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Index to Creationist Claims,  edited by Mark Isaak,    Copyright © 2006
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Claim CA230.1:

The conclusions of scientists are based on their preconceptions. They prove only what they assume.

Source:

Oard, Michael J. 2003. Are polar ice sheets only 4500 years old? Impact 361 (July), p. iv. http://www.icr.org/index.php?module=articles&action=view&ID=120

Response:

  1. The conclusions of scientists are based on evidence, and the evidence remains for all to see. Scientists know that their ideas must stand the scrutiny of other scientists, who may not share their preconceptions. The best way to do this is to make the case strong enough on the basis of the evidence so that preconceptions do not matter. And scientists themselves condemn preconceptions when they see them. (Stephen J. Gould, the most vocal recent crusader against preconceptions in science, was vehemently anticreationism.)

    The history of science is filled with scientists accepting ideas contrary to their preconceptions. Examples include the reality of extinctions, the reality of meteors, meteors as causes of mass extinctions, ice ages, continental drift, transposons, bacteria as the cause of ulcers, the nature of prions, and, of course, evolution itself. Scientists are not immune to being sidetracked by their preconceptions, but they ultimately go where the evidence leads.

    Scientists make deliberate efforts to remove subjective influences from their evaluation of conclusions; they do a good job, on the whole, of reducing bias. They do such a good job, in fact, that what creationists really object to is the fact that scientists do not interpret evidence according to certain religious preconceptions.

  2. The hypocrisy of this charge cannot be overstressed. Creationists state outright that they accept only what they already assume. Consider part of Answers in Genesis' Statement of Faith: "By definition, no apparent, perceived or claimed evidence in any field, including history and chronology, can be valid if it contradicts the Scriptural record" (AIG n.d.). The Institute for Creation Research has a similar statement of faith (ICR 2000). Creationists admit up front that their preconceptions, in the form of religious convictions, determine their conclusions.

References:

  1. AIG. n.d. Statement of faith. http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/about/faith.asp
  2. ICR. 2000. ICR tenets of Creationism. http://www.icr.org/index.php?module=research&action=index&page=research_tenets

Further Reading:

Trever, John. Untitled cartoon. John Trever cartoon: Scientific Method / Creationist Method
Copyright 1998 John Trever, Albuquerque Journal. Used by permission.
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created 2003-6-30, modified 2004-5-6