Christian Perspectives in Science
Seminar Series
This seminar series explores interactions between Christian faith and scholarship in the natural and applied sciences. A schedule of future seminars (and a list of past seminars) is given below. Seminar topics vary over a range of interdisciplinary issues, drawing insights from religion, philosophy, astronomy, geology, biology, biotechnology, chemistry, physics, engineering, nursing, mathematics, computer science, psychology, sociology, history, and other departments and programs.
Time and place:
Seminars are typically held several Fridays per semester, 3:30-4:45
p.m., at
Leading a seminar: If you
are interested in leading a seminar, contact Loren Haarsma. You don’t have to write an entirely new
lecture in order to lead a seminar. You
could also
--present a lecture you have given elsewhere or an article you have recently
published;
--present a preliminary draft of a lecture or an article on which you are
working, to get some feedback;
--lead a discussion about how to teach Christian perspectives on a certain
topic in the classroom.
Other
science-and-religion seminar series in the
Grand Dialogue in Science and Religion
Fall 2009 Schedule
|
Date |
Title |
Speaker |
|
September 11 (3:30 p.m.) (SB-010) |
Wrestling with Darwin (sponsored by Seminars in Christian Scholarship) abstract powerpoint
slides audio
recording (.wma) |
Karl Giberson, Eastern Nazarene College; President of Biologos Foundation; author of Saving Darwin: How to Be a Christian and
Believe in Evolution. |
|
September 25 (3:30 p.m.) (SB-110) |
“Test of Faith” DVD (part 1) viewing and discussion |
DVD produced by the Faraday Institute; discussion lead by Deborah Haarsma, Physics and Astronomy Department, Calvin College. |
|
October 2 (3:30 p.m.) (North Hall 078) |
“Test of Faith” DVD (part 2) viewing and discussion |
DVD produced by the Faraday Institute; discussion lead by Deborah Haarsma, Physics and Astronomy Department, Calvin College. |
|
October 16 (3:30 p.m.) (SB-110) |
Why Newton was not an Empiricist |
Steve Wykstra,
Philosophy Department, C.J. Majeski, philosophy student, Calvin College Noah Cawley,
philosophy student, Calvin College |
|
November 6 (3:30 p.m.) (SB-110) |
The Seven Temptations of Neuroethics |
Bill Struthers,
Associate Professor of Psychology, Wheaton College |
Previous seminars
Spring 2009 Schedule
|
Date |
Title |
Speaker |
|
February 27 (3:30 p.m.) (SB-010) |
A Friendly Letter to Skeptics and Atheists: Musings
on Why God is Good and Faith Isn’t Evil abstract powerpoint
slides audio
recording (.wma) |
David Myers, Professor of Psychology, Hope College. |
|
Saturday March 14* (9:45 a.m.) (Loosemore Auditorium, |
WHY DO PEOPLE BELIEVE IN GODS?* (Keynote lecture of the Grand Dialogue in Science and
Religion Annual Conference.) (Additional talks in breakout sessions at 1:00 p.m.) |
Brian
Malley, Department of Psychology, University of Michigan. |
|
April 3 (3:30 p.m.) (SB-110) |
C.S. Lewis and Sigmund Freud: Two Contrasting
Worldviews |
Eric Achtyes, M.D., Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services. |
|
April 17 (3:30 p.m.) (SB-110) |
Science on Sunday: Integrating Science into the Life
of the Congregation |
Scott Hoezee, Director of the Center for Excellence in Preaching, Calvin Theological Seminary; and Deb Haarsma,
Physics and Astronomy Department, Calvin College |
|
May 1 (3:30 p.m.) (SB-110) |
Why is there no controversy surrounding theistic
embryology? Dissecting critical
responses to theistic evolution. abstract powerpoint
slides audio
recording (.wma) |
Steve Matheson,
Biology Department, Calvin College. |
*Events with an asterix are not part of the
CPiS seminar series, but should be of interest to many attenders of CPiS
seminars.
Fall 2008 schedule
|
Date |
Title |
Speaker |
|
October 3 (3:30 p.m.) (SB-110) |
Should Christians be Structural Realists? (co-sponsored by Calvin Philosophy
Department) abstract powerpoint slides introduction (.wma) audio
recording (.wma) (lecture begins 35
seconds into file) |
Elise M.
Crull, University of Notre Dame,
graduate student in History and Philosophy of Science. |
|
October 17 (3:30 p.m.) (SB-110) |
Interactions between Science and Philosophy: Newton on Space and Body abstract audio
recording (.wma) |
C.J. Majeski, Calvin College philosophy major. (with Steve Wykstra, Professor of Philosophy, Calvin College) |
|
November 14 (3:30 p.m.) (SB-010) |
“The Bible, Rocks and Time” Is that like “rock, paper, scissors”? An
interview with Davis Young and Ralph Stearley. (co-sponsored by Calvin Center for Christian
Scholarship) (co-sponsored by Calvin GGES Department) abstract audio recording (.mp3) |
Ralph Stearley, Calvin College Geology, Geography and Environmental Studies department. Davis Young, Calvin College Geology, Geography and Environmental Studies department, emeritus. |
|
November 21 (1:30 p.m.) (SB-010) |
Potential for Research at Christian College Science
Departments Targeted to Benefit the Poor (co-sponsored by Calvin Biology
Department) abstract powerpoint slides audio recording (.wma) (lecture begins 4:40 into audio file; audio quality moderate/poor) |
Martin Price,
Senior Agricultural Scientist, former CEO, and Founder, at the Educational Concerns for Hunger Organization
(ECHO), an organization to help
those working internationally with the poor be more effective, especially in
the area of agriculture. |
Spring 2008 schedule
|
Date |
Title |
Speaker |
|
Saturday February 9* (10:00
a.m.) (Loosemore Auditorium, |
Is the Cosmos All There Is? The quest for answers to big cosmological
questions* (Keynote lecture of the Grand Dialogue in
Science and Religion Annual Conference.) (Additional talks in breakout sessions at 1:00 p.m.) |
Howard J.
VanTill, Professor Emeritus of Physics and Astronomy, Calvin
College |
|
February 15 (3:30 p.m.) (SB-110) |
Randomness, Purpose, God, and Evolution – Can they
go together? powerpoint slides audio recording (Quicktime) |
Richard Colling, Professor
of Biology, Olivet Nazarene University.
Author of Random Designer: Created from Chaos to
Connect with the Creator |
|
February 29 (3:30 p.m.) (SB-110) |
Where is the “C” in Developing E-Type Systems? powerpoint slides audio recording (.wma) |
Patrick Bailey, Computer
Science & Information Systems Department, Calvin College. |
|
March 28 (3:30 p.m.) (SB-110) |
Interactive Cellular Assemblies, Neural Suppression,
and the Unified Character of Consciousness |
Eric LaRock, Assistant Professor of
Philosophy, Oakland University. |
|
Monday, April 7 (3:30 p.m.) (SB-110) |
Real Faith and Fictional Worlds abstract audio recording (.wma)
|
George Murphy, Pastoral
associate at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Akron, Ohio; adjunct faculty
member at Trinity Lutheran Seminary; author of several books on science on
religion. |
|
May 2 (3:30 p.m.) (SB-110) |
Christianity and Climate Change: Understanding the Range of Responses abstract This is a repeat of seminar presented last October 26, to be given for a group of visiting alumni. If you missed the earlier seminar, feel free to attend this one. |
Janel Curry,
Dean of Research and Professor of Geology, Geography and Environmental
Studies, |
*Events with an asterix are not part of the
CPiS seminar series, but should be of interest to many attenders of CPiS
seminars.
Fall 2007 Schedule
|
Date |
Title |
Speaker |
|
September 21 (3:30 p.m.) (SB-110) |
Revisiting the “God of the gaps” |
Ronald Larson, Chair
and George Granger Brown Professor of
Chemical Engineering, University of |
|
September 28 (3:30 p.m.) (SB-110) |
A Classical Christian Emergent Anthropology |
John Cooper, Professor
of Philosophical Theology, Calvin Theological Seminary. |
|
October 12 (3:30 p.m.) (SB-010) |
Origins: A Reformed Look at Creation, Design, and
Evolution |
Deborah Haarsma, Physics
& Astronomy Department; Loren
Haarsma, Physics & Astronomy Department, |
|
October 26 (3:30 p.m.) (SB-110) |
Christianity and Climate Change: Understanding the Range of Responses |
Janel Curry,
Dean of Research and Professor of Geology, Geography and Environmental
Studies, |
|
November 30 (3:30 p.m.) (SB-110) |
Animal Welfare and Global Sustainability: Compassionate Eating as Care of Creation |
Matthew C.
Halteman, Philosophy Department, |
Spring 2007
|
Date |
Title |
Speaker |
|
February 2 (3:30 p.m.) SB-010 |
Epiphany for a Small Planet: Christology, Astronomy, and Mutuality (co-sponsored by Calvin Philosophy
Department) |
Alan Padgett, Professor of Systematic Theology,
Luther Seminary. Crosson Fellow at the Center for Philosophy of Religion at Notre
Dame University, 2006-2007. |
|
February 9 (3:30 p.m.) (SB-110) |
De ordine
creationis: a theological approach to the nature of
mathematical reasoning |
Jim Turner, Mathematics
& Statistics Department, |
|
Thursday February 22 (3:30 p.m.) SB-010 |
Naturalism, Nanotechnology, and Our “Post-human”
Future: A Reformed Perspective (co-sponsored by Calvin Engineering
Department, Calvin Center for
Christian Scholarship, and Seminars
in Christian Scholarship.) |
Charles Adams,
Dean of the Natural Sciences and Professor
of Engineering, Association of Reformed Institutions of Higher Education
(ARIHE) Lecturer, 2006-2008. |
|
February 23 (3:30 p.m.) Meeter Center Lecture Hall |
Teaching “Technical Courses” from a Christian
Perspective: A Reformed Approach to
Pedagogy (co-sponsored by Calvin Engineering
Department, Calvin Center for
Christian Scholarship, and Seminars
in Christian Scholarship.) |
Charles Adams,
Dean of the Natural Sciences and Professor
of Engineering, Association of Reformed Institutions of Higher Education (ARIHE) Lecturer, 2006-2008. |
|
Saturday February
24* (10:00
a.m.) (Loosemore Auditorium, |
Body, Mind, and Spirit: Emerging
Perspectives in Science and Religion.* (Keynote lecture of the Grand Dialogue
in Science and Religion Annual Conference.) (Additional talks in breakout sessions at 1:00 p.m.) |
Philip
Clayton, Ingraham
Professor of Theology at Claremont School of Theology; Professor of
Religion and Philosophy at |
|
Tuesday March 27* (7:30 p.m.) (Calvin Seminary
Auditorium) |
Scripture, God and Time* (Calvin Philosophy Department: 2007 Jellema
Lectures) |
Brian
Leftow, Professor, |
|
Wednesday March 28* (3:30 p.m.) (Calvin Seminary
Auditorium) |
Creation ex Nihilo* (Calvin Philosophy Department: 2007 Jellema Lectures) |
Brian
Leftow, Professor, |
|
April 20* (7:00 p.m.) (Calvin Seminary
Auditorium) |
Topic: Public
health issues surrounding factory farms.* (Sponsored by Farms Without Harm, in
conjunction with the Calvin College Philosophy and Biology Departments.) |
Michael Greger,
M.D., physician, Director of Public
Health and Animal Agriculture at The Humane Society of the United States |
*Events with an asterix are not part of the
CPiS seminar series, but should be of interest to many attenders of CPiS
seminars.
Fall 2006
|
Date |
Title |
Speaker |
|
September 15 (3:30 p.m.) (SB-110) |
Is There a Purpose in the Living World? Some Thoughts about Creation and Emergent
Evolution |
Jaap Klapwijk,
Free University in |
|
September 29 3:45 p.m. |
Outdoor Experiences for the Young and Young at Heart abstract audio
recording first half (.wma) |
Cheryl Hoogewind,Calvin
Ecosystem Preserve Manager, |
|
October 12* (Thursday) (3:30 p.m.) (North Hall 078) |
Evangelicals and Climate Change |
Rev. Jim Ball, Ph.D., Executive Director, Evangelical Environmental Network |
|
October 27 (3:30 p.m.) (SB-110) |
Human Origins:
Scientific Theories and Christian Theologies (audio recording unavailable due to
technical glitch) |
John Cooper, Professor of Philosophical Theology, Calvin Theological Seminary |
|
November 3 (3:30 p.m.) (SB-110) |
What is a Number?
Augustine’s Philosophy of Mathematics |
Jim Bradley, Mathematics
Department; Director of Assessment & Institutional Research, |
|
November 10 (3:30 p.m.) (SB-010) |
The Realm of Ghosts:
Sickness and Death in the Early |
Dr. Jan Peter Verhave, Visiting Research Fellow Van Raalte Institute, |
|
November 17 (3:30 p.m.) (SB-110) |
Intelligent Design on Trial |
Edward B. Davis, Professor of
the History of Science, |
|
December 1 (3:30 p.m.) (SB-110) |
The Search for Extra-terrestrial Life |
Larry Molnar and
Loren Haarsma, Physics &
Astronomy Department, |
*Events with an asterix are not part of the
CPiS seminar series, but should be of interest to many attenders of CPiS
seminars.
Spring 2006
|
Date |
Title |
Speaker |
|
February 8 Wed., 3:30 pm Meeter Center |
Science and Religion: Nature
as Interpreted Book (Co-sponsored by Calvin Center for Christian Scholarship) (Co-sponsored by Seminars
in Christian Scholarship) |
Arie Leegwater,
Chemistry & Biochemistry Department, |
|
March 3 (3:30 p.m.) (SB-110) |
Daniel C. Harlow,
Religion Department, |
|
|
March 8 Wed., 3:30 pm Commons Lecture Hall |
Putting
Science in its Place: The Culture of Scientific Practice (Co-sponsored by Calvin Center for Christian Scholarship) (Co-sponsored by Seminars
in Christian Scholarship) |
Arie Leegwater,
Chemistry & Biochemistry Department, |
|
March 10 (3:30 p.m.) (SB-110) |
Ronald A. Buelow,
Professor of Mathematics, |
|
|
April 1* Saturday 10:00 am |
(This is
the keynote address of the spring
conference of |
John F. Haught, Landegger Distinguished
Professor of Theology, |
|
April 21* |
A New Image of Science and Nature* (Sponsored by the Metanexus Local
Society Initiative of Calvin
College and the Calvin Center
for Christian Scholarship) |
Joseph Rouse, Professor
of Philosophy, |
|
April 27 (Thursday) (3:30 p.m.) (SB-110) |
Randy Isaac, Executive Director, American Scientific Affiliation |
|
|
May 5 (3:30 p.m.) (SB-110) |
Judith A. Baker, Nursing
Department, |
*Events with an asterix are not part of the
CPiS seminar series, but should be of interest to many attenders of CPiS
seminars.
Fall 2005
|
Date |
Title |
Speaker |
|
September 16 |
Ken Piers,
Chemistry & Biochemistry Department, |
|
|
September 29* (7:30 p.m.) (SB-010) |
Einstein
and His World
(Lecture for a general audience) |
Martin Klein, Eugene Higgins Professor Emeritus of Physics and History of Science, |
|
September 30* (3:30 p.m.) (SB-110) |
New Paths to
the Depths of Physics: Einstein in 1905 |
Martin Klein, Eugene Higgins Professor Emeritus of Physics and History of Science, |
|
October 7 |
Douglas Kindschi,
Professor of Mathematics and Philosophy, |
|
|
October 13* (3:30 p.m.) (Meeter Center) |
Beliefs in Natural Science, Then and Now (This is a Meeter Center colloquium. It will be held in the
Meeter Center Lecture Hall.) |
Christopher B. Kaiser, Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology,
Western Theological Seminary |
|
October 21 |
Ralph Stearley,
Geology, Geography and Environmental Studies Department, |
|
|
October 28 |
Matthew Heun,
Engineering Department, |
|
|
November 3-5* |
Conference
on “The
‘Nature’ of Belief” at the |
Sponsored by the Templeton
Foundation and by the Calvin
Seminars in Christian Scholarship |
|
November 18 |
Uko Zylstra,
Prof. of Biology and Dean of Natural Sciences, |
*Events with an asterix are not part of the
CPiS seminar series, but should be of interest to many attenders of CPiS
seminars.
Spring 2005
Fall 2004
|
Date |
Title |
Speaker |
|
October 8 |
(Co-sponsored by Calvin Center for Christian Scholarship) (Co-sponsored by
the Calvin Philosophy
Department) |
Steven Horst, Associate
Professor and Chair, Philosophy Department, |
|
October 12 7:30 p.m. Calvin Chapel |
But
It’s Only a Rat! Christian Reflections
on Painful Animal Research (Sponsored by Templeton/ASA Lecture Series) |
Robert
N. Wennberg, Professor, Philosophy Department, |
|
October 29 |
The
Birth of Mathematical Astronomy: |
Steve Wykstra,
Philosophy Department, |
|
November 12 |
John H. Scofield,
Professor and Chair, Physics and Astronomy Department, |
|
|
December 3 |
Christian
Philosophy, Spatiality and Geography (Co-sponsored by Calvin Center for Christian Scholarship) (Co-sponsored by
the Calvin GGES Department) |
Henk Aay,
Geology, Geography and Environmental Studies Department, |
|
December 10 |
(Co-sponsored by Calvin Center for Christian Scholarship) (Co-sponsored by
the Calvin GGES Department) |
Janel Curry,
Dean of Research; Professor of Geology, Geography and Environmental Studies, |
Spring 2004
|
Date |
Title |
Speaker |
|
February 13 |
Douglas
VanderGriend, Chemistry Department, |
|
|
March 12 |
Rebecca Flietstra, Associate Professor of Biology, |
|
|
March 30 |
Can
We Allow Climate to Change and Biodiversity to Become Extinct? (Sponsored by Templeton/ASA Lecture Series) |
Sir Ghillean
Prance, former Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, adjunct
professor at the City University of New York and a visiting professor at the |
|
March 31 |
The
Eden Project (www.edenproject.com) (Sponsored by Templeton/ASA Lecture Series) |
|
|
April 16 |
The
Future in the Instant: What human embryonic stem cells can do, and where they
are taking us |
Stephen Matheson,
Biology Department, |
|
April 30 (SB-010) |
John Calvin and the
Natural World (Co-sponsored by Calvin Center for Christian
Scholarship) |
Dave Young, Geology,
Geography and Environmental Studies Department , |
|
May 7 (SB-010) |
Copernicus and the
Tale of the Pale Blue Dot (Co-sponsored by Calvin Center for Christian
Scholarship) |
Dennis Danielson, Professor
and Associate Head of the Dept. of English, |
Fall 2003
|
Date |
Title |
Speaker |
|
September 26 |
Ken Piers,
Chemistry Department, |
|
|
October 10 |
Ralph Stearley,
Geology, Geography and Environmental Studies Department , |
|
|
October 24 |
Rational,
Emotional, and Moral Brains:
Implications for Teaching and Learning |
Paul Moes,
Psychology Department, |
|
November 7 |
Spring 2003
|
Date |
Title |
Speaker |
|
March 7 |
Creation or Curse? Entropy, Earthquakes, Mosquitoes and
Malaria |
Loren Haarsma,
Physics & Astronomy Department, |
|
March 28 |
What
Can Mathematics Contribute to the Science-Religion Discussion? |
Douglas Kindschi,
Dean of Science & Professor of Mathematics, |
|
April 11 |
Teaching Professional Ethics in
Engineering and the Sciences |
Gayle Ermer,
Engineering Department, |
|
April 25 |
Egbert
Schuurman, Professor, Department of Christian Philosophy,
Technological Universities of |
Fall 2002
|
Date |
Title |
Speaker |
|
September 27 |
Deborah Haarsma,
Physics & Astronomy Department, |
|
|
October 11 |
Stephen Matheson,
Biology Department, |
|
|
November 22 |
Steve Wykstra,
Philosophy Department, |
|
|
December 6 |
Teaching Virtues: Using 4MAT Lesson
Design to Integrate Knowledge, Skills & Virtues |
Karen J. Vander
Laan, Nursing Department, |
Spring 2002
|
Date |
Title |
Speaker |
|
February 8 |
Hessel Bouma III,
Biology Department , |
|
|
February 22 |
Sharing
the Life and History of a Wetland Across the Generations |
Cheryl Hoogewind,
Calvin Ecosystem Preserve Manager, |
|
March 22 |
Transforming
Care: Toward A Reformed Christian Perspective on Nursing |
Mary Molewyk Doornbos, Mary E. Flikkema & Barbara Timmerman, Nursing Department, Calvin College |
|
April 5 |
David Van Baak,
Physics & Astronomy Department , |
|
|
April 12 |
Jared Knoll,
Biotechnology major, |
|
|
April 19 |
James Turner,
Mathematics Department, |
Fall 2001
|
Date |
Title |
Speaker |
|
September 7 |
The
New Natural World Core: It's here, and now you've got to assess it. |
Loren Haarsma,
Physics & Astronomy Department, |
|
October 12 |
Human
Animals or Human Persons: How are bodies and persons related? |
Kevin Corcoran,
Philosophy Department, |
|
October 26 |
David VanBaak,
Physics & Astronomy Department, |
|
|
November 9 |
The
Quest for a Quantitative Social Science: A Problem for Christians? |
James Bradley,
Mathematics Department, |
|
November 30 |
Glenn Weaver,
Psychology Department, |
Spring 2001
|
Date |
Title |
Speaker |
|
February 23 |
Is
Science Intrinsically Atheistic? What is "Christian" Scholarship in
the Natural Sciences? |
Loren Haarsma,
Physics & Astronomy Department, |
|
March 7 |
Robert
Boyle and Methodological Naturalism: God, laws, and air bubbles. |
Stephen Wykstra,
Philosophy Department, |
|
April 6 |
'On
the Mountain': Charles A. Coulson on Science and Religion |
Arie Leegwater,
Chemistry & Biochemistry Department, |
|
April 20 |
Some
Considerations for Intelligent Design from Physics and Astrophysics |
Steve Steenwyk,
Physics & Astronomy Department, |
|
May 4 |
The
Gaia Hypothesis and the Possibility for a Christian Earth Teleology |
Ralph Stearley,
Geology, Geography and Environmental Studies Department, |
Abstracts
Friday, February 23, 2001, 3:45 p.m. in
Speaker: Loren Haarsma, Physics & Astronomy Department,
Title: "Is Science Intrinsically Atheistic?
What is 'Christian' Scholarship in the Natural Sciences?"
Our religious worldview affects
how we search for truth, including what sorts of evidence and what sorts of
answers we are willing to accept as "true." How is it, then, that
natural scientists from many different religious worldviews usually reach
consensus on scientific matters? Some people (including some Christians) claim
that scientists reach consensus because science is "methodologically"
atheistic; that is, scientists act "as if God doesn't exist" while
they are doing science. Is that a fair description of how natural science
usually works? If so, is there such a thing as "Christian"
scholarship in science? If that is not a fair description of how science
reaches consensus, what is a better description?
Wednesday, March 7, 2001, 3:45 p.m. in
Speaker: Stephen Wykstra, Philosophy Department,
Title: "Robert Boyle and Methodological
Naturalism: God, laws, and air bubbles."
Robert Boyle, of "Boyle's
Law" fame, was perhaps the most influential scientist in the generation
preceding Isaac Newton. His voluminous and widely-read books were divided between
experimental work (especially on the air pump and in chemistry), work on the
theoretical foundations and guiding "meta-scientific" framework for
science, and theological and religious works. Boyle urged that experimental
science be conducted within the framework of the "Corpuscular" or
"Mechanical Philosophy," defending this framework as a devout
Christian theist, but urging that it NOT be limited in the ways that other
mechanists wanted to limit it. I will give an account of some strands in
Boyle's thought, raise some questions, and invite discussion on his relevance
for the practice of science today.
Friday, April 6, 2001, 3:45 p.m. in
Speaker: Arie Leegwater, Chemistry & Biochemistry Department,
Title: "On
the Mountain: Charles A. Coulson on Science and Religion"
Charles A. Coulson (1910-1974)
was an influential English-Methodist quantum chemist and author of a number of
books on science and religion. [You could say he was the Polkinghorne of the
1950s and 1960s in
Friday, April 20, 2001, 3:45 p.m. in
Speaker: Steve Steenwyk, Physics & Astronomy Department,
Title: "Some Considerations for Intelligent
Design from Physics and Astrophysics"
While much of the intelligent design
(I.D.) discussion centers on issues involving biological function and structure
and the probability of their biochemical evolution, physics, astrophysics and
cosmology also may contribute some important constraints to be considered by
I.D. proponents. A brief summary of I.D. is given, highlighting that much of
the argument centers on probabilities that are highly uncertain. Recent and
well established developments in astronomy, astrophysics, cosmology, string
theory, black hole entropy and information, quantum mechanics, chaos theory,
and other fields must influence considerations involving the probability that
life may evolve and the generation and transmission of
"information"-a key word in I.D. theory. While all of these issues
cannot be addressed here in detail, some recent developments in astrophysics
and cosmology involving the physical extent of the universe are addressed in
some detail along with some brief comments involving some of the other areas
mentioned. Some implications for estimation of probabilities will be discussed.
Friday, May 4, 2001, 3:45 p.m. in
Speaker: Ralph Stearley, Geology, Geography and Environmental Studies
Department,
Title: “The Gaia Hypothesis and the Possibility for
a Christian Earth Teleology”
Recently, attention has been
renewed among scientists, philosophers and theologians to the concept of
teleological design or intelligent design in the natural world. Any
demonstration of design in an individual, whether a living organism, a planet,
or a galaxy, must take into account the historical development of that
individual. During its 4.5 Gyr history, Earth has developed from a very hot
near- molten entity with a dense atmosphere of CO2 and steam, lacking a shield
against lethal UV radiation, into a comfortable home for many different types
of life. The Earth has become remarkably robust in terms of resistance to
perturbations which might threaten life. One non-Christian teleological
interpretation of this is the "Gaia hypothesis", which postulates
that Earth behaves as a large self- regulating superorganism. How should
Christians respond to the Gaia hypothesis? Is a distinctive Christian
teleological theory of Earth history possible?
Friday, September 7, 2001, 3:45 p.m. in
Organizer: Loren Haarsma, Physics & Astronomy Department,
Title: "The New Natural World Core: It's here,
and now you've got to assess it."
A brainstorming session on how
to assess Natural World core courses. If you teach a science core class, or
expect to some day, that class WILL be evaluated. Would you like a say in how
the assessment is done? Even if you don't plan to teach a core course, your
students will be taking them. Help us decide how to assess whether our classes
are meeting our goals. Students welcome!
Friday, October 12, 2001, 3:45 p.m. in
Speaker: Kevin Corcoran, Philosophy Department,
Title: "Human Animals or Human Persons: How are
bodies and persons related?"
According to classical dualism,
human persons are fundamentally and essentially immaterial souls, albeit souls
contingently and intimately connected to material bodies. According to
"animalism," human persons are fundamentally and essentially
biological organisms and, therefore, only contingently persons. These two broad
views have seemed exhaustive. I want to suggest an alternative. I propose a
"constitution view" of human persons according to which we are wholly
physical things, though not identical with the physical things that are our
bodies.
Friday, October 26, 2001, 3:45 p.m. in
Speaker: David Van Baak, Physics & Astronomy Department,
Title: "Teleology and the Laws of Physics"
Since the time of
Friday, November 9, 2001, 3:45 p.m. in
Speaker: James Bradley, Mathematics Department,
Title: "The Quest for a Quantitative Social
Science: A Problem for Christians?"
Since the mid-seventeenth
century, many thinkers have sought to develop a science of human behavior
analogous to physics -- that is, one based on natural laws that have empirical
bases and are formulated mathematically. These thinkers hoped that such a
science could serve as a rational basis for ordering human societies. This talk
will first explore why such a quest appears problematic for Christians. It will
then examine how efforts to quantify human behavior have made major positive
contributions to human culture but have also generated significant social
problems. It will conclude by suggesting some ways that the application of a
Christian perspective could maintain the benefits of quantification while
preventing some of the harms.
Friday, November 30, 2001, 3:45 p.m. in
Speaker: Glenn Weaver, Psychology Department,
Title: "Models of Spiritual Discipline in
Addiction Recovery"
The Twelve Step model of
spiritual discipline is the most widely recognized addiction recovery approach
that emphasizes the importance of spiritual discipline. This presentation will
describe two studies which identify an alternative model of spiritual
discipline as effective in the efforts of nicotine-dependent smokers to quit
smoking. Based on structured interviews with ex-smokers, the first study
identified "calling-oriented spirituality" and "dependency-
oriented spirituality" as related, yet distinct, practices which have been
engaged in efforts to quit smoking. The second study recruited active smokers
for a three-month effort to quit smoking. Participants agreed to random
assignment to one of several disciplined practices throughout the three month
effort: "calling-oriented" spiritual practices,
"dependency-oriented" spiritual practices, or self-designed
"motivational enhancement" practices. Results indicated that these
practices had different effects on the way in which participants viewed their
smoking during the three month effort to quit. Participants experienced the
"calling-oriented" spiritual practice condition as the most
appropriate approach and made the greatest progress in reducing their
self-monitored cigarette and nicotine consumption. The presentation will
consider some implications for addiction theory and future addiction research.
Friday, February 8, 2002, 3:45 p.m. in
Speaker: Hessel Bouma III, Biology Department,
Title: "Embryonic Stem Cells: Promises and Perils"
Embryonic stem cells are being
widely touted by scientists, politicians and the media as potentially the
long-awaited and ultimate cure for people with diabetes, Alzheimers,
Parkinsons, organ failure, and spinal cord injuries. What are stem cells? Where
can we get them? What do we know they can do as opposed to what we suspect they
might be able to do? Should these potential cures be perceived as hype or
genuine hope? What are the ethical and public policy issues raised by embryonic
stem cells and what alternatives might there be? This seminar will explore
these questions towards an understanding how Christians might respond to the
dilemmas posed by these issues.
Friday, February 22, 2002, 3:45 p.m. in
Speaker: Cheryl Hoogewind, Calvin Ecosystem Preserve Manager,
Title: "Sharing the Life and History of a
Wetland Across the Generations"
What do senior citizens,
elementary students, and a created urban wetland have in common? Young and old
people can explore together the wetland's cultural and natural history. I have
been involved in a grant-funded project to create a wetland education
curriculum for a new retirement community as an outreach to area
schoolchildren. The program focuses on a 7-acre wetland, created when the
retirement community site was developed. The program is intentionally inter-
generational and emphasizes the functional importance of created wetlands in
watershed and wildlife management. The project has caught the attention of area
educators and won an award from the Michigan Association of Homes and Services
for the Aging. Attendees will participate in a simulation of the importance of
wetlands to migrating birds.
Friday, March 22, 2002, 3:45 p.m. in
Speakers: Mary Molewyk Doornbos, Mary E. Flikkema & Barbara Timmerman,
Nursing Department, Calvin College.
Title: "Transforming Care: Toward A Reformed
Christian Perspective on Nursing"
How does a Reformed Christian
worldview form our conceptualization of nursing practice? Does the current
emphasis on evidence-based practice preclude the idea of nursing as a vocation
as well as a profession? The tension between nursing as a science, based only
in theoretical knowledge, and the spiritual nature of nursing as Christian
service will be examined. A brief summary of a spiritual history in nursing
will be discussed from the pre-Christian era through the present day. Practices
and attitudes of caregivers throughout history have been informed by spiritual
belief systems. What meaning does this historical perspective have for the
contemporary practice of nursing? Five metaparadigm concepts of nursing will be
examined and related to present day practice in the profession of nursing:
caring, person, health, environment and nursing. The definition of those
metaparadigm concepts influences the nurse's ethical stance and affects ethical
decision making in today's complex health care system. Finally, a holistic
perspective of nursing and the Christian mandate will be related to the
principles of health promotion and health protection within the discipline of
nursing.
Friday,
April 5, 2002, 3:30 p.m. in
Speaker: Prof. David Van Baak, Physics & Astronomy Department,
Title: "Cosmology and the Role of
Presuppositions in Science"
Of all the fields of human
knowledge, mathematics and the natural science are those that are most often
assumed to be universal, value-free, obligatory, and independent of
pre-suppositions and prejudices. In these fields, if any, one may hope that all
scholars will necessarily be constrained by reason and evidence to reach a
consistent set of conclusions. While vast amounts of the content of the
sciences do indeed reveal this kind of convergence, there are interesting areas
in which consensus is not achieved, and may never be achieved. In this lecture,
I will explore those places in the natural sciences where essential
disagreements persist, and illustrate in the field of cosmology the reasons for
the disagreements. In particular, I will describe the role of presuppositions,
and extra-scientific assumptions, in motivating theories about the character
and origin of the universe. This talk is intended for a general audience of
persons interested in science.
Friday, April 12, 2002, 3:45 p.m. in
Speaker: Jared Knoll, Biotechnology major,
Title: "The Biotech Century: Brave New World, or Just a Better One?"
In his book "The Biotech
Century: Harnessing the Gene and Remaking the World," Jeremy Rifkin argues
that the applications of biotechnology are likely to make the world of our
children and grandchildren fundamentally different from ours. With such chapter
titles as "A Eugenic Civilization," "Patenting Life," and
"Reinventing Nature," it is clear that Rifkin does not think this
will be a change for the better. Through his books and lectures, Rifkin, along
with numerous other anti-biotech groups, is attempting to persuade the general
public to agree with him. In contrast to the warnings of Rifkin and others,
however, stand biotechnology's potential benefits. If these benefits are
possible, then if Rifkin is successful in convincing the public that biotech is
to something be feared he will have persuaded them to oppose an increase in
their quality of life. The argument for the use of biotechnology (and
technology in general) can be framed in terms of a "presumptive
case." Additionally, when the benefits of biotech are thought of as
applicable not only to oneself but to all people, the argument for continuing
its development takes on the spiritual dimension of service and love for one's
neighbor. Lest Rifkin and other activist groups succeed in their goal of
convincing the public that biotechnology is inherently wrong, those most
knowledgeable about it need to be vocal in the general public debate. People
with knowledge of biotechnology have a responsibility to let average Americans
know that by continuing with biotechnology, we are not necessarily dooming our
children to a "Brave New World."
Friday,
April 19, 2002, 3:45 p.m. in
Speaker: James Turner, Mathematics Dept,
Title: "Where does mathematics come from? A Christian perspective."
In trying to understand where
our ability to do mathematics comes from, a dilemma arises when coming to terms
with both its subjective nature, in that it can be constructed and explored by
individuals, and its "unreasonable effectiveness" in its
applications. In attempting to address this paradox, philosophical positions,
ranging from constructivism to Platonism, have all been declared to fall short
of producing a resolution. In this talk, I will describe how the horns of this
dilemma have hung up these various philosophical positions and indicate how the
failure to provide such a resolution has been at root a result of a certain
degree of commitment to naturalism. Finally, I will describe a rudimentary
Christian perspective which has the potential of producing a resolution by
going between the horns.
Friday, September 27, 2002, 3:45 p.m. in
Speaker: Deborah Haarsma, Physics & Astronomy Dept,
Title: "The Skies Proclaim the Work of His Hands: What modern astronomy is telling us about the
attributes of God."
Astronomical discoveries in
recent decades have greatly expanded our understanding of planets, stars,
galaxies, and the universe. For people
of all worldviews, these discoveries evoke amazement and wonder. How can scientists of different worldviews
share the same scientific methods and results, and yet disagree about God's
existence and role in the universe? For
Christians, who understand science as the study of God's creation, these discoveries
illustrate God's beauty, power, faithfulness, creativity, immensity, and
love. This talk will be presented to Christian school teachers on October 11,
2002, at the NWCSI-CTABC Convention (
Friday, October 11, 2002, 3:45 p.m. in
Speaker: Stephen Matheson, Biology Department,
Title: "Asa Gray:
Asa Gray (1810-1888) was already
considered the finest American botanist (and perhaps biologist) of his time
when, in 1860, he paused from his voluminous taxonomic work to launch a
"defense" of Charles Darwin and his Origin of Species. A
congregationalist Calvinist, Gray argued strenuously against various
theological (and scientific) criticisms of
Friday, November 22, 2002, 3:45 p.m. in
Speaker: Steve Wykstra, Philosophy Department,
Title: "Anomalous Suspension Revisited: Worldview Shaping, Realist
Historiography of Science, and the Boyle-Huygens Debate"
In the early 1660's, Christian
Huygens visited London, read Boyle's newly-published "New Experiments
touching the Spring of Air," and returned to Holland to build his own
vacuum pump. He quickly 'discovered' a new phenomenon of "anomalous
suspension." Basically, he purged water of air by keeping in an evacuated
receiver several days; he then used the purged water to create a
water-barometer; and he placed this under a bell jar which he evacuated.
According to the reigning hypothesis, the water-level should drop (since it is
air pressure that holds the water or mercury up in the inverted tube). Huygens
found it didn't drop: it remained anomalously "suspended." Huygens's
reports caused consternation back in
Friday, December 6, 2002, 3:45 p.m. in
Speaker: Karen J. Vander Laan, Nursing Department,
Title: "Teaching Virtues: Using 4MAT Lesson Design to Integrate Knowledge,
Skills & Virtues"
This interactive presentation
will discuss using a learning cycle to design instruction and assessment that
helps students acquire knowledge, skills, and virtues. The 4MAT System® will be
introduced with an emphasis on how content can be taught as a study of a
virtue. Assessment strategies for all octants of the learning cycle will be
discussed. Participants will experience a 4MAT learning cycle first-hand as we
discuss the challenges of teaching and assessing virtues.
Friday, March 7, 2003, 3:30 p.m. in
Speaker: Loren Haarsma, Physics & Astronomy Department,
Title: "Creation or Curse? Entropy, Earthquakes, Mosquitoes and
Malaria"
In Reformed theology, the
effects of the Fall are pervasive, affecting all of creation. So it is tempting
for us to blame everything which annoys or hurts us on the Fall. When we study
creation scientifically, however, we find that many of the things which can annoy
or hurt us -- from tiny viruses to the second law of thermodynamics -- play an
important, natural, and perhaps even inevitable part in the functioning of
God's complex and amazing creation. We shouldn't be hasty to blame something on
the Fall which was part of God's good design. We'll explore this topic in a
range of areas from the laws of physics to biology to human behavioral
dispositions.
Friday, March 28, 2003, 3:30 p.m. in
Speaker: Douglas Kindschi, Dean of Science & Professor of
Mathematics,
Title: "What Can Mathematics Contribute to the Science-Religion
Discussion?"
The Science-Religion
literature has grown dramatically in the past few decades, producing hundreds
of books and even more articles. Very little, however, has been said about
Mathematics' contribution to this discussion. One significant exception is the
book by Bradley and Howell, Mathematics in Postmodern Age: A Christian
Perspective. While on a "mini-sabbatical" at
Friday, April 11, 2003, 3:30 p.m. in
Speaker: Gayle E. Ermer, Engineering Department,
Title: "Teaching Professional Ethics in Engineering and the
Sciences"
Professional occupations in
technology, mathematics, and the sciences provide opportunities for Christians
to pursue their vocation, the calling to serve God and others by reforming his
creation. As Christian educators, we are concerned with ensuring that our
graduates have the skills and dispositions necessary to make ethical choices as
they pursue the ideals of their disciplines. Secular professional societies and
educators are becoming increasingly concerned with promoting ethical standards
as well. What is meant by professional ethics? How are professional ethics and
Christian faith related? How can these concepts be taught? Some suggestions for
integrating the study of ethics into professional programs and courses will be
presented, along with examples from the field of engineering.
Friday, April 25, 2003, 3:30 p.m. in
Speaker: Egbert Schuurman, Professor, Department of Christian
Philosophy, Technological Universities of
Title: "Deliverance from the Technological Worldview: Redirection in
the Ethics of Technology"
The overwhelming uncritical attitude toward technology can have
potentially disastrous effects. An “ethics of technology” is required. Such an
ethics must concern itself with humanity’s good and responsible conduct in and
through technology. Generally speaking, since modern times there has been a
mentality of technological control. All questions relating to spiritual
reflection and religious problems are ruled out. Motives, values and norms are
derived from a technological worldview. This “technological ethics” is the
cause of many threats and problems. It is characterized by a cosmological
deficit and an ethical deficit. It is only possible to overcome these deficits
by a reorientation in culture and in ethics. The Enlightenment ought to be
enlightened. The cosmology of reality as God’s creation, and the commandments
of love, give a possibility for the redirection of an ethics of technology. A
responsible cultural and technological development summons a representation of
culture that depicts earth as a garden tended by humans. Technology must be
developed within the perspective of the earth as one large garden-city. In an
ethics of responsibility, attention is given to the central motive of love,
contrasted with the central motive of power of the technological worldview. For
a justified, responsible technology, the ethical challenge is finding not only
true motives, but also true environment values, technological values and social
values. At the end of the lecture, attention is paid to the consequences for
the practice of this ethical-philosophical view and to the differences from
those views which are currently held.
Friday, September 26, 2003, 3:30
p.m. in
Speaker: Kenneth Piers, Chemistry Department,
Title: “The End of Oil”
The economies of the
Friday, October 10, 2003, 3:30 p.m.
in
Speaker: Ralph Stearley, Geology, Geography and Environmental Studies
Department,
Title: “George McCready Price and
the Foundation of Flood Geology”
George McCready Price is
credited with launching the 20th-century “flood geology”
movement. His long publishing career
spanned over 50 years. From the start (Illogical Geology, 1906), his
publications claimed that biostratigraphers were guilty of attempting to erect
a “cosmogony” from limited observations combined with a priori assumptions. In Q.E.D., Or New Light on the Doctrine of
Creation (1917) Price compared the activities of geologists to those of
librarians, sorting the various strata according to a completely artificial
system, likened to a card index. Price
based this critique on faulty spatial reasoning. Price also reasoned that all fossil
assemblages were preserved discrete contemporaneous ecological
assemblages. For example, coal-bearing
units typically assigned to the Carboniferous, Cretaceous and Tertiary periods
were originally synchronic, representing assorted ecozones present prior to the
great flood of Noah. Unfortunately,
Price accomplished most of his geological research by reading reports and
textbooks authored by others. Lacking
significant field experience, Price interpreted all sedimentary structures and
textures as the result of a near-instantaneous occurrence; the sorting and
shuffling of fossil assemblages he felt must have occurred during a single
event. If Price could compare the
systematic labors of biostratigraphers to those of librarians, then his own
method resembled that of a blackjack dealer.
Price’s stratigraphic arguments would be repeated, with amplification,
in influential recent-creationist works such as The Genesis Flood (1961) by Morris and Whitcomb.
Friday, October 24, 2003, 3:30 p.m.
in
Speaker: Paul Moes, Psychology Department,
Title: “Rational, Emotional, and
Moral Brains: Implications for Teaching
and Learning”
Research in cognitive
neuroscience has demonstrated that our brains function by using
“semi-independent” modules to process and respond to our world. Only recently has attention been focused on
the role of emotional processing modules in influencing conscious cognitive
processes. This presentation will review
recent research findings, as well as some of the presenter’s own research on
emotional processing in the left and right hemispheres. Implications of these findings for teaching
and learning at
Friday,
November 7, 2003, 3:30 p.m. in
Speaker: Scott Hoezee, Minister of Preaching and Administration, Calvin
Christian Reformed Church,
Title: “Science on Sunday: A
Pastor’s Perspective”
By the time the average
seminarian becomes ordained, the chances are good that this freshly minted
pastor will know less about science than most college graduates. Although it may have changed, not long ago at
Friday,
February 13, 2004, 3:30 p.m. in
Speaker: Rev. Alvin VanderGriend,
Prayer-Evangelism Associate for Harvest Prayer Ministries; & Douglas
VanderGriend, Chemistry Department,
Calvin College.
Title: “The Scientific Efficacy
of Prayer”
Scientific experiments to
verify the power of prayer have been conceived of as early as 1872. Even as the
evidence mounts, questions remain as to the interpretation and appropriateness
of such studies. Prayer being the
mentative interaction between the natural and the supernatural, its study
epitomizes the elusive harmony between science and religion. We aim to explore
how the measurability, reproducibility, and causality of the efficacy of prayer
can be integrated with a Christian Reformed world view.
Friday, March 12, 2004, 3:30 p.m.
in
Speaker: Rebecca J. Flietstra, Associate Professor of Biology,
Title: “The Human Creature”
For millennia, we have sought
to define who exactly we are as human beings. The two main approaches to this
self-definition are the scientific/philosophical approach and the religious/theological
approach. The biological understanding of human nature has been shaped by
evolutionary theory, genetics, and the neurosciences. For Christians, a
theological understanding of human nature centers, in part, on the doctrine of
the image of God. Because these two approaches have been generated by two
seemingly disparate worldviews, they are frequently presented as incompatible
with—and even diametrically opposed to—each other. In this talk I will discuss
how Christians might think of the human person in a way that incorporates
insights from both modern biology and Christian theology. In this way I hope to
uncover a richer understanding of both human biology and the human creature as imago
Dei.
Tuesday,
March 30, 2004, 7:30 p.m. in the Great Hall of the Prince Conference Center
(Sponsored
by Templeton/ASA Lecture Series)
Speaker: Sir Ghillean Prance, former Director of the Royal Botanic
Gardens at Kew, adjunct professor at the City University of New York and a
visiting professor at the University of Reading.
Title: “Can We Allow Climate to
Change and Biodiversity to Become Extinct?”
The lecture will show the seriousness of the current environmental
crisis focusing on issues of climate change and the loss of biodiversity. Examples of damage to biodiversity will largely
be taken from the lecturer's extensive experience in tropical
Wednesday,
March 31, 2004, 12:30 p.m. in
(Sponsored by
Templeton/ASA Lecture Series)
Speaker: Sir Ghillean Prance, former Director of the Royal Botanic
Gardens at Kew, adjunct professor at the City University of New York and a
visiting professor at the
Title: “The Eden Project”
The Eden Project (www.edenproject.com) in Cornwall, England, is a
massive undertaking to convert an abandoned quarry into conservatories
featuring the major biomes and their botanical specimens of the Earth. It's mission is "to promote the
understanding and responsible management of the vital relationship between
plants, people and resources leading to a sustainable future for
all." Sir Ghillean Prance serves as
the Scientific Director for this project.
The scriptural roots of the name of this project are intentional, as are
many of the principles of environmental stewardship. Come for an enjoyable presentation on
"The
Friday, April 16, 2004, 3:30 p.m.
in
Speaker: Stephen Matheson,
Biology Department,
Title: “The Future in the
Instant: What human embryonic stems cells can do, and where they are taking us”
Mammalian embryonic stem
cells (ES cells) have been the focus of intense research for decades, and their
use has reshaped the study of mammalian genetics and development. The utility of ES cells derives from the
combination of effectively unlimited developmental potential with relative ease
of use and genetic manipulation. Human
embryonic stem cells were first isolated in 1998, and were welcomed with
enthusiastic predictions of future therapeutic benefits along with significant
ethical objections to their creation.
Popular debate since then has focused on the tension between the
therapeutic potential of the cells and the moral costs of generating them. Opponents of the use of human ES cells have
posed challenges based on both therapeutic potential and moral costs. We will examine these two values and their
scientific bases, considering the latest findings in this fast-moving field of
research. Then we will examine the
ramifications of a future in which neither therapeutic utility nor the current
moral objections can constitute a significant barrier to the generation of
human ES cells. Christians are right to
be concerned about how ES cells currently are made, but that will probably
change dramatically in the near future.
I will argue therefore that Christians should be even more concerned
about what stem cells can do, and soon will do.
Friday,
April 30, 2004, 3:30 p.m. in
Co-sponsored
by the Calvin Center for Christian Scholarship
Speaker: Dave Young, Geology,
Geography and Environmental Studies Department, Calvin College.
Title: “John Calvin and the Natural World”
An important way in which one
might be a “Calvinist” in regard to the practice of science is to apply
Calvin’s principle of accommodation to the interpretation of biblical passages
with “scientific” relevance. For Calvin, any divine revelation to or divine
interaction with people requires that God accommodate or adapt himself to the
limited capacities of the human creature. Calvin employed this principle in
dealing with biblical representations of the incomprehensible God and the
different modes of revelation of Old and New Testaments, but he also found use
for it in understanding biblical references to the natural world. In effect,
the divine and human authors of Scripture couched their message of redemption
in terms of the understanding and comprehension of the natural world possessed by
those to whom that message was first addressed. I suggest that contemporary
Calvinists might apply the principle of accommodation to seeming disparities
between our contemporary knowledge of the natural world and biblical references
to the natural world, e.g., the foolish ostrich of Job 39:13-18; the waters
under the Earth of Exodus 20:4 and Psalm 24:2; the expanse of Genesis 1:6 and
Ezekiel 1:22, 25; the deluge; and the cobra of Psalm 58:4.
Friday,
May 7, 2004, 3:30 p.m. in
Co-sponsored
by the Calvin Center for Christian Scholarship
Speaker: Dennis Danielson, Professor and Associate Head of the
Dept. of English, University of British Columbia.
Title: “Copernicus and the Tale of the
Pale Blue Dot”
Most of us have at some point
heard the claim that Copernicus, by “dethroning” earth from the center of the
universe, “showed” that the Earth and Earth’s inhabitants are cosmically not
very special. This claim is routinely
extrapolated to function as a principle ― the “Copernican Principle”
― according to which not only is Earth merely one planet among many, but
also the Milky Way is merely one galaxy among many, and perhaps what we think
of as the whole cosmos is merely one universe among many. Moreover, this “principle” is enlisted to show
that science trumps religion: while religion wants to enthrone Earth-dwelling
human beings in the center of the universe, science authoritatively
demonstrates (in more ways than one) the “mediocrity” of our place. From Fontenelle in the seventeenth century to
Carl Sagan in the late twentieth, Copernicus is thus used to bring down human
pride, which supposedly stems from our naive religious illusions. Unfortunately, this comic-book version of the
meaning of Copernicus is all but universally accepted by many educated people,
including some scientists, whose capacity to weigh evidence ought to make them
capable of a more well-informed, critical view.
An effort to attain such a critical view ― based on the exciting
words Copernicus and his followers, and on a measure of undogmatic careful
thinking ― can revitalize our perception not only of Copernicus in his
own age but also of the interplay between science and metascientific
assumptions today.
Friday,
October 8, 2004, 3:30 p.m. in
Co-sponsored by the Calvin
College Philosophy Department
Co-sponsored by the Calvin Center for Christian Scholarship
Speaker: Steven Horst,
Associate Professor and Chair, Philosophy Department, Wesleyan University.
Title: “Consciousness Studies, Philosophy of Science and Theology:
Why the Sciences Do Not Threaten Consciousness, Free Will or Miracles”
Tuesday,
October 12, 2004, 7:30 p.m. in the
(Sponsored by Templeton/ASA Lecture Series)
Speaker: Robert N. Wennberg,
Professor, Philosophy Department,
Title: “But It’s Only a Rat! Christian
Reflections on Painful Animal Research”
Friday, October 29, 2004, 3:30 p.m.
in
Speaker: Steve
Wykstra, Philosophy Department,
Title: “The Birth of Mathematical Astronomy:
Observational
Equivalence, Simplicity, and Metaphysics in Ptolemy and Copernicus”
Versions of the “realism vs instrumentalism” debate have played
an important role in shaping developments within
science up to the twentieth century and beyond.
(Ludwig Boltzmann, on a not-implausible interpretation, was plunged into
depression and suicide by refusal of his fellow physicists to take seriously
the atomism at the heart of his “realist” interpretation of thermodynamics—this
refusal arising largely from the insistence on a “phenomenological” approach to
thermodynamics, fitting the then-fashionable positivistic instrumentalism of
Ernst Mach, W. Ostwald, and others.) But
this debate has deep historical antecedents, as shown by the pioneering
historical/philosophical work of Pierre
Duhem in his 1909 book Saving the
Appearances (Duhem himself being an important physicist and Christian
believer with an instrumentalist orientation).
Ever since Duhem, historians of science have tended to see the “Saving the
Appearances” tradition in astronomy as reflecting an “instrumentalist” approach
to theorizing—that is, an approach that regards theories purely as “useful
fictions” or calculating “instruments,” enabling us to predict the observed
phenomena (or “appearances”), rather than as models purporting to describe what
is really out there. An instrumentalist
orientation, it is thought, lies behind both the split between physics and
astronomy in the period after Ptolemy, and also in the “Wittenberg”
interpretation of Copernicanism, allowing 16th century Lutherans under
Melancthon to have their cake and eat it too—that is, to pioneer in adopting
and improving Copernicus’s theory (as an “instrument”), while still embracing
geocentrism as the truth of the matter.
My talk will review: (1) the way
that that ostensibly “empirically equivalent” devices within Ptolemaic
astronomy (the option between the eccentric and the epicycle, both of which
“saved the appearances”) generated some impetus toward some version of “instrumentalism;” (2) the role that considerations
of metaphysics and simplicity played in addressing such empirical
underdetermination for Ptolemy and for Copernicus; and (3) some of the recent
work that may shed further light on why it is not quite right to view either
Ptolemaic astronomers or Lutheran astronomers as “instrumentalists.”
Friday, November 12, 2004, 3:30 p.m. in
Speaker: John H. Scofield, Professor and Chair,
Physics and Astronomy Department,
Title: “Green” Academic Buildings: Good Stewardship or
There is growing interest in
“green” buildings, particularly on university and college campuses. Green building projects range from the
incorporation of modest energy-saving features in otherwise conventional campus
buildings to the construction of elaborate environmental centers with
photovoltaic arrays intended to generate more energy than they use. In my talk I will discuss the design and
energy performance of two green academic buildings, Oberlin College’s Lewis
Environmental Center and Stanford University’s Leslie Shao Ming Sun
Field Station. Though sharing many
of the same goals, the designs of these two buildings reflect very different
philosophies and methods. These two
cases offer the opportunity to discuss some of the larger energy/educational
issues associated with green academic buildings. In particular, I will raise concerns about
the bad science behind the promotion of all-electric buildings, heat pumps,
photovoltaic arrays, and fuel cells as “silver-bullet solutions” to our
nation’s growing energy problems.
Finally, I will discuss what I believe to be the root cause of this
misguided energy education: the worship of the creation, rather than the
Creator.
Friday, December 3, 2004, 3:30 p.m. in
Co-sponsored by the
Speaker: Henk Aay; Geology,
Geography and Environmental Studies Department,
Title: Christian Philosophy, Spatiality and
Geography
One of the fundamental elementary concepts in geography is spatiality
(space, spatial). In the history of science and philosophy, space has been
regarded as a substance, a relationship, a perceptual framework and as an
aspect or property of things. This
seminar will consider the relevance of reformational philosophy for a
systematic understanding of the place of the “spatial” in all of the different
kinds of things in our world. For
example: How is economic spatiality different from social and physical
spatiality? How do spatial analogies
(e.g. a person’s “social position”) open still wider windows on the meaning and
place of the spatial?
Friday, December 10, 2004, 3:30 p.m. in
Co-sponsored by the
Speaker: Janel Curry; Geology,
Geography and Environmental Studies Department,
Title: The
Problem of Boundaries
This talk addresses issues of
the relationship between society and nature through an analysis of
Friday, February 18, 2005, 3:30
p.m. in
Co-sponsored by the
Speaker: David Koetje; Biology
Department,
Title: Place-based
agbiotech: Bridging ideological divisions over genetically modified crops
“It is rather remarkable,”
writes anthropologist Glenn Davis Stone, “that a process as esoteric as the
genetic modification of crops would become the subject of a global war of
rhetoric.” Yet this is where we find
ourselves today. Agbiotech’s critics
advocate substantial changes, a moratorium, or an outright ban on GM
crops. Most base their assertions on an
ecologically-based or agrarian view of agriculture. Agbiotech proponents counter that GM crops
are necessary to sustain agriculture and reduce environmental risks. Yet in making this claim, most fail to
question agbiotech’s underlying industrial paradigm, which has a notorious
record of ignoring cultural and environmental contexts. Are we at an ideological impasse, as some
have asserted? In the Calvin Center for
Christian Scholarship-supported book we are writing, Uko Zylstra and I contend
that if agbiotech proponents would adopt a place-based paradigm, then critics
would be more likely to consider agbiotech.
A place-based approach would primarily seek to improve ecological and
cultural resilience within bioregions, or foodsheds, and in this way promote
sustainability. Our vision is spurred by
a Christian environmental perspective that embraces a careful balance between
humanity’s place in nature and our limited power over nature.
Friday, March 4, 2005, 3:30 p.m. in
Speaker: Laura Smit, Dean of
the Chapel & Assistant Professor of Religion,
Title: The Truth of a Tree: Logos Christology as a Foundation for a
Christian Environmental Ethic
Pre-modern Christian theology
took seriously the gospel of John’s claim that Jesus is the Logos, the eternal Word
of the Father, understanding Christ as the one who holds the universe together
and whose work in creation is to give each creature its individual form and
design. More recent approaches to
Christology have typically emphasized the humanity of Christ rather than
emphasizing his role in creation; however, traditional Logos Christology remains a powerful way to understand the on-going
work of Christ in the natural world. The
13th-century Franciscan Bonaventure was an advocate for such Logos Christology, and in that context
he presented nature as an arena within which we make contact with God. In that arena, the human knower fulfills a
priestly role. Bonaventure suggests that
we can know the physical world truly only when we know it in Christ and that when
we know it in this way we perform a priestly act by offering the natural world
back to God in our knowing of it. To
know in this way is not to have dominion in any destructive sense. It is rather to open oneself to the truth of
things, to their place in God’s design, and to come to understand the world as
it relates to God rather than as it relates to us. This is a humble and hospitable approach to
interacting with nature, which continues to be viable today.
Wednesday, March 23, 2005, 3:30
p.m. in
Speaker: Karen Vander Laan,
Nursing Department,
Title: Partnering
with Faith Communities to Promote Advance Care Planning
Advance Care Planning (ACP)
is a desirable process of individual and community reflection, discussion, and
communication about end-of-life care preferences. However, with a < 40% prevalence of ACP in
the general population, there is often uncertainty of individuals’ preferences
for care and potentially undesired treatment.
During this seminar the philosophical and ethical bases for ACP will be
reviewed. A conceptual model of the
decision processes in ACP, mostly influenced by the Decision Process Model,
will be discussed. A descriptive study
of ACP in one Midwestern city’s faith communities will be presented. Study participants are individuals who
voluntarily attended ACP information programs conducted by ACP
Facilitators. The sample of 100
participants includes adult men and women from diverse faith communities. This descriptive study provides a baseline
understanding of how members of faith communities understand and use advance
care plans and the immediate effect of ACP programs. For the longer term, this study lays the
groundwork for an evaluation of the effectiveness of faith communities as
promoters of ACP. The seminar will
conclude with a discussion of the role of faith communities in promoting ACP.
Friday, April 1, 2005, 3:30 p.m. in
Sponsored by the Metanexus Local Society Initiative of Calvin College
and the
Contact
Prof. Matt Walhout (526-6566) for more information.
Speaker:
Title: Science,
Experience, and Philosophy: from Henri
Bergson to Maurice Merleau-Ponty
Every modern philosophical enterprise has had to guarantee a place
for itself by showing that there is something for it to know that escapes the
grasp of empirical science. There have
been many vehicles for staking out the domain of philosophy, but one of the
most persistently attractive has been the claim that philosophy can and should
root itself in an experience with an immediacy or concreteness that escapes the
abstractions required for successful empirical science. This appeal to a distinctive realm of
philosophical experience is particularly prominent among the twentieth-century
philosophers characterized as “continental,” and it has been especially
important in the French philosophy of the last one hundred years. It is, accordingly, appropriate to try to
think through the complex questions of science, philosophy, and immediate
experience via some reflections on French thinkers. Here I find the work of two figures, Henri
Bergson and Maurice Merleau-Ponty, particularly helpful. I propose to sketch their critiques of the
limitations of scientific knowledge, their consequent conceptions of philosophy
as a distinctive epistemic domain, and their disagreements with one another on
these topics.
Friday,
April 8, 2005, 3:30 p.m. in Science Building room 010 (basement of Science Building)
Sponsored by the Calvin Sociology and Social Work Department
Speaker: John Evans, Associate Professor,
Department of Sociology, University of California, San Diego.
Title: Religious Opinions Concerning Human
Reproductive Genetic Technologies
Life. Death.
Suffering. Human purpose. The limits of human control. These are all central concepts in the
dominant religious traditions in the
Friday, April 15, 2005, 3:30 p.m.
in
Sponsored by the Metanexus Local Society Initiative of Calvin College
and the
Contact Prof. Matt Walhout (526-6566) for more information.
Speaker: Lambert Zuidervaart, Professor of
Philosophy, Institute for Christian Studies.
Title: Truth
and Interpretation: Science, Religion
and Culture
Philosophers often
characterize science as a pursuit of truth, and they regard truth as scientific
truth. Truth is propositional, they say, and it pertains to the relation
between propositions and facts. I shall argue that this misconstrues both
science and truth. It overlooks the cultural and religious character of
science, and it reduces truth to only one of its dimensions. First I shall comment on Martin Heidegger’s
claim that propositional truth stems from the “disclosedness” of human
existence. In partial agreement with Heidegger, I shall then portray truth as a
dynamic correlation between human fidelity and societal disclosure. Truth calls
for our faithfulness to societal principles such as solidarity and justice. It
also calls forth the flourishing of all creatures in their interconnections. So
truth is to be lived, and not simply claimed.
Yet making assertions and testing propositions are vital to the pursuit
of truth. Further, the sciences have a special role in this regard: scientists
should strive for empirical accuracy and propositional correctness in order to
serve human fidelity and societal disclosure. Interpreting what such service
means is indispensable to scientific endeavors. Hence science is hermeneutical,
and so is scientific truth. This does not make scientific truth any less true,
however. Rather, by rooting science in culture and religion, interpretation
keeps science connected with the ongoing dynamic of truth.
Friday, April 29, 2005, 3:30 p.m.
in
Speaker: Elise Crull, Physics
major,
Title: A Student’s Perspective on Integrating Faith and Science
The project of Calvin’s
education is rare in that it not only intends to train students rigorously in
both their discipline and their faith, but also attempts to synthesize the
students’ maturing faiths with their academic pursuits. As a student who has spent (nearly) four
years pondering and grappling with this synthesis project, I will present my
reflections on the Christian interpretation arrived at through my undergraduate
experience. Has this Christian
hermeneutic (as specifically applied toward the inquiries of physics) been
successful? Is this evident in my
science? Is “synthesis” the most
appropriate mode through which to approach science as a Christian? My hope in sharing these thoughts is to
present a student’s honest perspective on the endeavor of uniting faith and
science at Calvin.
Friday,
May 6, 2005, 3:30 p.m. in
Speaker: Mike Stob,
Mathematics and Statistics Department,
Title: Is the Continuum Hypothesis True or False?
The Continuum Hypothesis (CH)
is an important open question concerning the “size” of the infinite set of real
numbers. It is more than open – we now
know that we cannot settle the question on the basis of the currently accepted
set of axioms for set theory. This
situation has caused some to claim that CH doesn’t even have a truth
value. This position, if correct, has
consequences for those who want to hold to an ontology of mathematics that
embraces realism. The status of CH, at
the very least, presents a challenge for those who claim that a Christian is
naturally led to a realist’s view of mathematical objects. In this talk, I will attempt to give a
precise statement of the Continuum Hypothesis suitable for non-mathematicians,
outline the current state of knowledge about its truth value, and describe the
various philosophical positions that are popular consequences of thinking about
Friday,
September 16, 2005, 3:30 p.m. in
Speaker: Ken Piers, Chemistry
& Biochemistry Department,
Title: Sustainability: An
The sustainability of
civilization is, of course, not a novel question. Already over 200 years ago
Thomas Malthus suggested that meeting the needs of a geometrically increasing
population could not be achieved by an arithmetically increasing production of the
basic means of subsistence. More recently, in 1972, the Club of Rome report
suggested that unless steps were taken to address fundamental aspects of modern
economic life, modern culture would reach the limits to growth sometime “within
the next 100 years.” Now these concerns come to us with renewed force. In this
lecture we will present some of the “signs of the times” that suggest that
there exist significant threats to the long-term viability of modern culture,
threats which, if not addressed, may result in the emergence of very
significant challenges for the survival of civilization as we know it. We will
also suggest that an appropriate response to this state of affairs by
Friday,
October 7, 2005, 3:30 p.m. in
Speaker: Douglas Kindschi, Professor of
Mathematics and Philosophy,
Title: Chastened Realism: Mathematics
as a Model for Theology
What is the nature of
theological discourse? Is it a form of
science, does it explain reality, is it a useful fiction, is it art or
literature? Rarely do we ask how it
might be related to mathematics. This is
in spite of the fact that mathematics historically has had a major impact on
how we understand knowledge in philosophy and in theology. This paper will argue that mathematics can
and should again become an active partner in the science and theology
discussion. Furthermore, structural
realism in mathematics –– which is different from scientific realism –– is a
better model for theology. The emphasis
on relationship, pattern and structure provides an alternative model to the
object orientation and empirical method of the natural sciences. I will be presenting a draft of a paper on
this topic prepared as a part of my sabbatical project last semester.
Thursday,
October 13, 2005, 3:30 p.m. in the Meeter Center Lecture Hall.
Sponsored by the H. Henry Meeter Center for Calvin Studies
Speaker: Christopher B. Kaiser, Professor of Historical and Systematic
Theology, Western Theological Seminary.
Title: Beliefs in Natural Science, Then and Now
It is now generally
recognized that early modern scientists were motivated by various religious
beliefs. However, historians and
philosophers still often assume that the beliefs of early scientists either
were abandoned by later scientists or became peripheral to scientific
work. What seems to have escaped the
notice of historians and philosophers alike is the fact that some of the
beliefs of early modern scientists have persisted in surprisingly consistent
forms. In support of this revisionist
position, I shall identify two distinct beliefs having to do with the
comprehensibility of the natural world that occur in the writings of early
modern scientists like Johannes Kepler.
I shall discuss some of the forms those beliefs took in medieval
Christianity and in Reformers like Philip Melanchthon in order to show their
specifically theological character.
Finally I shall illustrate the survival and vitality of these beliefs in
modern scientists like Albert Einstein and Paul Davies.
Friday,
October 21, 2005, 3:30 p.m. in
Speaker: Ralph Stearley;
Geology, Geography and Environmental Studies Department,
Title: Progress and Its Discontents − In the History of Life
During the last half of the
twentieth century, anti-teleological statements concerning the history of life
on Earth and processes which contribute to that history have become commonplace
among prominent evolutionary biologists.
The course of evolution is held to be opportunistic and unguided. On the other hand, many nineteenth-century
paleontologists and morphologists sensed the opposite. Charles Darwin, for example, saw the
phenomenon of progress as a problem to be explained, rather than eliminated, by
the process of natural selection.
Christians are compelled to believe that the triune almighty God acts in
a purposive manner. Furthermore,
scripture records that God regards his creation as “good.” Do these considerations provide encouragement
for interpreting the history of life as goal-directed? Or are all human interpretations flawed by
our finite capabilities? Perhaps the
notion of progress is difficult to quantify and to demonstrate with certainty. On the other hand, the notion of
“anti-progress” also provides opportunities for selective data presentation and
overconfident conclusions on the part of its proponents. The attack on the idea of progress elaborated
by the late Steven J. Gould is an example of such a misrepresentation of the
history of life. A Christian must
believe that while the Creator could have devised some solitary “optimal”
taxon, God chose to promote organic diversity.
Thus taxonomic diversity is itself a goal. That being the case, the provision of created
machinery for providing this diversity should be acceptable to a
Christian. Discerning providential
supervision of such machinery is a matter of faith interpretation and is inherently
no different from faith interpretations of individual life history.
Friday,
October 28, 2005, 3:30 p.m. in
Speaker: Matthew Heun,
Engineering Department,
Title: Global Warming and Public Policy
Discussions about global
warming sometimes become hostile, in part because people do not openly and
honestly disclose − to themselves or to others − the values
underlying their policy proposals. I
will briefly discuss the scientific mechanisms by which global warming is
thought to develop and how this data poses important public policy questions. Reducing carbon emissions in the near term
presumably imposes costs on some people (e.g.
higher taxes, higher prices). Failing to
reduce carbon emissions presumably imposes higher costs on other people and on
later generations. I will review
existing policy proposals regarding global warming, and I will make a modest
proposal for a "meme" that could make discussions of global warming,
and other public policy issues, less hostile and more open.
Friday,
November 18, 2005, 3:30 p.m. in
Speaker: Uko Zylstra, Prof. of Biology and Dean
of Natural Sciences,
Title: Evolution Wars: A Failure to Communicate
It is my contention that a
major contributing factor to the “evolution wars,” as Time magazine refers to the ongoing debate about the teaching of
evolution and intelligent design, is a failure to properly define the meaning
of evolution. The term evolution really
has multiple meanings. Yet when people
talk and write about evolution or even the theory of evolution, they seldom distinguish
between the various meanings. So when
someone asserts that "evolution is a fact," it is not clear in what
sense evolution is a fact. Further
probing will generally make obvious the different degrees of empirical evidence
that support the different meanings of evolution. The result is a deep failure to communicate
because different parties talking about evolution do not always use the same
meanings of the term. This also holds
for classroom discussions about evolution.
If we are to think critically about the discussion of evolution,
creation, and intelligent design, then we need to communicate more effectively
by making these important distinctions with regard to the different meanings of
evolution.
Wednesday,
February 8, 2006, 3:30 p.m. in Meeter Center Lecture Hall.
Co-sponsored by Calvin Center for Christian Scholarship
Co-sponsored by Seminars in Christian Scholarship
Speaker: Arie Leegwater,
Chemistry & Biochemistry Department, Calvin College; Association of
Reformed Institutions of Higher Education (ARIHE) lecturer, 2005-2006.
Title: Science and Religion: Nature as Interpreted Book
Reading the book of nature is
a common 16th century metaphor used by divines to describe
scientific practice. How valid is this
description? What funds this
hermeneutical interpretation of scientific practice? This lecture will contrast various perceived
interrelations of science and religion.
Historians of science have described this relationship as one of conflict,
competition, cooperation and dialogue, continuity and intimacy. If we consider religion to be the central
pivot of human existence, which gives life as a whole its ultimate orientation,
how might we best view the relationship of science and religion? Are there historical examples that aid us in
this effort?
Friday,
March 3, 2006, 3:30 p.m. in
Speaker: Daniel C. Harlow,
Religion Department,
Title: Creation in Genesis 1: Genre, Purpose, Truth
Does Genesis intend to teach
factual or scientific truths about creation? Or does it intend to affirm
theological truths about God, the world, and the human race? Or does it intend
to do both? Christians have always disagreed on these issues and doubtless
always will. This presentation argues that the framework in Genesis 1, six days
of divine labor plus a seventh day of divine rest, does not represent a
historical or temporal framework indicating how God created and how long God
took to create. It is rather an analogical framework that aims to depict the
created status of everything in the Israelite cosmos. It pictures the formation
of the three realms of creation as understood in Israelite cosmology – heavens
above, earth beneath, and waters under the earth – and the symmetrical filling
of those three realms with creatures suitable to each. In its brief and highly
stylized account, Genesis 1 reflects the ancient Israelite cosmology. Its
conception of the physical universe is not timelessly valid but culturally
relative. The timeless truth of Genesis rather lies in its theological
affirmations concerning the sovereignty of God, the goodness of creation, and
the purpose of humanity in the divine plan.
Wednesday,
March 8, 2006, 3:30 p.m. in the Commons Lecture Hall.
Co-sponsored by Calvin Center for Christian Scholarship
Co-sponsored by Seminars in Christian Scholarship
Speaker: Arie Leegwater,
Chemistry & Biochemistry Department, Calvin College; Association of
Reformed Institutions of Higher Education (ARIHE) lecturer, 2005-2006.
Title: Putting Science in its Place: The Culture of Scientific Practice
A sociological reading of
scientific practice is presently in vogue. When scientific practice is shaped
by local conditions it is no longer considered to be a (the) universal
undertaking, but is rather a provincial practice in which site, region and
circulation matter. Science does not transcend particularities; it discloses
them. For all the rhetoric that scientific practice is independent of class,
politics, gender, race, religion, and much else besides, the history of science
belies the fact. The social reading of science, advanced during the past few
decades, is in sharp contrast to earlier ways of viewing science as an
intellectual enterprise which weaves a universal network of binding theories.
Such social analysis has become common coin and has elicited sharp rejoinders
reflected in the “science wars.” But does a social analysis of science and a
focus on human interests probe deeply enough? Does such an analysis do justice
to the “pre-understandings” required before observations are made, or to the
“commitments” of scientists? Can a scientist find meaning in equations,
observations, and technical terms by starting from an interpretive, or
hermeneutic, framework?
Friday,
March 10, 2006, 3:30 p.m. in
Speaker: Ronald A. Buelow,
Professor of Mathematics, Bethany Lutheran College
Title: Thinking God's Thoughts after Him
Man has long copied the
designs that God has placed into the universe.
He has placed these designs in us, in the many creatures of His
creation, and in the elements and substances that are part of His marvelous
creation. This multimedia presentation shows how design and mathematics are
created by God, with man discovering it small piece by small piece.
Thursday,
April 27, 2006, 3:30 p.m. in
Speaker: Randy Isaac,
Executive Director, American Scientific Affiliation
Title: Science:
A Misused Weapon in a Religious War
If science and Christian faith are in
ultimate harmony, why is there so much conflict today in our school boards,
churches, classrooms, and courtrooms? The metaphor of war has been used since
the late 19th century to describe the severity of the conflict. The real war is not between science and
Christianity but between different religious perspectives, with pseudo-science
as the weapon of choice. Evolutionism,
creationism, and the Intelligent Design movement are key combatants in this
religious war between metaphysical naturalism and theism. By understanding
these forces, we can derive a better perspective of the relationship between
science and our Christian faith.
Friday,
May 5, 2006, 3:30 p.m. in
Speaker: Judith A. Baker,
Nursing Department,
Title: Spiritual Care in Nursing:
Christ Has No Hands But Ours
As long as nursing has
existed, nurses have understood the link between the spirit and the needs of
the mind and body. Even today, in our
high-tech healthcare environment, this need is apparent and, in fact, awareness
of it has increased. As we educate
nursing students and practice nursing, it is imperative that we understand what
the spirit is and how we could and should care for the needs of the spirit. In nursing we do that through a process which
involves assessment, diagnosis, planning, interventions and evaluation. In
recent years we have seen a burgeoning of research on topics related to
spirituality. Often these are based on
vague or varied definitions of spirituality which leads to questionable
comparative results. Prayer is an
activity that is being widely studied, and the results have been cause for both
encouragement and dismay. Making prayer
just another tool in the arsenal of healthcare raises questions we need to
address.
Friday,
September 15, 2006, 3:30 p.m. in
Speaker: Jaap Klapwijk, Free
University in
Title: Is There a Purpose in the Living World?
Some Thoughts about Creation and Emergent Evolution
I feel it is objectionable to
say that God created through evolution, but we can say that God created a world
that is characterized by evolution. In
such an evolutionary world, full of chance variations and natural selection, is
there place for a purpose? Evolution
implies an element of continuity and of discontinuity. To understand this, the notion of emergent
evolution is helpful. In an evolutionary development there is not just a
continuous line. Phenomena with an
element of discontinuity and irreducible newness can emerge. Life, for instance, is a phenomenon that
emerges at a new organizational level: a biotic level. But in the living world we can also speak of
a vegetative, a sensitive and a mental level.
These levels are idionomous, i.e. each is governed by special laws that,
in some way, represent God's creation ordinances. Evolution is not without chance and
randomness. But in so far as it is
embedded in a hierarchy of organizational levels and oriented to divine laws it
is directional, and we might speak of purpose in the living world.
Friday, September 29, 2006, 3:45 p.m. in Bunker
Interpretive
(Or meet in
Speaker: Cheryl Hoogewind,
Calvin Ecosystem Preserve Manager,
Title: Outdoor Experiences for the
Young and Young at Heart
When was the last time you spent
an hour or more outdoors enjoying God’s creation? People are spending more and more time
indoors keeping busy with computers, televisions, Xboxes, video games, Ipods,
and many other kinds of technology. We
are over-scheduling our lives with organized sports, music lessons, and school
activities of all kinds. Richard Louv
poses some interesting questions in his book Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit
Disorder. What is happening to our
children and ourselves because we are not spending time in nature? What is capturing our attention? There are simple ways to give children
outdoor experiences in their own backyards and to encourage wonder and
creativity. In this seminar, I will
share my ideas and give suggestions about how we can avoid “nature-deficit
disorder.”
Friday,
October 27, 2006, 3:30 p.m. in
Speaker: John Cooper,
Professor of Philosophical Theology, Calvin Theological Seminary.
Title: Human Origins: Scientific Theories
and Christian Theologies
This presentation attempts a
general mapping of the various positions on creation and evolution held by
Christians. It identifies three main
readings of Genesis 1-3 (literal-historical-theological, literary-historical-theological,
and literary-theological), three main theological paradigms of
redemptive-history (Augustinian, Neo-platonic, and Modernist), and four
theories of human origins (recent creation, progressive creation, biological
evolution, anthropological evolution).
The presentation then explores the implications, convergences, and
tensions among these positions. This is
the overview I present to students at Calvin Seminary before locating the
position taken by the Synod of the Christian Reformed Church. Dialogue and criticism are welcome.
Friday,
November 3, 2006, 3:30 p.m. in
Speaker: Jim Bradley,
Mathematics & Statistics Department,
Title: What is a Number? Augustine’s
Philosophy of Mathematics
In De Libero Arbitrio, Augustine of Hippo presents an argument for the
existence of God. Because the argument depends in an essential way on
mathematics, Augustine expands at some length on its nature. This talk will
examine the implications of his views for the four classical questions of the
philosophy of mathematics: In what sense are mathematical assertions true? What is the nature of mathematical objects,
for example, numbers? Since such objects
seem immaterial but we are material beings, how do we acquire knowledge of
them? How do we account for the
astonishing effectiveness of mathematics in describing the physical world? Also, Augustine’s views on mathematics have
implications for many other questions.
If there is time, this talk will address two in particular: How are we
to understand God’s freedom? And how are we to understand the nature of logic?
Friday,
November 10, 2006, 3:30 p.m. in
Speaker: Dr. Jan Peter
Verhave, Visiting Research Fellow, Van Raalte Institute,
Title: The Realm of Ghosts: Sickness
and Death in the Early Holland Colony
While at the Van Raalte
Institute, Dr. Jan Peter Verhave is doing research on the state of health of
the early Dutch immigrants and their vulnerability to certain diseases, as
derived from reports on their physical well-being in letters to family and
friends in the
Friday,
November 17, 2006, 3:30 p.m. in
Speaker: Edward B. Davis,
Professor of the History of Science,
Title: Intelligent Design on Trial
Dr. Davis, who attended the
Friday,
December 1, 2006, 3:30 p.m. in
Speakers: Larry Molnar and
Loren Haarsma, Physics & Astronomy Department,
Title: The Search for Extraterrestrial Life
As of now, there is no
evidence of life beyond earth. But
within the last decade, astronomers have discovered over a hundred planets in
other solar systems, and they are on the verge of being technically capable of
detecting earth-like planets (if any exist) in nearby star systems. In this talk, we will review the current
status of the search for extra-solar planets, as well as the search for life
beyond earth in our own solar system.
We'll also review current hypotheses, both scientific and theological,
for how life first arose on earth. Then
we'll turn to the question: If
extraterrestrial life - even single-celled life – was discovered, what would be
some of the scientific and theological consequences?
Friday, February 2, 2007, 3:30 p.m.
in
Co-sponsored by
the Calvin Philosophy Department
Speaker: Alan Padgett,
Professor of Systematic Theology, Luther Seminary; Crosson Fellow at the Center
for Philosophy of Religion at Notre Dame University, 2006-2007.
Title: Epiphany for a Small Planet:
Christology, Astronomy, and Mutuality
Does the new picture of the
vast cosmos we learn from science change our theology? What difference would alien intelligent life
make to our Christology? After
presenting a “mutuality” model for the relationship between theology and
natural sciences (as developed in my 2003 book) I will explore these questions,
using astrobiology and Christology as my example of mutuality.
Friday, February 9, 2007, 3:30 p.m.
in
Speaker: Jim Turner,
Mathematics & Statistics Department,
Title: De ordine creationis: a theological
approach to the nature of mathematical reasoning
In the history of ideas, our
view of the world as structured mathematically can be traced back to the 17th
century rationalists, particularly to Descartes and his relocation of certainty
as grounded in the divine mind to certainty as grounded in the personal cogito. In this talk, we will speculate on what the
nature of mathematical reasoning would be once the ground of certainty is
returned to the divine mind. Here we
will follow the thought of the two contemporary 13th century giants
of theology: Thomas Aquinas and Bonaventure.
Thursday,
February 22, 2007, 3:30 p.m. in
Co-sponsored by
Calvin Engineering Department,
Speaker: Charles Adams, Dean
of the Natural Sciences and Professor of Engineering,
Title: Naturalism, Nanotechnology, and Our “Post-human” Future: A Reformed
Perspective
Advances in technology at the
end of the twentieth century have provoked some scholars to predict a future
where humans and computers merge to evolve an immortal, post-human “life form”
that is free and capable of defining its own “nature.” Others react against such “brave new world”
scenarios with horror at the prospect of “losing our essential humanity.” What does it mean to be human? What are the limitations and the potential of
technology with respect to shaping our humanity? This lecture will begin to offer answers to
those questions by contrasting a Reformed Christian worldview with the
worldviews of naturalism and by suggesting how elements of naturalistic
worldviews have too often corrupted Christian worldviews on science and
technology.
Friday,
February 23, 2007, 3:30 p.m. in the Meeter Center Lecture Hall.
Co-sponsored by
Calvin Engineering Department,
Speaker: Charles Adams, Dean
of the Natural Sciences and Professor of Engineering,
Title: Teaching “Technical Courses” from a Christian Perspective: A Reformed Approach to Pedagogy
Christian education in the
Reformed tradition claims to bring a distinctive worldview to bear on every
subject in the curriculum. Yet Christian
teachers struggle to “teach Christianly” in areas such as the natural sciences,
mathematics, and technology. How does a
Christian teacher avoid the near hypocritical practice of simply “sprinkling”
prayer or a few Bible verses onto an otherwise secularist curriculum or lesson
plan in order to call it “Christian?”
This lecture will suggest how teaching (mathematics, natural science, or
any subject that might be called “technical”) from a Christian perspective
ought to and can be distinguished from the kind of teaching that occurs in a
secular environment.
Friday,
September 21, 2007, 3:30 p.m. in
Speaker: Ronald Larson, Chair
and George Granger Brown Professor of Chemical Engineering, University of
Michigan.
Title: Revisiting the “God of the gaps”
Antipathy to “God of the
gaps” arguments, when taken to its extreme conclusion, leads to passiveness in
the face of aggressive, naturalistic, science seeking to claim for itself alone
all truth, including that traditionally the province of theology or
philosophy. Such pretensions must be
resisted for the sake of science as much as for the sake of theology, and this
resistance must not shrink from calling attention to “gaps” or failures of
science to explain credibly all that it sometimes claims as its own. This talk will explore the issues surrounding
several chasms in modern scientific explanations, including the fine tuning of
natural laws, the origin of life, of human consciousness, of morality, and of
human spiritual experience.
Friday, September
28, 2007, 3:30 p.m. in
Speaker: John Cooper,
Professor of Philosophical Theology, Calvin Theological Seminary.
Title: A Classical Christian
Emergent Anthropology
I'll argue that biblical
anthropology presents a holistic or integral view of soul and body, but one in
which persons can exist temporarily without earthly bodies. I'll then present a version of this
anthropology – the generically Thomist view that that soul is the subsistent
form (organizing, empowering principle) of the material body that constitutes
humans as one spiritual-physical substance (not two-substance dualism) – a
living organism with human capacities.
But by God’s supernatural power, the soul can exist apart from the body
between death and resurrection. (It is
not naturally immortal.) I modify
Thomism by opting for a traducian rather than a creationist view of the soul:
the union of sperm and egg is not merely biological but produces a new
spiritual-physical individual. The soul
does not “emerge” and develop from mere physical stuff by metaphysical magic
(as in physicalism), but because the person-spiritual capacities are potentially
present from conception.
Friday,
October 12, 2007, 3:30 p.m. in
Speaker: Deborah Haarsma and
Loren Haarsma, Physics and Astronomy Department, Calvin College.
Title: Origins: A Reformed Look at Creation, Design, and Evolution
FaithAlive Resources, the
publishing ministry of the Christian Reformed Church, asked us to write a book
“for the person in the pew” on issues of origins. In this short seminar, we’ll give an overview
of the contents of the book and our writing approach, as well as answer
audience questions. The book begins with
chapters on God’s governance of natural processes, doing science as part of a
Christian worldview, and interpretation of scripture. Other chapters review the scientific,
theological, and worldview issues around the age of the Earth, the Big Bang,
biological evolution, and intelligent design. The book ends with two chapters
on several scientific and theological issues around human origins. A book reception will follow at 4:15 p.m. in
DeVries Hall Atrium. (Read Calvin
College’s press release.)
Friday, October 26, 2007, 3:30 p.m. in
Speaker: Janel Curry, Dean
of Research and Professor of Geology, Geography and Environmental Studies,
Title: Christianity and Climate Change:
Understanding the Range of Responses
Since Lynn White’s famous
article on the relationship between Christianity and ecological destruction,
many environmental activists have accused this faith community of inaction (or
worse – actions that are ecologically destructive), when it comes to
environmental protection and health.
However, recent concerns over climate change have led several scientific
and environmental organizations to begin to build bridges with the range of
Christian traditions – mainline protestant, evangelical, and Catholic –
recognizing that all must be part of the solution to global climate
change. This talk helps get beyond the
stereotypes of the relationship between Christians and the environment. A framework is presented for comparing
Christian traditions in terms of their attitudes toward environmental issues
and policies, along with a discussion of the implications for climate change
policy.
Friday,
November 30, 2007, 3:30 p.m. in
Speaker: Matthew C. Halteman,
Philosophy Department,
Title: Animal Welfare and Global Sustainability: Compassionate Eating as Care of Creation
The two-fold purpose of this
presentation is (1) to demonstrate the value of questions concerning the just
and compassionate treatment of animals (“the animal question”) for provoking a
more holistic understanding of the wide spectrum of issues organized under the
general heading of “creation care”; and (2) to highlight the moral and
spiritual significance that the act of eating takes on in light of these
important but often hidden connections between animal welfare and global
sustainability. The animal question
may at first appear far removed from the most pressing problems of our age. But
a closer look reveals that our seemingly trivial daily decisions concerning the
use of animals (especially the billions of animals raised for food in confined
animal feeding operations or “factory farms”) have serious consequences not
just for the animals, but for the food, commerce, and education systems of
developing countries, the dignity of the human workforce that brings animal
products to market, the integrity of rural communities here and abroad, the
health of an increasingly obese and diseased human population, the viability of
the healthcare systems that treat these ills, the sustainability of the world’s
natural resources, and even the hastening of global climate change. The ways in
which we currently use animals, it turns out, have profound implications for
all facets of creation—human, animal, and environmental. As this evidence of the unintended
consequences of industrial livestock production continues to mount, it is
becoming increasingly clear that, far from being a trivial matter of personal preference,
eating is an activity that has deep moral and spiritual significance.
Surprising as it may sound, the simple question of what to eat can prompt us
daily to answer God’s call to care for creation—to bear witness to the
marginalization of the poor, the exploitation of the oppressed, the suffering
of the innocent, and the degradation of the natural world, and to participate
in the reconciliation of these ills through intentional acts of love, justice,
mercy, and good stewardship.
Friday,
February 15, 2008, 3:30 p.m. in
Speaker: Richard Colling,
Professor of Biology, Olivet Nazarene University. Author of Random
Designer: Created from Chaos to Connect with the Creator.
Title: Randomness, Purpose, God, and Evolution – Can they go together?
The history books of life –
fossils and DNA – reveal a most remarkable creation story. Over unfathomable eons of prescribed life and
death cycles, single-celled life has advanced as a divine, majestic, and
interconnected web. Filling every niche
of our dynamic ever-changing planet, evolutionary creation has miraculously
culminated in sentient beings capable of self and God-awareness – us! As Christians desiring to remain faithful and
culturally credible in our claim that God is the creator and that all truth is
God’s truth, we are challenged to work together across faith boundaries seeking
ways to effectively integrate knowledge from science into a dynamic and
coherent faith. This talk introduces a
new creation “logos” – Random (Equal Opportunity) Design. Simple, but ultimately profound, random
design reflects a God-ordained and sustained paradigm of astonishing creative
genius that produces an integrated network of unrivaled biological
development. The talk includes defining
appropriate definitions of randomness, the importance of adequate information/dot
development, examples of randomness generating remarkable biological order, and
a call to expand traditional views of scripture and science to accommodate a
bigger, more profound God.
Friday,
February 29, 2008, 3:30 p.m. in
Speaker: Patrick Bailey,
Computer Science and Information Systems Dept.,
Title: Where is the “C” in Developing E-Type Systems?
Where is the connection
between faith and writing better code?
What influence does a practicing Christian have in the development of
systems? This discussion examines the
challenges of delivering software to a demanding world in the context of a
Christian perspective. In addition to
providing background on the software development process, the presentation
includes an overview of the questionnaire comments from professed Christians
involved in software as they explained their view of the “link” between their
faith and profession.
Friday,
March 28, 2008, 3:30 p.m. in
Speaker: Eric LaRock,
Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Oakland University.
Title: Interactive Cellular Assemblies, Neural Suppression, and the Unified
Character of Consciousness
Over the past few decades
research in neuroscience has exploded in the area of visual consciousness. Neuroscientists have begun to unravel
considerably more details about some of the functions and possible causes that
underlie visual consciousness. What is
fascinating about our current knowledge of the brain is that visual consciousness
of an object’s properties involves the activity of neurons distributed
throughout the visual cortex.
Specialized subassemblies of neurons have been identified in different
areas of the visual cortex that respond to specific properties of objects, such
as shape, color, motion, and location (Bartels & Zeki, 2006; Zeki, 2003).
From a biological point of view, the evolution of these specialized neuronal
areas has enabled the brain to represent the particular properties of an object
more economically. But the advantages
of functional specialization have led to apparent gaps in our attempts to
provide a thoroughgoing neural story of the unity of visual consciousness: thus
far, there is no known central processing mechanism, or convergence site in the
brain, where perceptual information about an object’s properties could coalesce
to form a unitary object of consciousness (see Crick & Koch, 1990; Gray,
1999; Singer, 1996, 1999, 2007). Because
the neuronal firings that underlie an object’s representational contents (e.g.,
shape and color) are distributed throughout the visual cortex, it is difficult
to understand how a single, unified object could arise in visual
consciousness. If there were direct
correlations between an object’s representational contents and distributed
neural firings, it would seem that visual consciousness would consist of an
unconnected set of properties minus
object unity. Normal subjects, in any
case, do not visually experience objects as disunities; so merely identifying
the neural correlates of the property representations of an object cannot be
the complete story (LaRock, 2006, 2007).
The recognition of this explanatory gap has motivated various theories
of binding in the neurosciences. For example,
Singer (1996, 2007) proposes an interactive cellular assembly hypothesis, and
Luck and Beach (1998) defend the neural suppression hypothesis. In this paper I elaborate and provide a
critique of Singer’s interactive cellular assembly hypothesis, and subsequently
examine whether Luck and Beach’s neural suppression hypothesis might have the
explanatory tools requisite to account for the unified character of an object’s
properties at the level of consciousness.
Against Singer, I argue (1) that neuronal synchrony is not sufficient
for binding the representations of an object’s properties into a unified object
of consciousness; and (2) that binding is not necessary for consciousness. Against Luck and Beach, I argue that although
neural suppression might help to explain disambiguation at higher levels of the
processing hierarchy, this does not entail an explanation of binding. In the final section, I develop a Kantian
approach to the unity of consciousness and discuss some of its metaphysical and
methodological implications.
Monday,
April 7, 2008, 3:30 p.m. in
Speaker: George Murphy,
pastoral associate at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Akron, Ohio; adjunct
faculty member at Trinity Lutheran Seminary.
Title: Real Faith and Fictional Worlds
Science fiction has become
increasingly respectable and influential in recent years, portraying a variety
of futures. God usually seems to be
absent from those futures, together with every other aspect of
Christianity. But is that really the
case? Religious questions often surface
in new and challenging guises, and are sometimes quite explicit. This talk will reflect on religion and
science in the science fiction world, with reference to a number of popular
books, films and TV shows, and will suggest some ways in which science fiction
can help to communicate the Christian message.
Friday,
October 3, 2008, 3:30 p.m. in
Co-sponsored by the Calvin Philosophy Department
Speaker: Elise M. Crull,
graduate student in the History and Philosophy of Science Program, University
of Notre Dame.
Title: Should Christians be Structural Realists?
There is much ado in
philosophy of science these days concerning structural realism—a position about
scientific theories that purports to be the “best of both worlds” by dodging
major bullets on both sides of the realism debate. In this talk, I investigate whether or not
Christians have different and/or stronger reasons for adopting such a
position. I argue that despite the
initial appeal of structural realism, it admits of objections that cannot be
surmounted even with the aid of arguments from Christianity. Nevertheless, I suggest that a more nuanced
version of structural realism in the vein of Poincaré might yet provide a
tantalizing option for a faith-informed analysis of what science claims to be
and do.
Friday,
October 17, 2008, 3:30 p.m. in
Speaker: C.J. Majeski, Calvin
College philosophy major (with Steve
Wykstra, Professor of Philosophy, Calvin College).
Title: Interactions between Science and Philosophy: Newton on Space and Body
This talk will present some
results of Carey James (C.J.) Majeski’s summer research project under Professor
S. Wykstra, funded by a McGregor fellowship.
One aim of the project was to develop a Reader, usable in several
contexts, containing readings by scientists and philosophers that will
facilitate reflection on historic interactions between science and
philosophy. In this talk, C.J. will
first describe some aspects of the collaborative research experience, with some
reflections on how Christian faith and academic research interact. He will then introduce and present for group
discussion a key selection from an important paper by Isaac Newton (“On Gravity
and the Equilibrium of Fluids”). In the selected passage, we will see a strong
philosophical side of Newton’s thought, in which his theological commitments
seem to actively inform—in some surprising ways—the conceptual foundations of
his physics, both in his treatment of the concept of space and of material
body. C.J.’s presentation of the Newton
passage will function as a paradigm example of the summer research work.
Professor Wykstra will join in the group discussion.
Friday,
November 14, 2008, 3:30 p.m. in
Speakers: Davis Young and
Ralph Stearley, Geology, Geography and Environmental Studies Department, Calvin
College.
Title: “The Bible, Rocks and Time.” Is
that like “rock, paper, scissors”? An
interview with Davis Young and Ralph Stearley
The Bible, Rocks and Time was funded in part by the Calvin Center for Christian
Scholarship. Davis Young, emeritus
geology professor, and Ralph Stearley, geology professor, will be interviewed
by Calvin professor of English and director of the CCCS Susan Felch, and will
speak on a wide range of topics related to the book, including its possible
impact in science classrooms and among the general public.
Friday,
November 21, 2008, 1:30 p.m. in
Co-sponsored by the Calvin Biology
Department
Speaker: Martin Price, Senior
Agricultural Scientist, former CEO, and Founder, at the Educational Concerns
for Hunger Organization (ECHO).
Title: Potential for Research at Christian College Science Departments
Targeted to Benefit the Poor
As a young Assistant
Professor of chemistry and biochemistry at Geneva College, Dr. Price wanted to
involve his students in research that would help the exceptionally poor in
developing countries. The problem was that
he didn’t know what the questions were that would lead to research that would
benefit the poor. After post-doctoral
research in agriculture and now 27 years directing the agricultural work of
ECHO, he will share some examples of such research that has been done and
suggest ways that Calvin College science departments could involve their
students in pro-poor research. He will
also share some thoughts for students who would like their graduate research to
benefit the poor. ECHO, the Educational
Concerns for Hunger Organization, is a Christian non-profit organization that
helps individuals and organizations working with rural small-holder farmers and
urban gardeners in Third World countries.
It is based on a subtropical farm in SW Florida that serves for both
training and operation of a seed bank for underutilized tropical plants.
Friday,
February 27, 2009, 3:30 p.m. in
Speaker: David Myers, Professor of Psychology, Hope College
Title: A Friendly Letter to Skeptics and Atheists: Musings on Why God is Good
and Faith Isn’t Evil
Recent “new atheist”
best-sellers share a common assertion: that religion—all religions—are
“dangerous” (as well as false). With his new book, which this talk will
summarize, Dr. Myers aims to bridge the skeptical/believer dichotomy and to
suggest how faith can be reasonable, science-affirming, healthy, hopeful, and
humane.
Friday, April 3, 2009, 3:30 p.m. in
Speaker: Eric Achtyes, M.D.,
Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services
Title: C.S.
Lewis and Sigmund Freud: Two Contrasting Worldviews
It is possible but unlikely
that C.S. Lewis and Sigmund Freud ever met face to face. Yet these two men have stood out as eloquent
advocates for the spiritual and materialist worldviews, respectively. Both were rigorous thinkers and academicians,
as well as prolific writers. Each has
attempted to answer the most difficult religious and philosophical questions
from his own unique perspective. Each
left a legacy of scholarship that informs our contemporary culture and
thinking. During the first half of the
lecture, we will examine how the life experiences of these two men helped shape
their different worldviews. In the
second half of the lecture, we will focus on their approach to the problem of
pain and suffering using an open discussion format. This lecture is based on a course developed
and taught for over thirty years to Harvard students by Dr. Armand Nicholi, Jr,
Professor of Psychiatry at
Friday,
April 17, 2009, 3:30 p.m. in
Speaker: Scott Hoezee (Calvin
Theological Seminary) and Deb Haarsma (Calvin College Physics & Astronomy
Dept.)
Title: Science
on Sunday: Integrating Science into the Life of the Congregation
Calvin Seminary has received
a grant from the Templeton Foundation to develop resources and continuation
education for pastors on science issues.
The project will encourage pastors to become more scientifically
literate, more appreciative of science’s contribution to the life of faith, and
so more able to include science and scientific knowledge in a variety of
ministry practices. Those ministry
practices could include sermons, music and worship aids, curricula for children
and small groups, outdoor activities and service projects, etc. After an overview of the project, there will
be plenty of time to brainstorm. Please
bring your ideas and resources—what do you wish your pastor knew about your
field? What activities and ideas would
you like to see in your local congregation?
Friday, May 1, 2009, 3:30 p.m.
in
Speaker: Steve Matheson,
Biology Department, Calvin College
Title: Why is there no controversy surrounding theistic embryology? Dissecting critical responses to theistic
evolution.
Those who simultaneously
express Christian belief and affirm evolutionary theory are said to espouse a
position called "theistic evolution."
The view holds the peculiar distinction of being reviled by both
hard-line creationists (who call it "appeasement") and prominent
atheist commentators (who deride it as fallacious). I argue that these critics typically fail to
articulate objections that are specific to the view. Most creationist critics of theistic
evolution object to one or both of these characteristics of the view: 1) its
reliance on naturalistic explanation, a feature common to all scientific
theorizing; or 2) its embrace of "random" causal events, a feature
common to myriad scientific explanations.
Most atheist critics of theistic evolution object to its openness to
supernatural explanation, a feature of religious belief in general. Such criticisms, valid or not, fail to
address anything specific to theistic evolution. In other words, attacks on theistic evolution
are usually attacks on theism or attacks on evolution, but rarely represent specific
criticisms of the theistic evolution position.
To better understand the controversy surrounding theistic evolution, I
propose that critiques of the position be considered in light of a lesser-known
position we may (with tongue in cheek) call "theistic
embryology." Theistic embryology
describes the thinking of those who simultaneously express Christian belief and
affirm basic theories in human developmental biology. Although the logic is indistinguishable from
that of theistic evolution, the view is uncontroversial and the term
"theistic embryology" is practically non-existent. I suggest that critiques of theistic
evolution be subjected to the "theistic embryology test." Most critiques that claim to identify
weaknesses in theistic evolution make arguments that are equally damaging to
"theistic embryology" and so fail the test. Critiques that fail this whimsical test are
likely to be arguments against belief, or against naturalistic explanation, and
should be considered as such.
Friday,
September 11, 2009, 3:30 p.m. in
Speaker: Karl Giberson,
Eastern Nazarene College, President of Biologos Foundation
Title: Wrestling
with Darwin
Karl Giberson was raised in a
fundamentalist parsonage and entered college in 1975 intending to become a
creation scientist and join the fight against evolution. While studying science at college he became
convinced that evolution was true and, with much struggle and angst, abandoned
his childhood belief in creationism. Karl's
personal story mirrors that of America in the decades since Darwinism came
ashore and challenged the country's traditional creation story. This is the story of both Karl's personal
struggle to make peace with evolution and that of a deeply religious country,
as it engages the same struggle.
Friday,
September 25, 2009, 3:30 p.m. in
and
Friday, October 2, 2009, 3:30 p.m. in North Hall room 078.
Speaker: Deborah Haarsma,
Physics and Astronomy Department, Calvin College
Title: “Test
of Faith” video and discussion
The Faraday Institute in the
United Kingdom has just released a new DVD on science and faith, entitled “Test of Faith.” The script is well-written and includes
interviews with several top experts on a range of topics. The production values are high, including
some creative special effects. It comes
with a study guide for use by small groups.
Come for a showing and consider how you might use “Test of Faith” in
Calvin courses or at local churches. To
allow time for discussion, half the video will be shown at each session:
Sept 25: apologetics, cosmology, environment
Oct 2: evolution, neuroscience, bioethics
Friday,
October 16, 2009, 3:30 p.m. in
Speaker: Steve Wykstra,
Philosophy Department, Calvin College
Title: Why Newton was not an Empiricist.
Isaac "I feign no
hypotheses" Newton is often billed as an hard-nosed empiricist. But did Newton really think that it is only by observation and experiment
that we can ascertain the truth of any propositions about physical reality (at
least, any of the sort that a physicist needs to trouble herself about)? In Friday talks in previous years, we've
considered Newton's arguments in "De
Grav" ("On Gravity and the Equilibrium of Fluids), focusing on
Newton's analysis of the nature of matter and of action-at-a-distance
forces. In this talk, we will turn to
how, in De Grav, Newton reasons about
space and time. Newton develops his
ideas by attacking the arguments Descartes gives in Principles of Philosophy.
There, Descartes champions a "relational" conception of
motion: as Descartes sees it, the kinematic description of the motion of an observable body must always be relative to some other
observable body (we can't observe it's motion relative to "space,"
after all). Newton's response to
Descarte's relational kinematics bring him to his own view that real motion is
within -- and relative to -- a "container" conception of
"absolute space" and "absolute time," the same view as he
later champions in the General Scholium
of the Principia. By considering his reasoning closely, we hope
to get some fresh insight into three things: into whether Newton was really an
empiricist, into how science works, and into, perhaps (dare we hope?), the
nature of space and time themselves.
Friday, November 6, 2009, 3:30 p.m. in
Speaker: Bill Struthers,
Psychology Department, Wheaton College
Title: The Seven Temptations of Neuroethics.
Whether defined as the neural
basis of morality and ethics or as the subfield of biomedical ethics that deals
with advances in the neurosciences, there is considerable concern among
Evangelical Christians about Neuroethics.
There are a number of potential areas in Neuroethics that will prove to
be points of contention and they can be understood as the Seven Temptations.
Each will be addressed with specific attention given to Evangelical responses
to how the scientific, medical and public policy communities view these
issues. An overview of the importance of
addressing these temptations within the social, political, and theological
arenas will be presented.
Last updated October 30, 2009