The economic crisis which swept Asia led to a major rethinking of the traditional system of government, business alliances, and public management of risk. In Korea, that meant an evolution of the development paradigm.
In a controversial decision the South Korean government has asked textbook publishers to ignore requests to remove examples of evolution in high school science textbooks. This includes the evidence for 에볼루션 바카라 체험 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 Society for Textbook Revise, an independent branch of the Korea Association for Creation Research that aims to cleanse biology textbooks of "atheist materialism," was behind the move. The STR claims that this kind of materialistic thinking creates a negative picture for students and leads to their eventual denial of faith.
Scientists from all over the world expressed concern when the STR campaign made headlines. Jae Choe, evolutionary biologist at Ewha Womans University, Seoul wrote in an email to Nature's editor that South Korea had succumbed to religious prejudice. He was backed by colleagues from around the country, who formed a group named Evolution Korea to organize an anti-textbook petition.
Some researchers are concerned that the STR could spread to other parts around the world, where the belief in creationism has been growing. The letter to Nature warned that the anti-evolutionist movement will intensify pressure for revisions to textbooks in other countries, especially those with strong Christian and Muslim populations.
South Korea's cultural background is particularly strong for the debate on evolution. Twenty-six percent of the country's citizens are members of an organized religion and the majority of them adhere to Christianity or Buddhism. Many Koreans also adhere to Ch'ondogyo - a philosophy based upon Confucian principles, which is a strong advocate of social harmony, individual self-cultivation and self-respect. Ch'ondogyo teaches that the human being is one with Hanulnim, the God of Sun and that heavenly blessings are achievable through the good works of one's.
All of this has created a fertile ground. Several studies have shown that students with a religious background tend to be more uncomfortable about learning about evolution than students without religion. The causes behind this are not obvious. One possible explanation is that students with a religious background tend not to be as familiar with scientific concepts and theories which makes them more susceptible to the influence of creationists. Another factor could be that students with religious backgrounds might view evolution as an idea that is agnostic, making them feel uncomfortable.
2. Evolution and Science
In recent years, scientists have been concerned about anti-evolution initiatives in schools. A survey in 2009 revealed that 40 percent of Americans believed that biological evolution was a myth and that it would conflict their religious beliefs. Many scientists believe that, despite the fact that creationism has been successful the best method to stop this movement is to educate the public about the evidence supporting evolution.
Scientists are accountable for teaching their students science that includes the theory of evolution. They also need to inform the general public about the science process, and how scientific knowledge is gathered and validated. They must also explain that theories of science are frequently challenged and revised. However, misconceptions about the nature and purpose of research can fuel anti-evolution views.
Some people confuse the word "theory" as a hunch or a guess. In the field of science, however, an hypothesis is rigorously tested and empirical data is used to prove it. A theory that has survived repeated testing and observation is a scientific principle.
The debate over the theory of evolution is a wonderful occasion to discuss both the importance of scientific methodology and its limits. It is important to realize that science cannot answer questions regarding the purpose or meaning of life, but it is merely a means through which living organisms can grow and change.
A well-rounded education should also include exposure to all major fields of science including evolutionary biology. This is crucial because the jobs that people hold and the decisions they make require a understanding of how science functions.
The vast majority scientists in the world believe that humans have evolved through time. A recent study that predicted adults' views of the consensus on this subject found that those with higher education levels and scientific knowledge were more likely to believe there is a general consensus among scientists about human evolution. The people who have more religious beliefs but less knowledge of science tend to disagree more. It is crucial that educators insist on the importance of gaining an understanding of this consensus, to enable people to make informed choices about the use of energy, health care and other policy issues.
3. Evolution and Culture
A close relative to mainstream evolutionary theory, cultural evolution explores the many ways humans--and other organisms--learn from and interact with one another. Researchers in this area use explanation tools and models adapted from evolutionary theorists and reach back to the prehistoric human to discover the origins of culture.
This approach also recognizes the distinction between biological and cultural traits. Cultural traits can be acquired slowly while biological traits are typically acquired at the same time (in sexual species at fertilization). This means that the emergence of one cultural characteristic can affect the development of another.
In Korea, the adoption of Western style elements in the latter part of the nineteenth and early twentieth century was the result of an elaborate sequence of events. One of the most important was the appearance in Korea of Japanese occupation forces, who introduced Western hairstyles and clothing.
When Japan departed Korea in the 1930s, a portion of those trends began to reverse. At the close of World War II, Korea was once again united, this time under the Choson dynasty rule.
Today, Korea is a vibrant political and economic power. Despite the current global financial crisis, the country's economy has grown steadily in the last decade and is poised to continue its healthy growth in the future.
The current government is faced with many challenges. The inability of the government to come up with an effective strategy to address the current economic crisis is among the biggest obstacles. The crisis has exposed shortcomings in the policies of the country and its reliance 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 come up with alternatives to increase domestic demand. To ensure a stable financial climate, the government will have to reform its incentive system, monitoring and discipline. This chapter outlines several scenarios of how the Korean economy might develop after the crisis.
4. Evolution and Education
The challenge for evolution educators is how to teach evolutionary concepts that are appropriate for various ages and stages of development. Teachers need to, for instance be mindful of the religious diversity in their classrooms and create an environment where students of both secular and religious beliefs are comfortable. Teachers must also be able to identify common misconceptions regarding evolution and be able to address them in the classroom. Finally, teachers must have access to a range of resources that are available to teach evolution and be able locate them quickly.
In this context the Thinking Evolutionarily Convocation was a crucial step in bringing together evolutionary scientists and educators from a range of fields to discuss best practices for teaching about evolution. Participants included representatives from scientific societies and educational research organizations, as well as officials from government funding agencies and curriculum developers. The convergence of different stakeholders led to the development of some common guidelines that will form the basis for future actions.
A key recommendation is that the teaching of evolution should be included in all science curricula at any level. National Science Education Standards (NRC) which require the integration of evolution across all life sciences with a progression that is developmentally appropriate, are a way to accomplish this goal. A new publication from the NRC provides guidance to schools about how to incorporate evolution into the life science curriculum.
Several studies have found that a more comprehensive teaching of evolution is linked to more knowledge and belief in the concept of evolution. However the estimation of causal effects in the classroom is difficult due to the fact that school curriculums are not assigned randomly and change over time because of the predetermined timing of gubernatorial elections and state board of education appointments. To overcome this issue I employ a longitudinal data set that gives me to control for the effects of years and states fixed and individual-level variations in the beliefs of teachers about evolutionary theory.
Another important result is that teachers who feel more comfortable teaching about evolution report having fewer intrapersonal barriers to doing so. This is in line with the notion that a more confident faculty is less likely to avoid discussing evolution topics in the classroom. Additionally, they could be more likely to employ 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).
