Now I am worried. Maybe we all should be worried. I just finished reading the Perspective article by Robert S. Schwartz, M.D. “Faith Healers and Physicians—Teaching Pseudoscience by Mandate” in the New England Journal of Medicine, October 6, 2005 issue. I knew about the intelligent design movement (anti-evolution but proposing “a supernatural being—a hidden wizard—has a hidden hand in shaping the living world.”) [Note: these quotes and quotes below taken from the article.] I knew it was being debated in school boards around the country regarding starting teaching intelligent design to school children beginning in the 9th grade.
What I didn’t know was according to the article “Bill Frist, the Senate majority leader and a graduate of Harvard Medical School, has come out in favor of teaching of intelligent design.” Could this mean there may come political pressure to have medical schools teach intelligent design? “Its proponents tell us that gaps in our knowledge of how living organisms evolved vitiate the theory of evolution.” Think.. if this catches on as medical teaching, what could be the result? Any explanation that our scientists cannot explain must then be explained as part of the intelligent design. Therefore, no further attempt at another explanation would be necessary. This could put an end to scientific medical research. Treatment of medical illness and search for new drugs would be de-emphasized since there is no trumping the product of the “designer”.
Dr. Schwartz urges us in medicine, as physicians, leaders of professional societies and prominent academicians to protect the public from pseudoscience and begin to “understand what the debate is about and consider the consequences for the future of medicine.” ..Maurice.
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