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Science and Design
Is Intelligent Design a
genuine scientific theory?
A debate between Del Ratzsch, professor and
chair of philosophy at Calvin College, and
Michael Ruse, professor of philosophy at Florida
State University.
Date: Thursday, Sept. 21, 2006
Time: 7 p.m.
New location: School of
Business Auditorium, 1015 Floyd Ave.
Most debates on Intelligent Design focus on
whether and how it should be taught in public
schools. We step back and ask more fundamental
questions: Is Intelligent Design a genuine
scientific theory? What makes a theory
scientific? These questions have received much
less attention, especially in mainstream media,
which is unfortunate for at least two reasons:
1) the question regarding the teaching of ID in
public school science classes cannot be answered
without first deciding whether it is a genuine
scientific theory, and 2) careful reflection on
the question promises to reveal much about the
nature of science and faith. Ratzsch and Ruse
are two of the leading — and competing —
scholars on the question of design and science,
and their debate promises to be lively and
thought-provoking.
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Meet Del Ratzsch
Del Ratzsch is professor and chair of philosophy
at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich. A
philosopher of science, he is a noted author in
the national debate on Intelligent Design and
evolution. His books include “Philosophy of
Science: The natural sciences in Christian
perspective” (1986), “The Battle of
Beginnings: Why neither side is winning the
creation/evolution debate” (1996), “Science
and Its Limit” (2000) and “Nature, Design
and Science” (2001).
Meet Michael Ruse
Michael Ruse is a philosopher of science,
specifically biology, and is well known for his
work on the argument between creationism and
evolutionary biology. He was the Gifford
Lecturer in 2001. He is the Lucyle T.
Werkmeister professor of philosophy at Florida
State University. Ruse has published numerous
books including “The Evolution-Creation
Struggle” (2005), “Darwin and design: Does
evolution have a purpose?” (2003), “The
evolution wars: A guide to the debates” (2003)
and “Can a Darwinian be a Christian? The
relationship between science and religion”
(2001). Ruse has served as a witness in court
cases concerning evolution, creationism and
Intelligent Design
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