The American Humanist Association

A Statement Affirming Evolution
as a Principle of Science

(The following statement first appeared in the Humanist of January/February, 1977.)

For many years it has been well established scientifically that all known forms of life, including human beings, have developed by a lengthy process of evolution. It is also verifiable today that very primitive forms of life, ancestral to all living forms, came into being thousands of millions of years ago. They constituted the trunk of a "tree of life" that, in growing, branched more and more; that is, some of the later descendants of these earliest living things, in growing more complex, became ever more diverse and increasingly different from one another. Humans and the other highly organized types of today constitute the present twig-end of that tree. The human twig and that of the apes sprang from the same apelike progenitor branch.

Scientists consider that none of their principles, no matter how seemingly firmly established—and no ordinary "facts" of direct observation either—are absolute certainties. Some possibility of human error, even if very slight, always exists. Scientists welcome the challenge of further testing of any view whatever. They use such terms as firmly established only for conclusions founded on rigorous evidence that have continued to withstand searching criticism.

The principle of biological evolution, as just stated, meets these criteria exceptionally well. It rests upon a multitude of discoveries of very different kinds that concur and complement one another. It is therefore accepted into humanity's general body of knowledge by scientists and other reasonable persons who have familiarized themselves with the evidence.

In recent years, the evidence for the principle of evolution has continued to accumulate. This has resulted in a firm understanding of biological evolution, including the further confirmation of the principle of natural selection and adaptation that Darwin and Wallace over a century ago showed to be an essential part of the process of biological evolution.

There are no alternative theories to the principle of evolution, with its "tree of life" pattern, that any competent biologist of today takes seriously. Moreover, the principle is so important for an understanding of the world we live in and of ourselves that the public in general, including students taking biology in school, should be made aware of it, and of the fact that it is firmly established in the view of the modern scientific community.

Creationism is not scientific; it is a purely religious view held by some religious sects and persons and strongly opposed by other religious sects and persons. Evolution is the only presently known strictly scientific and nonreligious explanation for the existence and diversity of living organisms. It is therefore the only view which should be expounded in public school courses on science, which are distinct from those on religion.

We, the undersigned, call upon all local school boards, manufacturers of textbooks and teaching materials, elementary and secondary teachers of biological science, concerned citizens, and educational agencies to do the following:

• Resist and oppose measures currently before several state legislatures that would require creationist views of origins be given equal treatment and emphasis in public school biology classes and text materials.
• Reject the concept, currently being put forth by certain religious and creationist pressure groups, that alleges that evolution is itself a tenet of a religion of "secular Humanism," and as such is unsuitable for inclusion in the public school science curriculum
• Give vigorous support and aid to those classroom teachers who present the subject matter of evolution fairly and who often encounter community opposition.

Sponsoring Committee

(Affiliations, as of 1977, given for identification only)

Coordinator: Bette Chambers, president, American Humanist Association

Isaac Asimov, author, associate professor of biochemistry, Boston University School of Medicine

Hudson Hoagland, president emeritus, The Worcester Foundation for Experimental Biology, Shrewsbury, Massachusetts

Chauncey D. Leake, senior lecturer, Univ. of California at San Francisco

Linus Pauling, research professor, Linus Pauling Institute of Science and Medicine, Menlo Park, California

George Gaylord Simpson, emeritus professor of vertebrate paleontology, Harvard, University; professor of geosciences, University of Arizona at Tucson

Signers

(Full list of 180 in addition to the above)

George O. Abell, professor of astronomy, UCLA, Garland Allen, Dept. of Biology, Wash. U., St. Louis; Dean Amadon, Amer. Mus. of Nat. Hist., New York; Joseph Annest, Dept. of Genetics, Univ. of Hawaii, Philip Appleman, prof. of English, Indiana Univ.; Khoren Arisian, chmn., Nat'l Council of Leaders, AEU; Robert Bader, dean, Coll. of Arts and Sciences, Univ. of Missouri; William K. Baker, prof. of biology, Univ. of Chicago; Robert Ballentine, assoc. prof. of biology, Johns Hopkins U.; R. H. Barth, Jr., prof. of zoology, Univ. of Texas at Austin; Harold Bass, pastor, Hillside Comm. Church, Tacoma; Norman J. Bauer, prof. of educ. studies, SUNY at Geneseo, Maurice Bessman, prof. of biology, Johns Hopkins U., John L. Biesele, prof. of zoology, Univ. of Texas, Austin; Algernon Black, Leader emeritus, New York Society for Ethical Culture; Craig Black, director, Carnegie Mus. of Nat. Hist., Pittsburgh; Antonie Blackler, biological sciences, Cornell Univ.; W. Frank Blair, prof. of zoology, Univ. of Texas, Austin; Brand Blanshard, Yale University; John Tyler Bonner, prof. of biology, Princeton ' W. R. Breneman, prof. of zoology, Indiana Univ.; R. Alexander Brink, prof. emeritus of genetics, U. of Wis. ' Roy J. Britten, senior research assoc. in biophysics, CIT, Pasadena; Guy L. Bush, Dept. of Zoology, Univ. of Texas, Austin; William Callahan, project director, BSCS, U. of Colo.; Philip Carl, asst. prof. of microbiology, Univ, of Illinois; Elof Carlson, prof. of biological sciences, SUNY at Stony Brook; Lars H. Carpelan, prof. of biology, Univ. of California, Riverside; Hampton Carson, professor of genetics, U. of Hawaii; James Carver, Jr., Biology Dept., Guilford College, Greensboro, North Carolina; Preston Cloud, U.S. Geol. Survey, Univ. of California, Santa Barbara; Edwin Colbert, curator emeritus, Amer. Museum of Natural History, New York; Richard Coles, assoc. prof. of biology, Washington Univ., St. Louis; Arthur W. Combs, educator and psychologist, Greeley, Colo., Barry Commoner, Washington Univ., St. Louis; Patrick Conant, Dept. of Entomology, Univ. of Hawaii; Kenneth Cooper, prof. of biology, Univ. of California, Riverside, Wilford 0. Cross, prof. of ethics, retired, Madison, Conn.; Sears Crowell, prof. of zoology, Indiana Univ.; Max Delbruck, Nobel laureate, ClT, Pasadena; M. Benjamin Dell, scientific assoc. Alcoa Labs, Pittsburgh; Everett Dempster, prof. emer. of genetics, Univ. of California, Berkeley; R. J. Desnick, assoc. prof. of genetics, Univ. of Minn.; R. V. Dippell, assoc. prof. of zoology, Indiana Univ.; Dexter Easton, assoc. prof. of hiol. sciences, Florida State U., Alfred Emerson, emeritus prof. of biology, Univ, of Chicago; Edward Ericson, chairman, Board of Leaders, New York Society for Ethical Culture; Roy P. Fairfield, professor, Union Graduate School, Yellow Springs, Ohio, Herbert Feigl, regents prof. emeritus, philosophy, Univ. of Minnesota; Bernard T. Feld, prof. of physics, MIT, Joseph Fletcher, Univ. of Virginia Medical School; Philip Fordyce, provost, science education, Florida State Univ., Tallahassee; J. L. Fox, assoc. prof. of zoology, Univ. of Tex., Austin; Paul Gellert, president, American Ethical Union, NYC; Michael Ghiselin, assoc. prof. of zoology, Univ. of California, Berkeley; Luther Val Giddings, Dept. of Genetics, U. of Hawaii; Earl L. Green, geneticist, past director, Jackson Lab., Bar Harbor, Maine; Arnold Grobman, chancellor, University of Missouri; Roy Gromme, staff cons., Biol. Sci. Curric. Study, U. of Colo.; Charles Hagen, Jr., prof. of plant sciences, Indiana U., Thomas S. Hall, prof. of biology, Washington Univ., St. Louis; Viktor Hamburger, prof. of biology, Washington Univ., St. Louis; The Rev. Prof. Walter Robert Hampshire, St. Paul's Church, Florida Memorial College, Miami, Elmo Hardy, prof. of entomology, Univ. of Hawaii; Philip E. Hartman, professor of biology, Johns Hopkins Univ.; Alex Hershaft, director of environmental programs, Interstate Electronics Corp., Bethesda, Maryland; William M. Hexter, prof. of biology, Amherst College, Mass.; Faith Hickman, Biol. Sci. Curric. Study, Univ. of Colorado; Yuichiro Hiraizumi, assoc. prof. of zoology, Univ. of Texas at Austin; Kurt G. Hofer, Dept. of Biol. Sci., Forida State U., Tallahassee; D. Frank Holtman, prof. emeritus of microbiology, Univ. of Tennesse; P. H. Homann, assoc. prof. of biol. sci., Florida State U., Talla.; Sidney Hook, emeritus prof. of philosophy, NYU, Hoover Institution, Stanford Univ.; Johns W. Hopkins, Dept. of Biology, Washington U., St. Louis; N. H. Horowitz, prof. of biology, CIT, Pasadena; Clark Hubbs, prof. of zoology, Univ. of Texas, Austin; John A. Hunt, Dept. of Genetics, Univ. of Hawaii; Edna Ruth Johnson, editor, The Church man magazine; Russell Joyner, exec. director, Int'l Sec. for General Semantics, San Francisco; Burke H. Judd, prof. of zoology, Univ. of Texas, Austin; Kenneth Y. Kaneshiro, Dept. of Entomology, U. of Hawaii; Thomas C. Kaufman, asst. prof. of zoology, Indiana Univ., David L. Kirk, assoc. prof. of biology, Washington U., St. Louis, Otto Krash, Lehman College, CUNY; Daniel H. Kohl, assoc. prof. of biology, Wash. U., St. Louis; Joyce Kurihara, Dept. of Entomology, Univ. of Hawaii; Paul Kurtz, prof. of philosophy, SUNY at Buffalo; Corliss Lamont, honorary president, American Humanist Association; Dennis Leister, asst. prof. of zoology, Indiana Univ.; Harlan Lewis, prof. of biology, UCLA; Lionel S. Lewis, prof. of sociology, SUNY at Buffalo; Walter H. Lewis, prof. of biology, Washington U., St. Louis; Terrence W. Lyttle, Dept. of Genetics, Univ. of Hawaii; Bassett Maguire, Jr., Dept. of Zoology, U. of Texas, Austin; Marjorie Maguire, prof. of zoology, Univ. of Texas at Austin; A. P. Mahowaid, prof. of zoology, Indiana Univ.; George M. Malacinski, assoc. prof. of zoology, Indiana Univ.; Spencer R. Malecha, Dept. of Genetics, Univ. of Hawaii; Richard N. Mariscal, assoc. prof. of biology, Florida State Univ., Tallahassee; William V. Mayer, director, Biological Sci. Curric. Study, Univ. of Colorado; Ernst Mayr, professor emeritus, Harvard Univ.; Mary McConnell, Biol. Sci. Curric. Study, Univ. of Colorado; Michael Menaker, assoc. prof. of zoology, U. of Tex. at Austin; David J. Merrell, prof. of zoology, Univ. of Minnesota; Ming Pi Mi, Dept. of Genetics, Univ. of Hawaii; Randolph Miller, professor of Christian Nurture, Yale; Florence Moog, chmn., Dept. of Biol., Washington U., St. Louis; John A. Moore, prof. of biology, Univ. of Calif. at Riverside; Mary Morain, president, int'l Soc. for General Semantics, San Francisco, California; the Rev. Richard Morton, prof. of sociology, retired, Jacksonville Univ.; Jack Myers, prof. of zoology, Univ. of Texas at Austin; Norman Newell, paleontologist, Amer. Mus. of Nat. Hist., N.Y.; Alan T. Ohta, Dept. of Genetics, Univ. of Hawaii; Everett C. Olson, prof. of zoology, UCLA; J. Bennett Olson, assoc. prof. of biological educ., Purdue Univ.; David W. Osgood, assoc. prof. of zoology, Butler Univ.; H. Malcolm Owen, Biology Dept., University of the South; David D. Perkins, prof. of biology, Stanford Univ.; Lindsey Pherigo, prof., St. Paul School of Theology, Kansas City, Missouri; Harold H. Plough, prof. of biology, Amherst College, Mass.; Sarah Bedicheck Pipkin, prof. of zoology, Howard U., Washington, D.C.; Rudolf Raff, assoc. prof. of zoology, Indiana Univ.; Peter H. Raven, Missouri Botanical Gardens, St. Louis; Marc Rhoades, Dept. of Biology, Johns Hopkins Univ.; Rollin Richmond, assoc. prof. of zoology, Indiana Univ.; Austen Riggs, Dept. of Zoology, Univ. of Texas, Austin; Herbert P. Riley, dist. prof. of botany, emer., Univ. of Kentucky; Carl R. Rogers, psychologist, Center for the Studies of the Person, La Jolla, California; Herbert H. Ross, Dept. of Entomology, Univ, of Georgia, Athens; William Roth, prof. of biological science, Florida State Univ., Tallahassee; Isaac Ruchman, adjunct prof. emeritus, Univ. of Kentucky; Rodolfo Ruibal, Dept. of Biology, Univ. of Calif. Riverside; Edward Samuel, visiting prof. of biology, Indiana Univ.; Oscar Schotte, Biology Department, Amherst College, Mass.; Ernest R. Sears, prof. of genetics, Missouri Univ.; Vaughan H. Shoemaker, prof. of zoology, Univ. of Calif., Riverside; Thomas Shotwell, biological research consultant, Dallas, Texas; Simon Silver, prof. of biology, Washington Univ., St. Louis; Daniel Simberloff, prof. of biol. science, Florida State Univ., Tallahassee; W. Ralph Singleton, emer. prof. of genetics, Univ. of Virginia; Robert Sinaheimer, prof. of biology, CIT, Pasadena; Irwin Sizer, dean emeritus, MIT Graduate School; B. F. Skinner, prof. of psychology, Harvard; Barton Slatko, prof. of zoology, Univ. of Texas at Austin; John E. Smith, professor of philosophy, Yale; Laurence H. Snyder, president emeritus, Univ. of Hawaii; Lee R. G. Snyder, Dept. of Biology, Univ. of California, Riverside; William Sofer, assoc. prof. of biology, Johns Hopkins Univ.; Alexander Sokoloff, prof. of genetics, California State College, San Bernardino; James Spuhler, prof. of anthropology, Univ. of New Mexico; Harrison Stalker, Dept. of Biology, Washington U., St. Louis; Curt Stern, prof. of biology, Univ. of California, Berkeley; the Rev. William Stickney, St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, St. Louis; Monroe Strickberger, prof. of biology, Univ. of Missouri; Nobuo Suga, prof. of biology, Washington Univ., St. Louis; Carl P. Swanson, professor of botany, Univ. of Massachusetts; John Swomley, Jr., prof. of Christian ethics, St. Paul School of Theology, Kansas City, Missouri; Sol Tax, emeritus prof. of anthropology, Univ. of Chicago; Charles Taylor, prof. of biology, Univ. of Calif., Riverside; Harold Taylor, former pres., Sarah Lawrence College, Bronxville, New York; Alan R. Templeton, prof. of zoology, Univ. of Texas at Austin; Richard R. Tolman, proj. dir., Bio. Sci. Curric. Study, Univ. of Colorado; J. Peter van de Verg, Dept. of Genetics, Univ. of Hawaii; Maurice Visscher, prof. of physiology, emer., Univ. of Minnesota; Douglas Vann, Dept. of Genetics, Univ. of Hawaii; Peter Vitousek, ass't. prof. of zoology, Indiana Univ.; Joseph Wachsman, assoc. prof. of microbiology, Univ. of Illinois; Ralph Wager, prof. of botany, retired, Panama City, Florida; Ralph Wagner, prof. of genetics, Univ. of Texas, Austin; Virginia Walbot, biologist, Washington Univ., St. Louis; James D. Watson, Nobel laureate, Cold Spring Harbor Lab, New York; Eric Weinberg, prof. of biology, Johns Hopkins Univ.; Claude A. Welch, prof. of biology, Macalester College, St. Paul; Marshall R. Wheeler, prof. of zoology, Univ. of Texas, Austin; Michael J. D. White, prof., Australian National Univ., Canberra; Maurice Whittinghill, prof. emeritus, genetics, Univ. of North Carolina; Albert Wood, prof. of biology emeritus, Amherst College, Massachusetts; Ralph W. Yerger, prof. of biol. science, Florida State Univ., Tallahassee; Henry T. Yost, prof. of biology, Amherst College, Massachusetts; Frank N. Young, prof. of zoology, Indiana Univ.