist with a patient one day.

Originally Posted by RyanC

What biology specialization is she in?



I agree that there are some discipline paths that are possible without needing to learn it, but it encompasses most of biology.



Nursing is based around patient care; respecting people on the grounds of informed consent, as well as letting people make their own decision.
/refutation to random irrelevant analogy

She's in Life Sci, but considers herself a biology student.

I'm not saying you do need to learn or know it, just that you don't need to necessarily believe it/accept it.

Originally Posted by britb

I have a friend who's unsure about it. She's not crazy, she just has an issue thinking that all the mutations, etc, worked out so well (I think, we don't really discuss it much). Kinda makes sense, actually. She's not a creationist, I don't think, but questions how everything could have happened out of chance, even with x billion years to go.

Stop thinking so narrowly. Besides, biology is a huge field. Not everything needs to deal with the theory, or be taught through that spectrum.

I could ask you how a a nursing student could believe in euthanasia - isn't their whole career centered around saving life?

/avoids History and WWII reference

if she thinks that the idea that all life and its diversity came through chance is absurd, I agree, if she thinks that evolution is a theory that proposes that, then she either misunderstands evolution or, much more probably, purposely distorts it in her mind for religious reasons - evolution, at it's core, is a really simple idea.

with that said, it's an incredibly powerful idea - biology is a huge field, but evolution is the theory that completely explains why and how ALL life is the way it is, and as such, it's utterly central to the field. quoting some guy i'm too lazy to look up - "nothing in biology makes sense, except in the light of evolution".

i'm hoping that "friend" isn't you

i need to see this

Originally Posted by britb

"how can a biology student not agree with evolution" is pretty narrow to me. You're making the stipulation that any competent biology student must abscirbe to the theory, otherwise is does not make sense.

But it is true that biology as whole does not make sense without the basis of evolutionary theory.

Also, "accepting" means to take something as a fact while "believing in" refers to using something as a philosophy/guide to life.

Originally Posted by ms92

I am not thinking narrowly, evolution is a theory. As a science student I believe that every theory should be challenged, nothing should be blindly "believed", as you put. But it is the best we have so far so it must be accepted until something better comes along.

Also, one does not "believe" in a theory, you can choose to either accept it or not accept it. As well, euthanasia is not a theory. You can find euthanasia unethical but you can't say that evolution is "unethical".

Sorry to be nitpicky, but this point always annoys me:

Evolution is a FACT, Natural Selection is a THEORY

People often conflate the two, but evolution is an observable process; we can witness it happen and we can induce it in lab environments. The theory is the mechanism behind this change. Gravity is in the same boat (i.e. Gravity is a fact, Newtonian Gravity, General Relativity, Entropic Gravity, etc. are Theories)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evoluti...ory_a nd_fact

Originally Posted by Tailsnake

Sorry to be nitpicky, but this point always annoys me:

Evolution is a FACT, Natural Selection is a THEORY

People often conflate the two, but evolution is an observable process; we can witness it happen and we can induce it in lab environments. The theory is the mechanism behind this change. Gravity is in the same boat (i.e. Gravity is a fact, Newtonian Gravity, General Relativity, Entropic Gravity, etc. are Theories)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evoluti...ory_a nd_fact

hmm, they never talked about this in class. i guess i have to do some research on my own.

Originally Posted by Reda

i need to see this

How the hell are those monkeys reproducing without anyone noticing?