13 Things About Evolution Korea You May Not Know
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Evolution Korea
The economic crisis that swept across Asia caused a major review 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 move South Korea's government has requested textbook publishers to ignore requests to eliminate examples of evolution from high school science books. This includes evidence for evolution of horses and the avian ancestor Archaeopteryx.
1. Evolution and Religion
A creationist group from South Korea has successfully convinced textbook publishers to omit evidence of evolution from science textbooks for high school students. The Society for Textbook Revise, an independent branch of the Korea Association for Creation Research which aims to rid biology textbooks of "atheist materialism," was behind the move. The STR claims that this kind of materialistic views create a negative image for students, and could lead to their eventual loss of faith.
When the STR's campaign made the news, scientists across the world reacted with worry. In a letter addressed to the editor of Nature the evolutionary biologist Jae Choe at Ewha Womans University in Seoul complained that South Korea had given in to religious prejudice. He was backed up by colleagues around the country, who formed a group called Evolution Korea to organize a petition against the textbook changes.
Some researchers are concerned that the STR could spread to other parts around the world, where creationism is on the rise. The letter to Nature warned of the anti-evolutionist campaign putting pressure on textbook revisions, specifically in countries with large Christian and Muslim populations.
South Korea has a particularly significant cultural context for the debate on evolution. 26 percent of the nation's citizens belong to a religious denomination and the majority of them practice Christianity or Buddhism. Many Koreans also follow 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 human beings are one with Hanulnim, the God of the Sun, and that the heavenly blessings can be derived through good works.
All of this has provided an ideal environment for the spread of creationism. Numerous studies have found that students who have religious backgrounds to be more reluctant to learn about evolution than those who don't. The underlying causes of this phenomenon remain unclear. Students with a religious background may be less knowledgeable about scientific theories, which makes them more susceptible to creationists influence. Another possible factor is that students with a religious background tend to view evolution as a religious concept which could make them less comfortable with it.
2. Evolution and Science
In recent years, the scientific community has been concerned about anti-evolution efforts in schools. A survey conducted in 2009 revealed that nearly 40 percent of Americans believe that biological evolution is a lie and that believing in it would be contrary to their religious beliefs. Despite the fact that creationism has been a huge success in some states, many scientists believe that the best way to combat this inclination is not to engage it, but rather to educate the public about the evidence that supports evolution.
Scientists are accountable to instruct their students in science including the theory of evolution. They also need to inform the general public about the scientific process, and how scientific knowledge is gathered and validated. They should also clarify that scientific theories are often challenged and revised. However, misperceptions regarding the nature of scientific research frequently create anti-evolution beliefs.
For instance, many people may confuse the word "theory" with the everyday meaning of the word, which is a hunch or guess. In the field of science, however, an hypothesis is rigorously tested and empirical evidence is used to confirm it. A theory that survives repeated testing and observations becomes a scientific principle.
The debate over evolutionary theory is a good opportunity to discuss the importance of the scientific method and its limitations. It is crucial for people to recognize that science is unable to answer questions about the purpose or meaning of life but it is merely a means that allows living things to evolve and change.
A well-rounded education must include exposure to all major fields of science including evolutionary biology. This Evolution is crucial because a lot of jobs and choices require individuals understand the way science works.
The vast majority of scientists around the world accept that humans have evolved over time. In a study that predicted the opinions of adults about the consensus around this issue, those with higher levels education and knowledge of science were found to be more likely believe that there is wide agreement among scientists regarding the evolution of humans. Those with more religious faith but less science knowledge tend to be more divided. It is important that educators stress the importance of gaining an understanding of this consensus, so that people can make informed decisions about the use of energy, health care, and other policy matters.
3. Evolution and Culture
Cultural evolution is a cousin of the popular evolutionary theory. It examines the ways that humans and other species learn from each other. Researchers in this area use explanatory tools and investigative models adapted from evolutionary theorists. They also go back to human prehistory to find the origins of culture.
This approach also acknowledges the differences between biological and cultural characteristics. Cultural traits are acquired slowly, whereas biological traits are mostly inherited at the same time (in the case of sexual species after fertilization). The acquisition of one cultural characteristic may affect the growth and development of a different.
In Korea the introduction of Western elements of style in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century was the result of a complex sequence of events. One of the most significant was the arrival of Japanese occupation forces, who introduced Western clothing styles and hairstyles to Korean society.
When Japan quit Korea in the 1930s, a few of these changes 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 an economic and political power. Despite the financial crisis of recent Korea's economy has been growing consistently over the last decade. It is anticipated to continue to grow in the coming years.
The current government is facing a variety of challenges. One of the most significant is its inability to find a coherent policy to address the economic crisis. The crisis has exposed shortcomings in the policies of the country, especially its over-reliance on exports and foreign investment which could not last.
As the crisis has shattered the confidence of investors, the government must review its economic strategy and find alternatives to increase domestic demand. To ensure a stable economic climate the government will need to reform its incentive and monitoring systems, as well as discipline and monitoring. This chapter outlines several scenarios of how the Korean economy could grow in the post-crisis era.
4. Evolution and Education
The challenge for educators of evolution lies in how to teach evolutionary concepts that are appropriate for various levels of development and ages. Teachers must, for example be aware of the diversity of religions in their classrooms and create a welcoming environment where students from both secular and religious beliefs are comfortable. Teachers should also be able recognize common misconceptions about evolution and know how to correct them in the classroom. Teachers must also have easy access to the various resources that can be used to teach evolution.
In this regard the Thinking Evolutionarily Convocation was a crucial step towards bringing evolutionary scientists and educators from a range of sectors to discuss the most effective methods of teaching evolution. Participants included representatives from scientific societies, educational research, government funding agency officials and curriculum developers. The convergence of different stakeholders helped identify the common recommendations that will serve as the basis for any future actions.
A key recommendation is that the teaching of evolution should be included in every science curriculum at every level. To achieve this it is recommended that the National Science Education Standards (NRC) require that evolution be taught in a unified way across the life sciences using a sequence of ideas that are developmentally appropriate. A new publication from the NRC offers guidance to schools on how to integrate evolution into the science curriculum.
Several studies have found that a more thorough and comprehensive understanding of evolution is linked to higher levels of student understanding and belief in the existence of evolution. However, estimating the causal impact of teaching in the classroom is a challenge due to the fact that school curriculums are not assigned randomly and evolve in time as a result of the predetermined timeframe of gubernatorial elections as well as state board of education appointments. To overcome this problem, I use an ongoing data set that allows me to control for fixed state and year effects and individual-level variation in teacher beliefs regarding changes in the curriculum.
Another important result is that teachers who feel more comfortable teaching about evolution report having fewer intrapersonal barriers to doing so. This is consistent with the notion that a more experienced faculty is less likely to avoid tackling evolution topics in the classroom and may be more likely to employ strategies, such as a reconciliatory approach known to increase undergraduate student acceptance of evolution (Harms and Reiss 2019; Tolman et al., 2020).