[The post that I'm replying to appeared on <wikiEN-L>. Replies whould go to <textbook-L.>]

Anthere wrote in part:

Maveric149 wrote:

...

Same thing is true for a section of a medical textbook on abortion ; we leave out most of the history and the different political views on the subject and just talk about the procedure itself and maybe have a single paragraph at the end sating something about access to the procedure and that risks doctors face when they choose to specialize in this area.

There are some aspects, even of technical education, that require understanding of politics, that require ethical information. A book limiting itself to the pure technical gestures to apply is *bad*. Very bad.

This is particularly true in the biological domain you cite. Teaching abortion just from the technical procedure is an error. If only because abortion is allowed in some places, not allowed in others, and this should be known. Also because an abortion is a terrible act for most women to undergo, and *no* doctor should know it only from the tech point of view. He should be aware of the psychological impact of such a gesture, if he wants to propose and to proceed with such an act with the physical and psychological consent of the mother-to-be. Also because he should be aware of all the limits to such an act from a religious point of view.

Medical ethics is important in medical education. Thus any medical textbook should speak of (or refer to) discussion of the ethical concerns of a controversial procedure. Abortion definitely qualifies for this (even though /I/ have no ethical concerns about it).

Offering bare technical teaching is wrong.

Similarly, in agriculture, it makes no sense to *just* understand how fertilization works, if you do not understand the pollution it creates, the CAP rules about N uses and the incentives. Just providing the tech info is just giving enough information for survival, not for thinking and making good decisions.

Similarly, the potential pollutive effects of agriculture are necessary for any complete education in agriculture (although I don't know if there's a professional history of this as there is in the case of medicine).

These examples are not the same thing as creationism.

-- Toby