Cornell University and Paleontological Research Institution
Statement on Kitzmiller et al., v. Dover Area School District
December 21, 2005
Opinion for the plaintiffs
By barring the teaching of Intelligent Design in public school science classes, U.S. District Court Judge John E. Jones III has struck a blow for science and against the unconstitutional insertion of religion into the public schools. In the case of Kitzmiller et al. v. Dover Area School District, Judge Jones found that the premises of "intelligent design" (ID) are not testable by the methods of science and that no credible scientific evidence has been presented for it. Any limitations in scientific knowledge must be filled by more science, not appeals to religious belief. He also rejected the introduction of those beliefs into the curriculum, noting as he did so the mendacity of the board members who denied in court the religious motivations they flaunted outside. Many Americans view science and religion as compatible but one may not be substituted for the other in the public schools.
We would like to believe that this case will mark the end of efforts to introduce ID into public school science classes, but exhortations to "teach the controversy" are likely to persist. All who care about science, science education, and the positive role of science in contemporary society must remain vigilant against future attempts to subvert the scientific way of knowing for religious or political ends.
Warren Allmon
Director, Paleontological Research Institution, Adjunct Associate Professor of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences
Stephen Hamilton
Professor of Human Development, Associate Provost for Outreach
Full signature list:
Eric Alani, Associate Professor of Genetics
Warren D. Allmon, Director, Paleontological Research Institution, and Adjunct Associate Professor of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
Charles F. Aquadro, Professor and Chair, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, and Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Robert W. Balluffi, Adjunct Professor, Materials Science and Engineering
William E. Bemis, Kingsbury Director, Shoals Marine Laboratory, and Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Ross Brann, Milton R. Konvitz Professor of Judeo-Islamic Studies
Anthony Bretscher, Professor of Cell Biology
John Bunge, Associate Professor, Department of Statistical Science
Joseph A. Burns, I.P. Church Professor of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics and Astronomy
John L. Cisne, Professor of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
John E. Coleman, Professor of Classics and Director, Cornell Halai and East Lokris Project
James M. Cordes, Professor of Astronomy
Sheila Ann Dean, Visiting Scholar, Department of Science and Technology Studies, and Editor, Darwin Correspondence Project
Lou Derry, Associate Professor, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
Howard Evans, Professor of Veterinary and Comparative Anatomy, Emeritus
John W. Fitzpatrick, L. A. Fuertes Director, Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology
Cole Gilbert, Associate Professor of Entomology
Charles H. Greene, Professor of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
Nelson G. Hairston, Jr., Senior Associate Dean, College of Arts & Sciences, and Frank H.T. Rhodes Professor of Environmental Science
Stephen F. Hamilton, Associate Provost for Outreach, and Professor of Human Development
Richard Harrison, Chair and Professor, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Stephen Hilgartner, Associate Professor of Science & Technology Studies
Theresa E. Jordan, Chair and Professor of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
Robert Kay, Professor of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
Kenneth A.R. Kennedy, Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Emeritus
W. Lee Kraus, Associate Professor of Molecular Biology and Genetics
Rabbi Aaron Levy, Campus Rabbi, Cornell Hillel: Yudowitz Center for Jewish Campus Life
James K. Liebherr, Professor and Curator of Entomology
Irby J. Lovette, Assistant Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Peter L. Marks, Professor, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Amy McCune, Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Andrew J. Pershing, Assistant Professor of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
Jason Phipps Morgan, Professor of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
Trevor Pinch, Chair and Professor of Science and Technology Studies
Linda S. Rayor, Senior Research Associate, Department of Entomology
Nerissa Russell, Associate Professor of Anthropology
David J. Schuller, Senior Research Associate, Dept. of Molecular Biology & Genetics
David Shalloway, Greater Philadelphia Professor in Biological Sciences
Yervant Terzian, David C. Duncan Professor in the Physical Sciences
William M. Trochim, Professor of Policy Analysis & Management
Charles Walcott, Dean of University Faculty and Professor of Neurobiology and Behavior
William White, Professor of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
Mariana F. Wolfner, Professor of Developmental Biology