This conference celebrates reason, and I suspect the meaning celebrated is one or both of the dictionary’s definitions of reason, as “the mental powers concerned with forming conclusions, judgments, or inferences”, or “sound judgment; good sense.” The intersection of reason and creationism is understandably a small one, when viewed in this manner. But reason is also defined as the basis or cause of something, as when we speak of the reason for doing something. A reason can also be a statement explaining a belief or action. Viewed this way, of course creationists have reasons for their beliefs – but the beliefs rarely have much to do with the other kinds of reason, reflecting empirical evidence and science. Using examples from creation science and intelligent design, I will explore “reason and creationism”.

This free public
Theodosia Hadley Lecture
is sponsored by the
Department of Biological Sciences

The subject of origins – of where we, Earth, and the universe come from – is one that has been considered by many religions since time memorial. Science, as a relatively recent actor on the intellectual stage, also considers these topics, coming up with answers at variance with those of most religions, including Christianity. How do these two approaches differ? Are there similarities? And is there an uncrossable divide between the two? The answer is not just philosophically interesting, but directly relevant to decisions being made about what to teach in public school science courses.

A lecture in the
C.P. Snow Lecture Series
sponsored by Ithaca College

Many topics in the curriculum of American schools are controversial, but perhaps the one with the longest tenure is evolution. Politics plays a role in this controversy in a number of ways. Politicians have keen antennae for cultural values, and the "fairness" argument (i.e., it is only "fair" to "balance" evolution with creationism) regularly is exploited, regardless of the appropriateness of its application to science education. Variants of the fairness argument such as balancing evolution with "scientific alternatives to evolution" or balancing evolution with "strengths and weaknesses of evolution" have in fact become the current predominant antievolutionist strategy, partly in response to a series of legal decisions that have excluded the advocacy of creationism in public schools. Tennessee currently is wrestling with a bill in its legislature that would compromise the teaching of evolution in exactly this fashion.

Keynote Address for
Scholars Week
at
Middle Tennessee State University