A New Fundamentalism

This is a polemic to reactions like these regarding Tennessee's new legislation protecting teachers who allow discussions about the merits for and against evolution.

As one secularist defined "science" in a post today:

The systematic study of the nature and behavior of the material and physical universe, based on observation, experiment, and measurement, and the formulation of laws to describe these facts in general terms.

This definition brought up a good point. It's a decent understanding of what science is but since science itself is just a particular philosophy for describing the world, shouldn't the philosophy of science be up for an intelligent, philosophical debate? And if ever there should be a safe place for those starting out down the wonderful road of science to discuss just what science is in the first place, shouldn't it be in the classroom?

If there is a super-natural that affects the natural, then wouldn't it stand to reason that we could observe the natural being affected?  Nothing in the secularist's definition above precludes us from observing, experimenting, and measuring natural phenomena and formulating hypothesis that involves a super-natural cause. Only secular dogma would prohibit super-natural hypotheses being used to explain natural phenomena. The secular assertion in itself is not a problem.  Everyone is entitled to their opinion as to the possibility of the existence of the supernatural.

The problem for me starts when they then flatly assert that everyone else, to be taken serious, must hold to the same secular opinion that the super-natural couldn't possibly affect the natural and therefore it's outside the realm of science. Now that's just fundamentalism of another kind I suppose.  It's simply one's personal philosophy that determines whether they believe natural phenomena can potentially have super-natural causes. And if that's the case I think super-natural causes are something worth discussing in a science classroom without getting slammed, legally, for it.  Let the discussion about the philosophy of science take place in a safe science classroom environment without the teacher having to fear that she's establishing a religion and infringing upon someone's civil rights. After all, what is science for if not to challenge our preconceived notions.