Evolution, Creationism and the normalization of human error…

Abstract: The main aim of this thesis is to investigate how human errors become normalized so that a distorted perception of reality comes to represent the truth for a given group, field or other combination of people. With that, it also investigates whether it is possible for us to develop laws and implement regulations that aim to defend and secure human rights while, on a seemingly unconscious level, actively counteracting the very principles that the same laws and regulations rest upon. If this is possible, then how and why does it happen? Realizing that a distorted perception must be supported or generated by cognitive errors and that these errors are or can be visible, this scientist conducted a cognitive conceptualization analysis of the material of study, namely, document 11375, “The danger of creationism in education.” This was done by identifying and mapping the central concepts in the document and the meaning that they were given in this particular situation. The mapped material was then analyzed in order to identify, firstly, symptoms of dysfunctional decision making and then, cognitive errors, followed by a discussion in regard to the predicative value of cognitive errors. This research has established that distorted pictures of reality in the form of constructed truths can be accepted as constituting truth. In this case, a distorted pictures of reality did constitute truth, not just for one person but for the majority of the committee, the council, the national agencies who implemented the regulations, and lastly, for the schools who accepted them. In fact, it is likely that collective entities engage in cognitively erroneous thinking on a regular basis, and they see this as the regular way of doing things. This is possible because members of thought communities, whether at a national or supranational level, share core beliefs and implement schematas that need collective errors in order [for the schematas themselves] to exist” This study teaches us that it is possible to develop laws and implement regulations that aim to defend and secure human rights while, on an unconscious level, actively counteracting the very principles that the same laws and regulations rest upon. This can happen because core beliefs do not need single individuals in order to exist but can rest safely in collective communities in the form of thought collectives, and errors can become invisible. In the studied case, the likely influence, among others, is the focus on terrorism and on “who to trust” schematas. This research also confirms the usability of cognitive conceptualization analysis in that it can make the invisible become visible.