12 Facts About Evolution Korea That Will Get You Thinking About The Water Cooler
Evolution Korea
The economic crisis that swept Asia forced a major reappraisal of the old system of government-business alliances and the management by the public of private risks. In Korea this meant a shift in the model of development.
In a controversial move, the South Korean government has requested textbook publishers to ignore requests to remove examples of evolution in high school science texts. This includes the evidence for the evolution of horses and the bird ancestor Archaeopteryx.
1. Evolution and Religion
A South Korean creationist group has persuaded textbook publishers to eliminate evidence of evolution from high-school science texts. The decision was the result of a campaign by the Society for Textbook Revise (STR) which is an offshoot of the Korea Association for Creation Research that aims to clear textbooks on biology of "atheist materialism." The STR claims that such materialism creates an image of negativity for students, causing them to be skeptical.
Scientists across the globe expressed concern when the STR campaign gained attention. In a letter to the editor of Nature, evolutionary biologist Jae Choe of Ewha Womans University in Seoul complained that South Korea had given in to religious prejudice. He was supported by colleagues from around the country, who formed a group named Evolution Korea to organize an anti-textbook petition.
Some researchers are worried about the possibility that the STR campaign could spread to other parts of the globe where the spread of creationism is increasing. The letter to Nature warned of the anti-evolution movement putting more pressure on textbook revisions, specifically in countries with large Christian and Muslim populations.
South Korea's culture is particularly strong in the debate over evolution. 26 percent of the nation's citizens are members of one of the religious groups and the majority of them practice Christianity or Buddhism. In addition, a lot of Koreans adhere to the Ch'ondogyo philosophy, which is based on Confucian principles that emphasizes harmony among people and personal self-cultivation. Ch'ondogyo teaches that the human being is one with Hanulnim, the God of Sun and that heavenly blessings can be achieved through good works.
All of this has made creationism a fertile ground. Numerous studies have revealed that students who have religious backgrounds tend to feel more uncomfortable about learning evolution than those who do not have a religious background. However, the root causes of this phenomenon remain not known. Students who have a religious background may be less knowledgeable about scientific theories, which makes them more vulnerable to creationists and their influence. Another factor could be that students who have religious backgrounds might view evolution as an idea that is agnostic, making them feel less comfortable.
2. 무료 에볼루션 and Science
In recent times, the scientific community has been concerned about the anti-evolution agenda in schools. A survey conducted in 2009 revealed that over 40 percent of Americans believe that biological evolution is a lie and that a belief in it could be in conflict with their faith-based beliefs. Despite the popularity of creationism in certain states, many scientists feel that the best strategy to counter this movement is not to engage with it, but rather educate people about the evidence for evolution.
Scientists are required to educate their students about science and the theory of evolution. They also need to inform the public about the process of scientific research and how knowledge is verified. They must also explain that scientific theories are frequently challenged and re-examined. However, misperceptions regarding the nature of scientific research often cause people to believe that evolution is not real.
For instance, many people may confuse the word "theory" with the common meaning of the word - a guess or a guess. However, in science, a theory is thoroughly tested and verified using empirical data. A theory that survives repeated testing and observations becomes a scientific principle.
The debate about evolution theory is an excellent opportunity to discuss both the importance of the scientific method and its limits. It is important for people to recognize that science is unable to answer questions regarding the purpose or meaning of life but it is merely a means that allows living things to grow and change.
Furthermore, a comprehensive education must include exposure to the vast majority of scientific fields including evolutionary biology. This is especially important since the jobs people are employed in and the choices they make require knowledge of how science works.
The vast majority of scientists around the world agree that humans have changed over time. A recent study that predicted adults' view of the consensus on this issue found that those with higher levels of education and scientific knowledge were more likely to believe there is a consensus among scientists about human evolution. People with more religious beliefs and have less science knowledge tend to be more skeptical. It is crucial that educators emphasize the importance of understanding this consensus, so that people can make informed decisions about energy use, health care and other policy issues.
3. Evolution and Culture
Cultural evolution is a cousin of mainstream evolutionary theory. It focuses on the ways that humans and other species learn from each other. Researchers in this field use elaborate models and tools that are adapted from those employed by evolutionary theorists, and they reach back into human prehistory to find out the origins of our capacity to learn about culture.
This method also acknowledges the distinction between biological and cultural traits. While biological traits are largely acquired at once (in sexual species, during fertilization), cultural traits can be acquired over a protracted period of time. In the end, the acquisition of one trait may affect the development of another.
In Korea the introduction of Western style elements in the late nineteenth and early 20th century was the result of an elaborate sequence of events. One of the most important was the appearance in Korea of Japanese occupation forces that introduced Western hairstyles and clothes.
After that, when Japan left Korea in the 1930s, some of these trends began to revert. By the end World War II, Korea was once again united, this time under Choson dynasty rule.
Today, Korea is an economic and political power. Despite the current global financial crisis, the economy of Korea has grown consistently over the past decade and is poised to maintain its steady growth in the future.
The current government is faced with many challenges. The government's inability to formulate a coherent plan to deal with the current economic crisis is one the most significant challenges. The crisis has exposed the shortcomings in the policies of the country particularly its dependence on exports and foreign investment which could not last.
Since the financial crisis has destroyed the confidence of investors, the government has to rethink its economic strategy and find alternatives to boost domestic demand. To ensure a stable financial climate the government needs to overhaul its incentive and monitoring systems, as well as discipline and monitoring. This chapter provides a variety of scenarios of how the Korean economy might develop in the post-crisis period.
4. Evolution and Education
The challenge for teachers of evolution is to teach evolutionary concepts that are appropriate for different stages of development and ages. Teachers must, for example, be sensitive to the diversity of religions in their classrooms and create a learning environment where students with both religious and secular perspectives feel comfortable. Teachers must also be able to identify common misconceptions regarding evolution and be able to address them in the classroom. Teachers must also have easy access to the various resources available to teach evolution.
In this context, Thinking Evolutionarily Convocation played a significant role in bringing together evolutionary researchers and educators from a variety of sectors to discuss the best practices for teaching Evolution. The participants included representatives from scientific societies, educational researchers, officials of government funding agencies and curriculum designers. The convergence of different participants helped to identify some common guidelines that will form the basis for future actions.
It is crucial to include evolution in all science curricula, at every level. National Science Education Standards (NRC) that call for the integration of evolution across all life sciences with the developmentally appropriate, are a good way to accomplish this goal. A new publication from the NRC offers guidelines for schools on how to integrate evolution into the life science curriculum.
Multiple studies have shown that a more comprehensive presentation of evolution leads to a greater understanding of students and belief in evolution. It is difficult to quantify causal effects in the classroom because the curriculum for schools do not change in a random manner and are affected by the timing of state board of education and gubernatorial election. To overcome this limitation, i use a longitudinal dataset that allows me to control for the fixed effects of state and years and individual-level variations in the beliefs of teachers about evolutionary theory.
Another important finding is that teachers who are more comfortable with teaching evolution report having less intrapersonal barriers to doing so. This is consistent with the notion that a faculty with more confidence is less likely to avoid discussing evolution topics in the classroom and may be more likely to use strategies such as the reconciliatory approach that has been proven to improve the acceptance of undergraduate students of evolution (Harms and Reiss 2019; Tolman et al., 2020).