10 Quick Tips About Evolution Korea
Evolution Korea
The economic crisis that swept across Asia led to a major rethinking of the traditional system of government, business alliances, and public management of risk. In Korea, that meant a shift in the development paradigm.
In a controversial move, South Korea's government has asked textbook publishers not to comply with calls to remove examples of evolution from high school science books. This includes the evidence supporting the evolution of horses as well as the avian an ancestor Archaeopteryx.
1. Evolution and Religion
A South Korean creationist group has convinced textbook publishers to eliminate evidence of evolution from high school science texts. The move was a result of a campaign led by the Society for Textbook Revise (STR), an independent offshoot of the Korea Association for Creation Research which aims to get rid of biology textbooks of "atheist materialism." The STR claims that this kind of materialism paints an unhopeful picture for students and leads to their eventual denial of faith.
When the STR's campaign made the news, scientists across the world reacted with worry. Jae Choe, an evolutionary biologist at Ewha Womans University, Seoul and wrote an open letter to Nature's editor that South Korea had succumbed to religious prejudice. He was backed up by colleagues around the country, who set up an organization called Evolution Korea to organize a petition against the textbook changes.
Some researchers are concerned that the STR campaign will be spread to other parts of the globe, where the spread of creationism is increasing. The letter to Nature warned that the anti-evolution movement will intensify pressure for revisions to textbooks in other countries, especially those with large Christian and Muslim populations.
South Korea has a particularly strong cultural background for the evolution debate. 26 percent of the country's citizens belong to one of the religious groups, and most practice Christianity or Buddhism. In addition, many Koreans adhere to the philosophy of Ch'ondogyo. It is based on Confucian principles which emphasizes harmony in society and individual self-cultivation. Ch'ondogyo teaches that human beings are one with Hanulnim the God of the Sun, and that the heavenly blessings can be obtained through the good deeds of a person.
All of this has created fertile ground for the spread of creationism. Numerous studies have found that students who have religious backgrounds to be more reluctant to learn about evolution as compared to those who do not. The underlying causes are not obvious. One reason is that students with religious beliefs tend to be as familiar with scientific concepts and theories and are therefore more susceptible to the influence of creationists. Another reason could be that those with religious backgrounds may see evolution as a concept that is atheistic, making them feel uncomfortable.
2. Evolution and Science
In recent years, campaigns against evolution in schools have caused concern within the scientific community. A study conducted in 2009 found that over 40 percent of Americans believe that biological evolution is a lie and that believing in it would be contrary to their faith-based beliefs. Many scientists believe that despite the popularity of creationism, the best way to combat this movement is to educate the public about the evidence for evolution.
Scientists are accountable to instruct their students in science including the theory of evolution. They should also educate the public on the research process and how knowledge is validated. They must also explain that scientific theories are often challenged and revised. However, misunderstandings about the nature of research conducted by scientists often fuel anti-evolution beliefs.
For instance, many people may confuse the word "theory" with the common meaning of the word - a hunch or a guess. In the realm of science theories are rigorously tested and verified with empirical evidence. A theory that is able to withstand repeated testing and observations becomes an established scientific principle.
The debate about the theory of evolution is a wonderful opportunity to discuss both the importance of scientific method and its limits. It is essential to realize that science is not able to answer questions regarding the purpose or meaning of life, but only provides a mechanism through which living organisms can grow and change.
A well-rounded education must include exposure to all major scientific fields including evolutionary biology. This is particularly important because the jobs that people hold and the decisions they make require knowledge of how science works.
The vast majority of scientists across the world believe that humans have evolved over time. A recent study predicting adults' views of the consensus on this issue found that those who had higher levels of education and science knowledge were more likely to believe that there is a general consensus among scientists on the subject of human evolution. Those with more religious faith but less science knowledge tend to be more divided. It is essential that educators emphasize the importance of knowing the general consensus on this issue, so that people have a solid basis for making informed decisions regarding their health care, energy use, and other policy issues.
3. Evolution and Culture
A close cousin to mainstream evolutionary theory, the concept of cultural evolution explores the many ways humans--and other organisms--learn from and with one another. Researchers in this field use explanatory models and investigative tools that are adapted from those employed by evolutionary theorists, and they go back to human prehistory to find out the origins of our capacity for cultural understanding.
This method also acknowledges the distinction between biological and cultural traits. While biological traits are largely acquired in one go (in sexual species, after fertilization) however, cultural traits can be acquired over a protracted period of time. In the end, the acquisition of one cultural trait may affect the development of another.
In Korea for instance, the adoption of Western fashion elements in the late 19th and early 20th centuries was the result of a complex series of events. One of the most important was the arrival in Korea of Japanese occupation forces, who introduced Western clothing and hairstyles.
When 에볼루션 코리아 departed Korea in the 1930s, a portion of these trends began change. At the close of World War II, Korea was once more united and again under Choson dynasty rule.
Today, Korea is a vibrant economic and political power. Despite the current global financial crisis, the country's economy has been growing steadily over the past decade and is poised to maintain its steady growth in the future.
However, the current government is facing a variety of challenges. The government's inability to formulate a coherent strategy to address the current economic crisis is one the biggest challenges. The crisis has exposed the weaknesses of the country's policies, especially its over-reliance on foreign investment and exports which could not last.
As the crisis has shattered the confidence of investors, the government has to review its economic strategy and find alternatives to increase domestic demand. To ensure a stable economic climate the government will need reform its incentive system, monitoring and discipline. This chapter provides a number of scenarios for how the Korean economy might grow in a post-crisis environment.
4. Evolution and Education
The challenge for educators of evolution is how to teach evolutionary concepts that are appropriate for different levels of development and ages. Teachers need to, for instance, be sensitive to the diversity of religions within their classrooms and create a learning environment where students of both religious and secular beliefs are at ease. Teachers must also be able to identify common misconceptions about evolution and know how to correct them in the classroom. Teachers should also have quick access to the numerous resources that can be used to teach evolution.
In this context, Thinking Evolutionarily Convocation had a key role in bringing evolutionary researchers and educators from various sectors to discuss the best practices for teaching Evolution. Participants included representatives from scientific societies, educational research, officials of government funding agencies as well as curriculum designers. The convergence of various participants helped to identify some common guidelines that will form the foundation for future actions.
One of the most important recommendations is that the subject of evolution should be integrated in all science curricula at any level. To achieve this it is recommended that the National Science Education Standards (NRC) call for evolution to be taught in an integrated way across the life sciences using a sequence of ideas that are developmentally appropriate. A new publication from NRC provides guidance for schools on how to integrate evolution in the life science curriculum.
Several studies have found that a more thorough and comprehensive understanding of evolution can lead to greater student knowledge and belief in evolution. It is difficult to quantify the causality of teaching in the classroom because school curricula do not change randomly and are influenced by the timing of state board of education and gubernatorial election. To overcome this limitation, I use a longitudinal data set which allows me to account for year and state fixed effects as well as individual-level variations in teacher beliefs about evolution.
Teachers who are more comfortable in teaching evolution report fewer internal barriers. This is in line with the idea that a more confident faculty is less likely to avoid discussing evolution topics in the classroom. Additionally, they may be more likely to employ strategies, such as a reconciliatory approach known to improve the acceptance of undergraduate students of evolution (Harms and Reiss, 2019; Tolman et al. 2020).