At Appalachian State University students have to take just two semesters of a physical or biological science to satisfy the general education requirements. Most non-science major students have little time in their crowded schedules to take additional science courses, whether they want to or not, and in fact face a surcharge when taking more courses than needed to graduate. Given this environment, it is essential that we cover more than just the basics of one particular discipline, like astronomy in my case. We should teach something about the overall philosophy of science, the scientific method, and the importance of science in our lives.

1.
C.
Sagan
,
The Demon-Haunted World: Lighting a Candle in the Darkness
(
Random House/Ballentine
,
New York
,
1996
).
4.
E.
Prather
,
T.
Slater
,
J.
Adams
, and
G.
Brissenden
,
Lecture —Tutorials for Introductory Astronomy
(
Pearson
,
San Francisco
,
2005
, 2008, 2013).
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