Here is the fourth of five installments of remarks made last Tuesday to
the Kansas State Board of Education regarding new science standards.

The remarks were prepared to be given within a two-minute time limit.

These were delivered by Brian Sandefur,  a mechanical engineer.

*********

 REMARKS OF BRIAN SANDEFUR
 TO THE KANSAS STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION

 December 12, 2000
 

Good morning, my name is Brian Sandefur. I'm a mechanical engineer, living
in Lawrence.

I am here this morning to strongly urge you to adopt science standards
that call for seeking LOGICAL, and not strictly NATURAL, explanations for
the world around us.

By committing to naturalism a priori, which biological science admittedly
does, it is encumbered by unnecessary philosophical constraints not unlike
those that drive strict creationism. The effect is that for any given
biological phenomenon, Darwinian pathways are taken for granted, and
directed or intelligent causes are excluded from consideration by
definition. In many cases, assumptions become conclusions with little more
supporting evidence than just-so stories. What's worse, this restriction
on potential causes is quite possibly leading science to many wrong
answers, especially in light of the biomolecular revolution.

To date, the most popular response to this proposal is that we are merely
trying to further a religious agenda. This is a strawman, and completely
neglects the empirical substance of the argument. It does not follow that
a theory with religious implications is religious. The irony is that it is
our position, which is willing to systematically consider all
possibilities, that will free biological inquiry from artificial
constraints.

In The Origin of Species, Charles Darwin wrote: "I am well aware that
there is scarcely a single point discussed in this volume on which facts
cannot be adduced, often apparently leading to conclusions directly
opposite to those at which I have arrived. A fair result could be obtained
only by fully stating and balancing the facts on both sides of each
question."

In this historical science of reconstructing the history of life on earth,
philosophical freedom at the outset is essential for intellectual
integrity.

As the Kansas State Board of Education, you have the opportunity to
provide for that kind of analysis, but it can only happen by adopting
standards that reject unwavering adherence to naturalism, and embracing a
mode of inquiry that welcomes logical, empirical explanations.

Thank you.

POWRÓT