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| '''''Physicians and Surgeons who Dissent from Darwinism''''' is a list of people agreeing with an anti-] statement produced by the ] (PSSI), a nonprofit organization allegedly associated with the ], as an ] to support its viewpoint. This list is intended to bolster the Discovery Institute's claims that ] is scientifically valid by creating the impression that ] lacks broad scientific support.<ref> ]. May, 2007.</ref> It is similar to the ] to discredit ]. | |||
| The document itself has been the subject of controversy and extensive criticism from a variety of sources. The statement in the document has been branded as poorly worded, misleading and vague.<ref name=Smith/> | |||
| This campaign, like the ], has come under criticism for being misleading and anti-science. The list of signatories represents an insignificant fraction of medical professionals (about 0.02%). The ] is not determined by petitions or polls, however, but by scientific evidence. This is the reason that, in biological science itself, the theory of ] is ]. <ref>"99.9 percent of scientists accept evolution", according to ], as quoted in , Cynthia Delgado, NIH Record, July 28, 2006. | |||
| </ref> | |||
| ==Statement== | |||
| The medical doctors and comparable professionals are signatories to a statement which disputes ], which they refer to as "]ian ]" or ], which are both misleading terms. The statement that the organization subscribes to is titled "''Physicians and Surgeons who Dissent from Darwinism''" and contains the following text: | |||
| {{quotation|''"We are skeptical of claims for the ability of random mutation and natural selection to account for the origination and complexity of life and we therefore dissent from Darwinian macroevolution as a viable theory. This does not imply the endorsement of any alternative theory."''}} | |||
| ] and the theory of ] state that inherited traits become more or less common due to non-random ] and random ], as well as other mechanisms. Therefore, the PSSI statement is overly vague and worded in a misleading fashion, since few real evolutionary biologists would subscribe to the version of evolution presented by the statement.<ref name=Smith/> In addition, evolution does not include the study of the ], as the statement implies. Moreover, the distinction between ] and ] is drawn primarily by ] or those unfamiliar with the study of evolution. | |||
| The wording of this statement is very similar to the wording of the ]'s petition, "'']''", which has been widely criticized for being inaccurate and misleading.<ref name=Evans>, Skip Evans, ], 11/29/2001 </ref><ref> Kenneth Chang. The New York Times, February 21 2006 (paid subscription required, text available at )</ref><ref name=Lemonick>, ], Eye on Science, Time-Blog, February 21, 2007 12:20</ref><ref name=Forrest> ], Glenn Branch, Academe Online, ], May, 2005</ref> | |||
| ==History== | |||
| The Physicians and Surgeons for Scientific Integrity was formed by the ] in 2006. By May 8, 2006, the PSSI ''Dissent'' petition had 34 signatories.<ref name=Smith>, Tara C. Smith, Aetiology, scienceblogs, May 8, 2006</ref> | |||
| ==Analysis== | |||
| Like other ], the statement has come under extensive criticism from a variety of sources as misleading, poorly phrased<ref name=Smith/> and containing only a tiny fraction of professionals in relevant fields and representing an insignificant fraction of the total medical profession. | |||
| The compiled list of professionals is available on the Internet, where each signatory is listed 3 times, making the list seem artificially long. The signatories are listed by last name, by country and by specialty. Most of the doctors who signed the statement are from the United States. As of May 22, 2007 there were 224 signatories from the United States, 2 signatories from Australia, 4 signatories from Canada, 8 signatories from the United Kingdom and another 14 from 9 other countries. The signatories include doctors trained or working in a wide range of disciplines, including, ] medicine, ] (i.e., weight loss medicine), ], ], ], ],], ], ], ], ], and ]. | |||
| The ] estimates that in 2006, there were more than 884,000 physicians in the United States.<ref>, American Medical Association, ISBN#: 1-57947-682-1 </ref> | |||
| In addition, the ] estimated that in May of 2003 the US had 97,090 dentists, 63,780 opticians, 22,740 optometrists and 43,890 veterinarians.<ref>, ]</ref> | |||
| Therefore, the total number of US professionals in the fields represented by the "Physicians and Surgeons for Scientific Integrity" ''Dissent'' petition is at least 1,111,500. That is, the 224 US signatories of the statement represent approximately 0.02% of the total number of US professionals in these fields. | |||
| However, this figure should be expected to rise, based on a poll of 1472 US physicians conducted by the "] Institute for Social and Religious Research" at the ] and HCD Research in ], from May 13-15, 2005. This study showed that 34% of physician respondents felt more comfortable with ] than evolution.<ref>, HCD Research press release, May 23, 2005</ref><ref></ref> | |||
| By contrast, the Discovery Institute's ] claims that ''this same poll'' shows that 60 percent of physicians are skeptical of ]:<ref>, Dennis Wagner, editor, ARN-Announce, Number Sixty-two, December 15, 2006.</ref> These are the figures quoted by the Discovery Institute's ''Evolution News and Views'': | |||
| {{quotation|Jewish doctors: 32% reject Darwinism.<br> | |||
| Protestant doctors (largest group of U.S. doctors): 81% reject Darwinism.<br> | |||
| Catholic doctors: 78% reject Darwinism.<br> | |||
| Orthodox Christian doctors: 72% reject Darwinism.<br> | |||
| Hindu doctors: 54% reject Darwinism.<br> | |||
| Buddhist doctors: 43% reject Darwinism (compared to 36% who accepted it)<br> | |||
| Muslim doctors: 86% reject Darwinism.<br> | |||
| Atheist doctors: 2% reject Darwinism.<br> | |||
| "Spiritual but no organized religion": 48% reject Darwinism.<br> | |||
| "Other": 54% reject Darwinism.<ref>, ''Evolution News and Views'', ], May 4, 2006</ref>}} | |||
| The reason for the apparent discrepancy is because of the way the questions were phrased, and the lumping of the largest group of respondents, those who subscribe to ], in with the group rejecting "]". | |||
| ==References== | |||
| <references/> | |||
| ==See also== | |||
| *] | |||
| *] | |||
| *] | |||
| *] | |||
| *] | |||
| ==External links== | |||
| *, official website | |||
| *, official list | |||
| ⚫ | ] | ||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
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