《科學月刊》中與演化論相關的爭議1970-2006

Controversies over Evolution Theory in the Science Monthly, 1970 2006

創刊於1970 年的《科學月刊》為國內科普的先鋒，也是經營最為長久的科普雜誌。本文分析《科學月刊》三十多年來所刊登與演化論相關的文章，發現台灣知識界圍繞演化論這個主題產生過五次對話。對話焦點分別是：科學與宗教的爭議、演化與進化的翻譯、生物史做為新領域的引介、物種起源的沒落與否，以及因《大滅絕》一書產生的爭議。這些爭議反映出國內科普的幾個特點。一、國內引介國外新知大約有一至二年的落後。二、由內容來看，月刊提供的知識基本架構（演化新綜合學說、生物學史等議題）尚稱完整。三、由作者與譯者可以勾勒出關心演化議題的社群。四、科學內容的對話極少。五、對話（但不深入）經常涉及科學與人文、社會與宗教交叉的領域。從《科學月刊》的經驗中，我們可以得知演化論在台灣傳播的部份狀態，作為研究台灣科普歷史的基礎資料。另一方面，或許可以促使我們重新思考類「科普」在台灣的意義、定位與實施的條件與策略。

Established in 1970, Science Monthly is the pioneering and longest-lived popular science magazine in Taiwan. This paper focuses on the articles in this publication that deal with the theory of evolution and its cultural and social influences. Articles published in the last thirty years were analyzed, leading to the identification of five major issues: the conflict between science and religion, how to translate ’evolution’ into Chinese, the history of biology as a new discipline, whether ’the origin of species’ has suffered an eclipse, and discussions around the book The Great Dying. This analysis also elaborates several points regarding scientists’ efforts to popularize scientific knowledge in Taiwan. First, original papers were translated into Chinese about one or two years after their first publication. Second, Science Monthly provided enough fundamental information about evolution and the history of biology for further study. Third, not many authors and translators were interested in the popularization of evolution theory and related subjects. Fourth, discussions about scientific details were rare. Fifth, the cultural and social influences of evolution theory were most discussed. This study about Science Monthly’s popularization of evolution theory could provide background for both further historical studies and as a case study for the further examination of the niche of science popularization in Taiwan.