Current Announcements I have set up a discussion forum on Blackboard. Feel free to use it to co-ordinate study groups. This page last updated: April 16, 2008 |
In the past decade, the exclusive teaching of evolution in public school science classes has increasingly come under attack by advocates of “intelligent design” (ID) – the claim that the diversity and complexity of life can only be explained by recourse to an intelligent designing entity. Supporters of this view claim that they are being lead by scientific evidence to the existence of the Judeo-Christian God and that the scientific establishment has actively prevented this inference to the best explanation. They also believe that acceptance of intelligent design would not only lead to a reinvigoration of scientific inquiry but also to a renewal of traditional cultural values which are seen to be on the decline due to the acceptance of Darwinism in America. On the other hand, critics of ID believe that the movement is driven by explicitly religious motives and is merely attempting to re-invigorate “scientific creationism” – itself an earlier attempt to espouse creation in line with a literal reading of Genesis. These critics hold that ID does not function in a scientific manner and thus should be excluded from science classes.
This course aims to introduce you to this controversy. After differentiating between scientific and religious modes of thought and expression, we briefly examine the interaction between Christianity and natural science in the years surrounding the publication of Darwin’s Origin of Species. This is followed by an examination of the history and claims of Young-Earth Creationism (a.k.a. “scientific creationism”). The second half of the course is devoted to critically examining the claims of ID and placing them within scientific, historical, philosophical, sociological and legal context.
Contact
Instructor: Dr. John M. Lynch, (john dot lynch at asu dot edu), LSC 248, W 1:30 - 2:30.
Teaching Assistant: Jennifer Minneci, (jennifer dot minneci at asu dot edu), LSC 276, W 1:00 - 3:00.
I have created a discussion board for the class at http://darwin.bc.asu.edu/forum/. While you do not have to use it, it offers a forum in which you can discuss the material we are examining as well as interesting material you will find on the Intertubes. Use the opportunity to discuss and clarify material ... it could make success in the final exam more likely. I will be occasionally present to answer individual questions you may have.
Please note that you are responsible for insuring that e-mail sent through Blackboard reaches your mail account. Check that your ASU address is forwarding to your preferred account and that your mailbox is empty. I will not repeat messages that are bounced back to me or attempt to contact you in any other way.
Required Texts
All required readings will be made available online on this page.
No extra credit assignments will be made available, so don't ask! Assignments not submitted electronically by the due time/date will receive a zero for the assignment - no exceptions will be made. Plan accordingly.
Here [pdf, 256k] is a copy of the syllabus that was distributed at our first meeting.
Schedule of Classes
| 16-Jan |
As a preliminary to our examination of creationism, we're going to distinguish between religious and scientific thinking. We will also be examining the Genesis narrative of creation. Key People: None. Key Ideas: Myth; Religion; Belief; Supernatural; Documentary hypothesis; Science; Fact; Hypothesis; Theory; Methodological naturalism; Philosophical naturalism. [Full version of slides, 6.3M, PDF] |
| 23-Jan |
This class will examine the relationship between the two ways by which people justify religious claims. namely revelation and experience. To do so, we will examine how our view of the Earth has changed over the past 400 years, and briefly outline the history of the design argument. We will end by sketching what evolution is (and is not). Key people: James Ussher; Niels Stensen; James Hutton; Charles Lyell; David Hume; William Paley; Key ideas: Evidentialism; a priori justification; a posteriori justification; Stratigraphy; Deism; Theism; Gap Theory; Day Age; Verae causa; Actualism; Uniformitarianism; Natural Theology; The argument to Design; The argument from Design; Evolution; Natural Selection; [Full version of slides, 16M, PDF] |
| 30-Jan | Viewing: What About God? (PBS, 2001, 60 min) - The program examined the relationship between religion and evolution by examining the struggles of students at conservative Calvin College to come to terms with both. Should you need to review the documentary while writing your response, it is available on Google Video. Required reading: Origin of Species [pdf, 1.4M] You are required to (electronically) submit a response to the viewing by noon on Saturday February 2nd. Your response should be between 750 and 1250 words, double-spaced, and saved as a Word 97 document. You should critically engage with the viewing. Do not summarize the viewing - instead, offer your thoughts on the issues raised in the documentary. In particular, try and discuss aspects of the program in relation to issues we have examined in class. Excellent engagements will receive 15 (out of 15) marks. Responses that are at the standard we expect from students will receive 13.5 marks. Responses that are adequate will receive 12 marks. Responses that are above or below the length requirement receive a zero, as do responses that are not turned on on time. No late assignments will be accepted and submission can occur anytime after the end of class. To submit your assignment, save it as XXYYYY.doc where XX is your initials (e.g. JM) and YYYY is your last name (e.g. LYNCH). Go to the course Blackboard site, click on "Assignments" and then "Response 1 - What about God?". Upload your document. Congratulate yourself. Please note that your assignment will not be returned to you with comments. Instead, your grade will be posted on the Blackboard site once all assignments are graded. |
| 6-Feb | Viewing: A Walk Through Earth History (ICR, 1998, 80 min) By offering a tour of the Institute for Creation Research's museum, the video offers a entryway into the Young Earth Creationist worldview. Note that the video makes a number of erroneous scientific and historical claims, some of which we will discuss over the next few weeks. Responses to the other claims can be found here. Required reading:
Response due electronically Saturday Feb 9th, noon. Instructions are as above. |
| 13-Feb |
This week we will be following the development of Young Earth Creationism - its first appearance in the early 1900's and eventual re-appearance in the 1960's and demise with a series of court cases in the early 1980's. Key people: William Jennings Bryan; George McCready Price; Henry Morris; Ken Ham; Key ideas: Fundamentalism; Evangelism; Modernism; Populism; Scopes Trial; Creation Research Society; Creation Social Science and Humanities Society; Foundation for Thought & Ethics; Institute for Creation Research; Tenets of "Scientific Creationism"; Epperson v Arkansas; McLean v Arkansas; Edwards v Aguillard; [Full version of slides, 12.8M PDF] |
| 20-Feb |
A central claim of Young Earth Creationism is that the Earth (and Universe) is younger than the age accepted by mainstream science. YECs argue that (1) currently used dating methods give false results, (2) there is evidence for a young earth, and (3) it is the evolutionary (atheistic) biases of mainstream science that results in acceptance of a (false) old Earth. In this class we will examine the methods used to date the Earth, noting that these methods are based on theories which have nothing to do with an assumption (or even acceptance) evolution. We will then look at the creationist critique of these methods and the various alternative methods proposed by YECs. Required Reading:
Key people: Andrew Snelling; Kurt Wise; Paul Nelson; Phillip E Johnson Key ideas: Radiometic dating; isotope; radioactive decay; isochron dating; Age of the Earth; Magnetic field decay; Variation in the speed of light; [Full version of slides, 8.3M PDF] |
| 27-Feb |
A further important claim made by YECs is that there are discontinuities within the fossil record, gaps that are real rather than due to the nature of the process of fossilization. These gaps, they argue, deliniate the "kinds" mentioned in Genesis 1. They argue that they can detect these originally created kinds (or baramin) using a series of techniques known as baraminology. This class will examine these techniques and outline what we know about the evolution of whales, a group that creationists claim are definitely a baramin. If we have time we will take a very brief look at human evolution (another "kind"). Required Reading:
Key People: Frank L. Marsh; Duane T. Gish; Todd Wood; Baraminology Study Group; Key Ideas: Baramin; Dynamic Creation Model; "Orchard of Life"; Discontinuity Systematics; Hybridization; Quantum speciation; Process of fossilization; Types of ancestry; Whale evolution; Evidence for human evolution [Full version of slides, 13.7M PDF] |
| 5-Mar |
As a preparation for our examination of the major claims of Intelligent Design (ID), we will examine the development of the movement since the mid-1980's concentrating on the connections betweem ID and Young Earth Creationism. Key People & Organizations: Phillip E. Johnson; Stephen Meyer; Michael Behe; Jonathan Wells; William Dembski; Michael Denton; Charles Thaxton; Ad Hoc Origins Committee; Discovery Institute; Center for (the Renewal of) Science & Culture; Key Ideas: Intelligent Design; Edwards v. Aguillard; Of Pandas and People; Foundation for Thought and Ethics; Political action of the ID movement; The Wedge (Document); Santorum Ammendment; Kitzmiller v. Dover; The Designer; Peer-Reviewed publications by DI fellows; The theory of design; Relationship between ID and YEC; [Full version of slides, 18M PDF] |
| 12-Mar | Spring Break |
| 19-Mar |
Even if Intelligent Design is an "evolved" form of Young Earth Creationism, one that has come into being because of the selective environment, it is possible that is can present a positive case for design. In this class we will examine the two major ideas of modern intelligent design - irreducible complexity and complex specified information - and see whether the claims of their proponents (Behe and Dembski, respectively) are backed up by evidence. Key People: William Dembski; Michael Behe; Tom Schneider Key Ideas: irreducible complexity; complex specified information; MacGuyver Principle; "Front loading"; Evolution of the bacterial flagellum; Evolution of biochemical systems; Gene duplication; The Design Inference; Universal Probability Bound; [Full version of slides, 15.7M PDF] |
| 26-Mar | The Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District trial. Viewing: Judgment Day (PBS, 2007, 120 min). Should you need to review the program, it is available online here where there are also transcripts which may be useful. Response due electronically Saturday March 29th, noon. Instructions are as above. Required Reading: |
| 2-Apr |
One argument shared by creationists of all stripes is that the "Cambrian explosion" - a geologically rapid diversification in animal form that occurred approximately 530 thousand years ago - provides strong evidence against common descent and the efficacy of natural selection. ID proponent Jonathan Wells (whom we will devote more time to next week) claims that the event "presents a serious challenge to Darwinian evolution" and that "from nothing, we have almost everything, almost overnight." In this class we will examine how scientists use the fossil record, genetic evidence, and geochemistry to come to an understanding of what happened. Needless to say, it turns out that the creationists offer a caricatured version of the evidence within the fossil record while ignoring the genetic data. Key People: Jonathan Wells; Stephen Meyer; Michael Denton; Louis Agassiz; Key Ideas: Phylum; Polyphyletic view; Cambrian explosion; Stromatolites; Trace fossils; "Small shelly fauna"; Vendian (Ediacarian) fauna; Chengjiang; Burgess Shales; Lagerstatten; Post-Cambrian diversification; [Full version of slides, 16M PDF] |
| 9-Apr |
The last set of creationist arguments we will be examining will be those contained in Jonathan Wells' book Icons of Evolution (Regnery, 2000). Wells makes the claim that the best "evidences" for evolution that are presented in textbooks are either erroneous or fraudulent and that students need to be made aware that this. Given the failure of ID to present a positive case for design, the movement is left making negative arguments against evolution. Wells' book was an initial attempt to formulate this strategy. His ideas, though debunked, occur again in both his subsequent writings and the supplementary textbook Explore Evolution (2007). Key People: Jonathan Wells; Richard Owen; Key ideas: The "icons" in context; Homeotic genes; The Cambrian Explosion; Darwin's finches; Peppered moths; Haeckel's embryos; Avian evolution; Homology; Synapomorphies; Controversies in evolutionary biology. [Full version of slides, 15M PDF] |
| 16-Apr | Tying it all together This will be a relatively short class, tying together some of the themes and issues we have discussed thoughout the semester. Slides won't be available until after the class and none of the material will directly feature in the final examination. [Full version of slides, 7M PDF] |
| 23-Apr | Final Examination The final examination will begin at 3:15 sharp. You will not be given a copy of the examination after that time, so arrive on time. You will need to bring a pencil and your student ID. Failure to bring the latter will result in you not being allowed submit an examination. No exceptions will be made. The examination will end at 4:45pm. Final grades will be posted on Blackboard sometime the following week. |
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![Week 1 Handout [3.44M PDF]](images/PDF.gif){kind=small}