University is Diversity, Diversity is Multi-Culturalism

By Zafer Urey


In May 2000 all of the world's science academies created IAC(InterAcademy Council). The IAC mission is stated as "to mobilize the best scientists and engineers worldwide to provide high quality advice to international bodies - such as the United Nations and the World Bank - as well as to other institutions. In a world where science and technology are fundamental to many critical issues - ranging from climate change and genetically modified organisms to the crucial challenge of achieving sustainability -making wise policy decisions has become increasingly dependent on good scientific advice."
This author believes that the mission of the IAC should be extented to include advice in other critical areas such as the elimination of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons and of militarization in general.
Recently, InterAcademy Panel (IAP) on International Relations (IAP) issued a statement on teaching of evolution which was signed by 68 National and International Academices of Sciences (including Iran and Israel). The following exerpt is from this statement: "Scientific knowledge derives from a mode of inquiry into the nature of the universe that has been successful and of great consequence. Science focuses on (i) observing the natural world and (ii)formulating testable and refutable hypotheses to derive deeper explanations for observable phenomena. When evidence is sufficiently compelling, scientific theories are developed that account for and explain that evidence, and predict the likely structure or process of still unobserved phenomena. Human understanding of value and purpose are outside of natural science’s scope. However, a number of components – scientific, social, philosophical, religious, cultural and political – contribute to it. These different fields owe each other mutual consideration, while being fully aware of their own areas of action and their limitations. While acknowledging current limitations, science is open ended, and subject to correction and expansion as new theoretical and empirical understanding emerges."
Above statement clearly acknowledges that the needs of all of humanity can best be served by a universal understanding of 'value and purpose'. Such universal understanding requires the inclusion of other components such as social, philosophical, religious, cultural and political as well as scientific.

If the following definition of culture is assumed "excellence of taste in the fine arts and humanities, an integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior that depends upon the capacity for symbolic thought and social learning, the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution, organization or group", then multi-culturalism can nurture diversity by promoting the integration of the values and purposes of multiple cultures. A good example of multi-cultural integration can be found in the following exerpt, which is from an article published by the AAAS (American Association by The Advancement of Science): "in summary, the "hypothesis" of God, taken in consort with (and not as an alternative to) evolutionary theory, can help account for the complexity and consciousness that evolution has brought about. God may be thought of as the transcendent source not only of the order in the universe but also of the novelty and turbulence that evolution has brought with it. God creates by inviting (not forcing) the cosmos to express itself in increasingly more diverse ways. As novelty comes into the evolving world, the present order has to give way. And what we confusedly refer to as "chance" and "chaos" may be the result of the breakdown of present arrangements of order in the wake of novelty's coming into the world."