Rusty Entrekin #fundie

Rusty Entrekin #fundie theologyweb.com

Gallup's 1991 poll showed that 95% of scientists (including non-biologists) accept evolution, with biologists above 99%.

You realize this is classic argumentum ad populum, don't you?

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old comment by WWWWolf

> You realize this is classic argumentum ad populum, don't you?

You realise the creationists use the exact same argument style? If you're calling bullshit on this, you can't condemn either statement - you have to disagree with both.

But I don't see what the problem is in this particular case. Creationists claim there's a significant controversy within scientific community over the theory of evolution. Actual opinion polls, like this, tell us otherwise. The poll can settle this argument. This poll cannot validate the theory of evolution as a legitimate theory, but it can validate the fact that there's no controversy among scientists over the theory of evolution.

“Gallup's 1991 poll showed that 95% of scientists (including non-biologists) accept evolution, with biologists above 99%.

You realize this is classic argumentum ad populum, don't you?”

Wouldn’t that requite, i dunno, an argument?
There’s no argument, here. Nothing like, ‘YOU must accept evolution because 95% of the experts do…’

However this COULD be, or support, a response to a bullshit argument. Or just bullshit.

Say, a creationist asserts that ‘growing number of scientists have come to reject evolution. Then where are they in this statistic?

OR anyone claiming that evolution doesn’t qualify as science. Well, the people who KNOW what science is, and have examined the evidence for evolution, appear to disagree.

OR anyone claiming that there is no evidence for evolution. Well, the people who KNOW what science is, and have examined the evidence for evolution, appear to disagree.

This is just a fact, or two facts if you prefer. The concept that ‘the theory of evolution is solid, supported science’ certainly would exlpain this (these) fact(s).

Rusty Entrekin #fundie theologyweb.com

52 comments

Confused?