religion

Tim Richards
Friday, May 15, 2009
Evolit Final Paper

New Environmental Stories to Heed Biological Evolution

Stories can conflict not just with one another, but also with the very biological processes that gave rise to them. Normally, in studying the theory or story of evolution, we focus on how it conflicts with other dominant cultural stories, especially with Christianity and its insistence that God created the world. This conflict is generally controversial enough to occupy the intellectual content of a course discussing the social aspects of the theory of evolution.

The Problem of the Soul: Two Visions of the Mind and How to Reconcile Them

      Contrary to the book’s title about the reconciliation of viewpoints, the author, Owen Flanagan, attempts to defend the naturalistic, scientific view against the humanistic view, which argues that the mind is nonphysical and endowed by a higher being. Flanagan argues that we are “fully embodied creatures” (6) that have nervous systems that can give rise to minds, morals and self-identity. He posits that there is a physical, scientific explanation for everything and argues against the existence of God, free will and an unchanging soul that exists beyond death.  

Notes for a discussion in the Cafe Scientifique at Bryn Mawr College on 23 February 2009

moderated by Paul Grobstein and Anne Dalke

Background (partial):

• Dayton, Ohio, 1925 (Inherit the Wind, 1955, 1960)
• Dover, Pennsylvania, 2004
• Kansas, 2005
• Texas, -2009

For discussion:

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An interesting/satisfying Serendip couple of days ...