God, Evolution and Culture, Spring 2002
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God, Evolution and Culture
CA 201 (sect. 04-06), PL 200 & BI 200 (sect. 01-03)
Instructors (Department, office, section number, discussion section time and location):
Dr. R. Bennett: Biology, BSC B-318; CA 201 (06); TH 11-11:55 in BSC P-206
Dr. D. Glazier: Biology, BSC B-229; CA 201 (05); M 1-1:55 in BSC B-305
Dr. X. Wang: Philosophy, G 214; CA 201 (04); M 1-1:55 in BSC P-206
Lectures MWF 9-9:55 in BSC A-201
General Description of Cultural Analysis (for your reference only)
Cultural Analysis is an integral part of the General Education requirements for
graduation from Juniata College. The Cultural Analysis Core, consisting of two
kinds of courses (CA I and CA II), is designed to help students understand
diverse manifestations of human culture and discuss them in an informed
manner. CA I courses prepare students with the skills to think critically about
culture from a variety of theoretical and comparative perspectives. CA II
courses provide a more focused and in-depth analysis of topics introduced in CA
I courses. CA I courses examine ideas regarding the scientific, philosophical,
political, economic and social structures, systems, and beliefs that inform
perceptions and definitions of the modern world.
Course Description and Objectives
This course examines creationist and evolutionary views of the origins of life and humans on
earth and their relevance to our culture. Critical thinking with an open mind will be encouraged.
Although the instructors have their own specific viewpoints, a major goal of this course is not to
promote any particular ideology, but to promote constructive dialogue regarding different
perspectives and ideologies, especially those at the crossroads between science and religion. We
believe that “truth” can be revealed only by an on-going process of constructive conversation
and empirical testing.
General topics will include the nature of science and religion and their relationships, the basics
of evolutionary theory, and implications of the creation versus evolution debate for our everyday
lives. Specific course objectives include:
1) To encourage students to have an open mind and to engage in critical thinking about diverse
worldviews.
2) To discuss the differences between religion and science and whether they can be bridged.
3) To give a brief historical overview of the many kinds of theological (primarily Judeo-Christian) and
scientific views regarding the origins of life.
4) To describe the modern theory of evolution (neo-Darwinism), challenges to this theory, and its
potential implications for theology.
5) To give an appreciation of the importance of the creation vs. evolution debate for our everyday lives
(including our views of human nature and morality, our search for meaning and purpose in life, and
God, Evolution and Culture, Spring 2002
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practical effects on law, politics, medicine, agriculture, and environmental science) and to examine
ways in which this debate may be “resolved”.
Course Materials
Required:
 Phillip Johnson, Darwin On Trial, 2nd ed. InterVarsity Press 1993 (Abbreviation: Johnson’s Trial)
 Robert Mesle, Process Theology, Chalice Press 1993 (Mesle’ Process)
 Daniel Dennett, Darwin’s Dangerous Idea, Simon & Schuster 1995 (Dennett’s Dangerous Idea)
 Ian Barbour, When Science Meets Religion, HarperCollins 2000 (Barbour’s S & R)
 John Haught, Responses to 101 Questions on God and Evolution, Paulist Press 2001 (Haught’s Responses)
 Photocopies of other materials will be on reserve in Beeghly Library
Optional (in bookstore and on reserve in Beeghly Library):
 Steven Jay Gould, Rocks of Ages, Random House 1999 (Gould’s Ages)
 Kenneth Miller, Finding Darwin’s God, HarperCollins, 1999 (Miller’s God)
 John Haught, God After Darwin, Westview 2000 (Haught’s God)
 Anthony Weston, A Rulebook for Arguments, Hackett (Weston’s Rulebook)
Some useful websites and journals:
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Charles Darwin, On the Origin of Species (http://www.literature.org/authors/darwin-charles/the-origin-ofspecies/)
Reports of the National Center for Science Education (devoted to the Creation/Evolution debate)
Touchstone: A Journal of Mere Christianity (special issue on Intelligent Design).
Metanexus: The Online Forum of Religion and Science (http://www.metanexus.net/index.html)
National Center for Science Education (http://www.natcenscied.org/)
Science and Creationism (http://www4.nas.edu/opus/evolve.nsf)
PBS’s Evolution (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/)
The Talk.Origins Archive (http://www.talkorigins.org/)
Discovery Institute: Center for the Renewal of Science and Culture (http://www.discovery.org/crsc/)
Institute for Creation Research (http://www.icr.org/)
The Creation Research Society (http://www.creationresearch.org/)
Access Research Network, source for “intelligent design theory” (http://www.arn.org/)
A List of Fallacious Arguments (http://www.don-lindsay-archive.org/skeptic/arguments.html#consequent)
Counterbalance (http://www.counterbalance.org/)
The Secular Web, source for metaphysical materialistic (i.e., atheistic) viewpoints
(http://www.infidels.org/)
The Skeptical Creationism Website (http://www.americanhumanist.org/skeptical/creationism.html)
Creation/Evolution Debates (http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Delphi/4881/debates.html)
Course Evaluation
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Attendance, Preparation and Participation (15%): Students’ active participation is essential for
success in this course. Course activities include group lectures, invited outside speakers, video
discussions, students’ class presentations, panel discussions, special assignments (such as role-playing
in local school board meeting), and small group discussions. This portion of your grade will be based
on the following: (a) attendance at all class functions (attendance is mandatory); (b) level and quality
of effort in various class activities; (c) quality and quantity of analytical comments made in class; (d)
work in teams; and (e) evidence of having read and understood the assigned materials.
Exam (10%): There will be one midterm exam.
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Quizzes (10 %): There will be a four (4) announced one-page in-class position-essays (taking about
15-20 minutes).
Final group project (15 %): Every student will participate in one in-class group debate as a final
project (see Appendix for details). There will be three (3) debate topics TBA.
Three Short Essays (50 %): Each essay will be 1,000-1,500 words in length. Students will have the
option of rewriting the first two essays. If you do choose to rewrite, each version will count as 50%
of the grade. Rewrites will be accepted within seven days after the first versions are returned. A later
essay will result in a grade penalty. The first two essays will each be worth 15% of your grade,
whereas the third will be worth 20%. A list of possible topics will be given for the first and second
essays. Your topic of choice must be approved two weeks before the essay is due. The last essay will
be a follow-up on the first non-graded pre-analytical essay. In these essays you will describe your
own beliefs concerning the origins of life and humans on earth, including supporting evidence and
arguments.
Tentative Schedule
Part I Tuning Up Your Baloney Detector
Summary:
(a) The history and current debates on evolution, Scopes trial and movie;
(b) Open-mindedness and critical thinking about diverse world views: to encourage the appropriate
attitude (i.e., humility and constructive dialogue) and perspective (open-mindedness) for dealing
effectively with the controversial issues to be covered later;
(c) Various views on the nature of science (in general, not restricted to evolutionary science) and religion
(Western Judeo-Christian religion) and their relationships will be discussed (we will deal with the
relation between science and religion in depth later when we focus on the relation between
Darwinian science and religion).
(d) The distinction between science and pseudoscience
Wk 1 (1/14-18)
Scopes trial and the current battle over public school science education (Bennett)
Readings:
(a) National Association of Biology Teachers, Statement on Teaching Evolution
(http://www.nabt.org/Evolution.html)
(b) Teaching about Evolution and the Nature of Science
(http://www.nap.edu/readingroom/books/evolution98/)
Wk 2 (1/21-25)
What is science? What is religion? How are they related? (Glazier)
Readings:
(a) Barbour’s S & R, Preface & Ch 1 (pp. 1-38)
(b) Science & Religion: Opposing Viewpoints (pp. 55-96: on reserve)
(c) Ernst Mayr, This Is Biology (pp. 24-63; 79-106: on reserve)
(d) Richard Dawkins, Is Science a Religion?
(http://www.americanhumanist.org/publications/humanist/articles/dawkins.html)
If you have time or interest, also check out:
 Richard Dawkins, The Improbability of God
(http://www.secularhumanism.org/library/fi/dawkins_18_3.html)
 Massimo Pigliucci, The Case Against God: Science and the Falsifiability Question in Theology
(http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Delphi/4881/debates.html)
 Theodore Schick, Can Science Prove that God Does Not Exist?
(http://www.secularhumanism.org/library/fi/schick_21_1.html)
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 Hector Avalos, Can Science Prove that Prayer Works?
(http://www.secularhumanism.org/library/fi/avalos_17_3.html)
 Haught’s Responses, e.g. question 77
Pre-analytical essay: God and Evolution (Due 1/25: about 2-3 pages, not graded, but required)
Wk 3 (1/28-2/1)
Science and pseudoscience (Wang)
Readings: [all copies on reserve]
(a) Go over Weston’s Rulebook, especially focus on sections I, VI, X
(b) Johnson’s Trial Ch. 12
(c) K. Popper on falsification and evolution: “Science: Conjectures and Refutations,” “Darwinism as a
Metaphysical Research Programme”, “Natural Selection and Emergence of Mind”, “Letter on
Evolution” (with Halstead’s “Popper: Good Philosophy, Bad Science?”).
(d) M. Ruse and L. Laudan’s debate: Ruse’s “Creation-Science is Not Science”, Laudan’s “Commentary:
Science at the Bar—Causes for Concern”, Ruse’s “Response to the Commentary: ProJudice”
(e) P. Feyerabend ? (if time permits): “How to defend Society against Science”
1st Quiz (2/1)
Part II Competing Theories On the Origin of Life
Summary:
(a) We shall briefly discuss various forms of biblical creationist and evolutionary thought and their
histories (i.e., phylogenies). Since this is a course on origins, we shall ask small groups of students to
write short papers tracing the origin of a specific creationist and evolutionary idea. These specific
histories (branches and twigs) will then be brought together in an attempt to reconstruct the entire
history (tree) of creationist thought and of evolutionary thought and their relationships.
(b) Overview of the evidence for evolution and the mechanisms causing it (both microevolution and
macroevolution). Challenges to neo-Darwinism will be briefly discussed (including gaps in the fossil
record and between major body plans, and the difficulty of explaining the origin of life and complex
biological structures).
Wk 4 (2/4-8)
History and taxonomy of creationist and evolutionary thought (Bennett)
Readings: TBA
Wk 5 (2/11-15)
Nuts and bolts of neo-Darwinism (modern evolutionary thought) (Glazier)
Readings:
(a) Michael Ruse, Can a Darwinian Be a Christian? Ch. 1 (pp. 12-32: on reserve)
(b) Chris Colby, Introduction to Evolutionary Biology (http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/faq-intro-tobiology.html)
(c) Miller’s God, Ch. 3 (pp. 57-80: on reserve)
(d) S. J. Gould, “Evolution and the Triumph of Homology, or Why History Matters” (pp. 60-69: on
reserve)
(e) Haught’s Responses, questions 1-16
If you have time or interest, also check out:
 Essays on many other aspects of evolution, both theory and evidence, given in
http://www.talkorigins.org/
 For references on whales as examples of evolutionary transitions (and so-called “missing
links”, see Thewissen & Bajpai, “Whale Origins as a Poster Child for Macroevolution”, pp.
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1037-1049: on reserve; and Raymond Sutera, The Origin of Whales and the Power of Independent
Evidence (http://www.talkorigins.org/features/whales/)
 For many other examples of evolutionary transitions in vertebrates, see Kathleen Hunt,
Transitional Vertebrate Fossils (http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/faq-transitional.html)
 Fossil evidence for human evolution: http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/homs/
Wk 6 (2/18-22)
Continue with the previous topic (Glazier)
Readings: as above
1st Essay due (2/22) (It is recommended that you review chapters VII, VIII and IX of Weston’s Rulebook).
Part III Darwin’s Dangerous Ideas (The Darwinian Universal Acid)
Summary:
(a) Neo-Darwinism claims that natural processes can explain the origin of new species including our
own. Given this claim, is God dead or merely asleep? Does God still operate in the physical
universe and in our individual lives? Two types of relationship between theological and evolutionary
views will be discussed in the context of the relatedness of religion and science in general as
discussed in part I), i.e., conflict/opposition (incompatibilism) and independence/separatism (one
version of compatiblism). [Engagement / integration (another version of compatibilism) between
evolution science and theology will be discussed further in part IV].
(b) Why is the creation versus evolution debate so important? We will discuss various significant
impacts of the creation/evolution debate on various aspects of our everyday lives.
Wk 7 (2/25-3/1)
Religion and evolution science are incompatible: scientific materialism/ naturalism (Wang) vs.
creationism / intelligent design theory (Bennett)
Readings:
Scientific materialism/naturalism:
(a) “Naturalism” from Encyclopedia of Philosophy (copy on reserve).
(b) Dennett’s Dangerous Idea, Ch.1, 2, 3, 18
(c) Johnson’s Trial, Ch. 1, 9, 10
(d) Haught’s God (pp. 15-19, 25-26)
Creationism/intelligent design theory: TBA
Exam (2/25)
Wk 8 (3/4-8) Spring Break!
Wk 9 (3/11-15)
Religion and evolutionary science are independent (Glazier)
Religion and evolutionary science are compatible (Glazier)
Readings:
(a) Barbour’s S & R , Ch. 4 (pp. 90-118)
(b) Haught’s Responses, questions 28, 32-44
(c) Gould’s Ages, Ch 2 (pp. 49-67; you are welcome to read the rest of this book, as well!)
(d) Richard Dawkins, When Religion Steps on Science’s Turf
(http://www.secularhumanism.org/library/fi/dawkins_18_2.html)
If you have time or interest, also check out:
 Massimo Pigliucci, The Provine-Scott Discussion at the RET: Methodological vs. Philosophical
Naturalism (http://www.korrnet.org/reality/rc/1998_spring/provine-scott.htm)
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 More exchange between Eugenie Scott and Will Provine
(http://www.asa3.org/archive/asa/199803/0113.html)
 Kenneth Miller vs. Phillip Johnson, How Did We Get Here? (A Cyber Debate)
(http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/odyssey/debate/)
2nd Quiz (3/15)
Wk 10 (3/18-22)
Evolution and the image of human nature (Wang)
Readings: [all copies on reserve]
(a) Excerpts from The Old Testament and The New Testament
(b) Darwin, excerpt from The Descent of Man
(c) E.O. Wilson, chapters from On Human Nature
(d) R.. Dawkins, excerpt from The Selfish Gene
Wk 11 (3/25-27) No class on Good Friday
Evolution and the meaning of life (Wang)
Evolution, morality and human social behavior (Bennett)
Readings:
Meaning of life:
(a) Haught’s God, Ch. 5 (pp. 11-15, 105-109)
(b) Dennett’s Dangerous Idea, Ch. 14 (pp. 181-185)
(c) Julian Huxley, “The Creed of a Scientific Humanist” (on reserve)
Morality and social behavior: TBA
2nd Essay due (3/27)
Wk 12 (4/1-5)
Some practical effects in our everyday lives (politics, medicine, agriculture, conservation / environmental
issues, law and justice) (Glazier)
Readings:
(a) Thomas Meagher & Douglas Futuyma, Evolution, Science, and Society (on reserve)
(b) Excerpts from Michael Rose, Darwin’s Spectre (on reserve)
(c) Randolph Nesse & George Williams, Evolution and the Origins of Disease
(http://www.sciam.com/1998/1198issue/1198nesse.html)
(d) William Provine, Evolution: Free Will and Punishment and Meaning in Life
(http://fp.bio.utk.edu/darwin/1998/provine_abstract.html)
3rd Quiz (4/5)
Part IV God after Darwin: Can Religion and Science Be Unified?
Summary:
(a) Explore a few possible approaches that integrate evolutionary science and theology. We will
especially focus on one plausible and effective way, i.e., evolutionary theology, to reconcile evolution
with theology.
(b) Evolutionary biology of theology? Is the concept of God a product of evolution?
Wk 13 (4/8-12)
Whitehead: process philosophy / process theology (Wang)
Readings:
(a) Mesle’s Process;
(b) Haughts’ Responses, questions 95-101.
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Wk 14 (4/15-19)
Teilhard de Chardin: Christianity and evolution (Wang)
Readings:
(a) Haught’s Responses, questions 93-94;
(b) Excerpts from Teilhard’s Christianity and Evolution (copies on reserve)
John Haught: Theology and evolution (Bennett)
Readings: TBA
Final Project (in-class debate I) in discussion section
Wk 15 (4/22-26)
K. Miller: Darwin’s God (Bennett)
Readings: TBA
E.O. Wilson: Theology as a product of evolution (Glazier)
Readings:
(a) E. O. Wilson, On Human Nature, Ch. 8 (pp. 169-193)
(b) Dennett’s Dangerous Idea, Ch. 16, 17 (pp. 453-510)
(c) Haught’s Responses, questions 21-23
Final project (in-class debate II) in discussion section
4th Quiz (4/26)
Wk 16 (4/29-5/1)
Final project (in-class debate III) in discussion section (Monday)
3rd Essay entitled “God and Evolution Revisited” due on Reading Day (5/1, Wednesday)
Appendix: Format for In-Class Debates
The instructor will give a topic to students a week in advance to allow sufficient preparation. The
students will divide themselves into two groups (three students in each group), one consisting of
advocates and the other opponents. Students choose the side they wish to represent (though the
instructors will encourage students to represent views that they oppose). Two groups (one for and one
against) pair up to conduct one debate. Each debate will proceed according to the following schedule and
last about 30 minutes. After each debate, we will leave the rest of class time for questions from other
students.
Introduction (present your own position and arguments)
Advocates for proposal (4 minutes)
Opponents to proposal (4 minutes)
Brief interval for preparation for rebuttal (a couple of minutes)
Rebuttal (challenge other’s position and arguments)
Opponents to proposal (8 minutes)
Advocates for proposal (8 minutes)
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Brief interval for preparation for summary (a couple of minutes)
Summary (last chance to respond to challenge)
Opponents to proposal (2 minutes)
Advocates for proposal (2 minutes)
Evaluation: Each debate will be judged by an independent panel of six students from the class who are
not part of either team. The student judges develop their own scoring procedure that they share with the
competing teams before the debate. Some of the criteria may be: (a) the currency and adequacy of the
evidence; (b) the relevance of the arguments used; (c) the soundness and validity of the arguments
presented; (d) consistency and logic of ideas used; (e) degree to which opposing arguments are directly
addressed; (f) clarity and acticulativeness of the presentation; (g) overall persuasiveness; (h) degree to
which emotional appeal is used or avoided; (i) the appearance (voice and posture) of the advocates during
their presentation; and so on. The instructor reserves the right to make necessary adjustment of the score
handed in by the student judges. Each team's performance will be evaluated as excellent (15 point), very
good (13 points), good (11 points), pass (9 points), or poor (below 9 points).