Teaching evolution in schools: what science explains and what explains science.
By Chaitanya Charan Das
An Indian Union Minister of State recently triggered a furor by stating that evolution is unproven scientifically and shouldn’t be taught in schools.
Before examining the tenability of this statement, we need to understand what is implied by the word evolution. It refers to different things in different contexts.
In today’s public discourse, evolution is used in three broad senses:
1. Adaptation of species
2. Emergence of new species
3. All-explaining naturalistic ideology
Adaptation of species: Evolution can refer to the variation that happens within species as they adapt to their environment by developing certain features. For example, flora and fauna in deserts develop mechanisms to store water. Such adaptation is a well-documented phenomenon that doesn’t need to be doubted or disputed. Nature has endowed living beings with the capacity to adapt to their environment – in that sense, living beings do evolve. Almost all the hard evidence provided by science textbooks for evolution is for such biological adaptation, which can be termed as micro-evolution.
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