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Activities, Writings and Resources on Evolution
The Board of Directors of Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society strongly supports the teaching of evolution in schools, and provides this portal to information on the theory of evolution and its teaching.
Sigma Xi Efforts
2006-2007 Distinguished Lectureships
Sigma Xi Distinguished Lecturers availabe to speak on aspects of evolution.
Society Signs Amicus Brief in Georgia Case
Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society, acting in support of the principle of evolution by natural selection, is an official signatory to the amicus curiae ("friend of the court") submitted June 10, 2005 in the case of Selman v. Cobb County School District.
The brief urges the U.S. appeals court to uphold a lower court decision that evolution "warning labels" required in Cobb County, Georgia public school textbooks were unconstitutional. Sigma Xi joined 55 other scientific societies in signing the brief.
Sigma Xi Board Endorses Position Statement
The Board of Directors of Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society has endorsed the statement of the American Association for the Advancement of Science supporting the teaching of evolution in schools:
The contemporary theory of biological evolution is one of the most robust products of scientific inquiry. It is the foundation for research in many areas of biology as well as an essential element of science education. To become informed and responsible citizens in our contemporary technological world, students need to study the theories and empirical evidence central to current scientific understanding.
Board, Public Understanding of Science Commitee Encourage Action
The Board encourages Sigma Xi members to get involved in the issue. Among the general public, there is some confusion over evolution, and controversy over how it should be taught in local schools. That confusion may stem from a gap in the public's understanding about the scientific process of discovery, how science works to further knowledge about the natural world, and what it can and cannot explain.
Scientific researchers have an opportunity to address that gap, and to inform the public about what constitutes science and what does not, by working with citizens and institutions in their communities. Sigma Xi's Public Understanding of Science Committee encourages and supports Society chapters and members to volunteer to contribute to discussions about the way evolution, and thus scientific methodology, is taught and understood.
On Being a Scientist: The Year 2000
Challenges to evolution are nothing new, of course, and if scientists are to become engaged with the issue it is important that they have a full understanding of the historical context that has shaped the current conflict. One of the most powerful and direct presentations of that context was delivered by Francisco J. Ayala, the Donald Bren Professor of Biological Sciences, University of California at Irvine, at Sigma Xi's 2000 Forum. The full text of Ayala's lecture, "On Being a Scientist: The Year 2000," can be found here.
American Scientist Writings
Sigma Xi has published a wealth of pieces in