CT Scan: Critical Thinking Scan
15 Seasons
Critical Thinking Scan with Patricia Engler can help you process any faith-challenging message and reach a biblical, logical conclusion yourself.
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04:46Episode 1
Observational vs. Historical Science
Episode 1
Is there really a difference between observational science, which examines facts in the present, and historical science, which draws conclusions about the past? Not everyone thinks so. The answer has major implications for critical thinking, so let’s unpack the definitions for these two types of ...
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Handout 1 - Observational vs. Historical Science
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Are Soapberry Bugs Evidence for Evolution?
Episode 2
“Evolution is supported by an overwhelming amount of scientific evidence.” At least, that’s what a first-year biology textbook said, citing natural selection in soapberry bugs as the first example of such evidence. Let’s apply the 7 Checks of Critical Thinking to see whether this claim is true.
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Handout 2 - Are Soapberry Bugs Evidence for Evolution?
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04:53Episode 3
Drug Resistant Bacteria – Part 1
Episode 3
Textbooks often call antibiotic-resistant bacteria prime “evidence for evolution.” Based on a real textbook example, let’s use Critical Thinking Checks #1-5 to look at what’s really going on in the observational science of bacteria resistance. There’s a lot more to the story than what many textbo...
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Handout 3 - Drug Resistant Bacteria – Part 1
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05:07Episode 4
Drug Resistant Bacteria – Part 2
Episode 4
Textbooks often call antibiotic-resistant bacteria prime “evidence for evolution.” Based on a real textbook example, let’s use Critical Thinking Check #6 to look at what’s really going on in the observational science of bacteria resistance. There’s a lot more to the story than what many textbooks...
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Handout 4 - Drug Resistant Bacteria – Part 2
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05:06Episode 5
Do Similarities Prove Evolution?
Episode 5
Do creatures with similar-looking features share the same evolutionary ancestor? Textbooks often say so, but let’s see how to think critically and biblically about such arguments.
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Handout 5 - Do Similarities Prove Evolution?
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05:09Episode 6
Do Embryos Show Evolution? Part 1
Episode 6
A classic argument for evolution says that different creatures have similar embryos and therefore share an evolutionary ancestor. 19th-century biologist, Ernst Haeckel, famously forged drawings making embryos appear more alike than they are and believed embryos re-enact evolution. While most scie...
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Handout 6 - Do Embryos Show Evolution? Part 1
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05:13Episode 7
Do Embryos Show Evolution? Part 2
Episode 7
A classic argument for evolution says that different creatures have similar embryos, and therefore share an evolutionary ancestor. 19th-century biologist Ernst Haeckel famously forged drawings making embryos appear more alike than they are, and believed embryos re-enact evolution. While most scie...
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Handout 7 - Do Embryos Show Evolution? Part 2
175 KB
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05:07Episode 8
Vestigial Structures
Episode 8
Vestigial organs are structures in living things which supposedly had a function in their evolutionary ancestor, but now have ‘no function’—or at least, different or reduced functions. Whether the appendix, the tailbone or wisdom teeth, ‘vestigial’ structures are often considered evidence for evo...
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Handout 8 - Vestigial Structures
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04:45Episode 9
Thinking About “Bad Designs”
Episode 9
A textbook argument against creation is that nature includes “bad designs” which point to evolution rather than a Creator. For example, food and air both pass through the pharynx, which can lead to choking, and a small blind spot exists in the human eye. Let’s apply some critical thinking checks ...
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Handout 9 - Thinking About “Bad Designs”
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04:46Episode 10
Biogeography
Episode 10
Biogeography, the study of living things’ geographic distributions, supposedly supports evolution. But is that true? Let’s apply some Critical Thinking Checks to the popular claim that marsupials (like kangaroos) live only on southern continents because their ancestors evolved there.
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05:41Episode 11
Endosymbiosis
Episode 11
Endosymbiosis is the story of how ‘complex’ cells supposedly evolved from ‘simpler’ ones. The cells considered most complex, like animal and plant cells, are called eukaryotic, while cells like bacteria are prokaryotic. How did eukaryotic cells get some of the structures prokaryotes lack? Textboo...
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05:16Episode 12
Transitional Fossils (Part 1)
Episode 12
Part 1: Transitional fossils supposedly represent animals in some intermediate stage of evolution—for example, between fish and land creatures, dinosaurs and birds, or ape-like ancestors and humans. Museums and textbooks cite various “transitional” fossils as rock-solid evidence for evolution. He...
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Handout 12 - Transitional Fossils (Part 1)
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