stand up for REAL science

As readers of this blog are probably well aware, the Discovery Institute has recently launched a nationwide effort to promote "Academic Freedom" statutes in state legislatures (please note my intentional use of quotation marks).

Supporters of these statutes argue that teachers should be legally entitled to present the "full range of scientific views" regarding chemical and biological evolution.

State Legislatures in Florida, Missouri, Alabama, Michigan, and South Carolina all considered (but failed to pass) "Academic Freedom" legislation in 2008. The Louisiana Legislature adopted such a measure last summer. It is quite possible that other states will consider such statutes in 2009.

Unfortunately, like another popular concept the DI has recently seized upon, they seem to be using their own definition for "academic freedom."

In an upcoming book from Yale University Press, authors Matthew W. Finkin and Robert C. Post carefully distinguish academic freedom from the kind of individual free speech right that is created by the First Amendment.

Here is the publisher's description of the book:

Debates about academic freedom have become increasingly fierce and frequent. Legislative efforts to regulate American professors proliferate across the nation. Although most American scholars desire to protect academic freedom, they have only a vague and uncertain apprehension of its basic principles and structure. This book offers a concise explanation of the history and meaning of American academic freedom, and it attempts to intervene in contemporary debates by clarifying the fundamental functions and purposes of academic freedom in America.

Sounds like an interesting and informative book.

Maybe someone should send a copy to the DI.