Darwin and Religion

Spring 2013 with H. Allen Orr

  Charles Darwin, Diagram of Divergence of
Taxa

Part of Darwin's “Diagram of Divergence of Taxa”, the only diagram in On The Origin of Species. For the full diagram see here.

Details

Course CodeLocation Times
PHL 256218 Meliora HallMondays and Wednesdays, 3:25pm to 4:40pm

Instructors

NameRoleEmailOfficeConsultation Times
H. Allen OrrProfessorallen.orr@rochester.edu342 Hutchison HallWednesdays 11:30am–12:30pm
Brad WeslakeProfessorbradley.weslake@rochester.edu519 Lattimore HallTuesdays 11am–12pm

Overview

This is a course on the interaction of science and religion, focusing, though not exclusively, on the historical background to and reception of The Origin of Species. The course will involve equal parts science, history, and philosophy. We will consider topics including the rise of modern science in Judeo-Christian culture, historical attitudes toward biblical literalism, and the challenges posed to religious culture in Europe and America by science, especially the appearance of Darwinism. We will also discuss Darwin's own evolving scientific, philosophical, and religious views and the relevance of Darwinism to ongoing debates over the relationship between science and religion. The course will be very reading-intensive and involve classroom discussion. It is required that students have taken a class in (and ideally be intending to major in) either Philosophy, Religion and Classics, or one of the natural sciences. Instructor permission is required; please contact Professor Weslake.

Announcements

Assessment

Requirements:

The final grade will be determined as follows:

Class participation: 25%
Reading Summaries: 10%
First Research Paper: 25%
Second Research Paper: 40%

Due dates:

First Paper: Wednesday 6 March
Second Paper: Wednesday 1 May
Reading Summaries: At the beginning of the first class for each section, with no exceptions

Academic Honesty

Students must work independently on all written assignments. Also, any quoted passages must include a citation to the proper source from the literature. We expect all students to have read the College Honesty Policy, available here.

Textbooks

The following textbooks are required. They have not been ordered into the bookstore; please order copies from the links below:

Brooke, John Hedley. 1991. Science and Religion: Some Historical Perspectives, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. [AddAll]

Harrison, Peter. 1998. The Bible, Protestantism, and the Rise of Natural Science, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. [AddAll]

Darwin, Charles. 2008. Evolutionary Writings: Including the Autobiographies, James A. Secord (Ed), Oxford University Press, Oxford. [AddAll]

Research

Books placed on reserve can be seen here. Online video and audio resources can be seen here. A research guide on the history of science and religion, which will be updated as the course progresses, can be downloaded here [PDF]. For research assistance, students are encouraged to consult either with us or with Eileen Daly, philosophy subject librarian, who maintains a useful set of resources here.

Schedule

Meeting One (Wednesday 16 January)
Introductory discussion

I. Historiography: Conflict and Harmony

No Class Monday 21 January
Meeting Two (Wednesday 23 January) and Meeting Three (Monday 28 January)

Overviews

Primary Reading

Secondary Reading

II. The Scientific Revolution

Meeting Four (Wednesday 30 January) and Meeting Five (Monday 4 February)

Overviews

Primary Reading

Secondary Reading

III. The Mechanical Philosophy and The Foster Thesis

Meeting Six (Wednesday 6 February) and Meeting Seven (Monday 11 February)

Primary Reading

Secondary Reading

IV. Protestantism and Science: The Harrison Thesis

Meeting Eight (Wednesday 13 February), Meeting Nine (Monday 18 February) and Meeting Ten (Wednesday 20 February)

Primary Reading

Secondary Reading

V. The Enlightenment and the Rise of Secular Culture

Meeting Eleven (Monday 25 February)

Primary Reading

Secondary Reading

VI. Natural Theology and Design Arguments before Darwin

Meeting Twelve (Wednesday 27 February), Meeting Thirteen (Monday 4 March), Meeting Fourteen (Wednesday 6 March)

Lectures: Design Arguments Old and New (Weslake)

Overviews

Primary Reading

Secondary Reading

Focus on Sections 2.1–2.13.

VII. Darwin: The Theory

Meeting Fifteen (Monday 18 March) and Meeting Sixteen (Wednesday 20 March)

Lectures: Evolutionary Theory Old and New (Orr)

Primary Reading (Darwin)

VIII. Darwin: The Person

Meeting Seventeen (Monday 25 March) and Meeting Eighteen (Wednesday 27 March)

Overviews

Primary Reading

Secondary Reading

IX. Darwin: The Reception

Meeting Nineteen (Monday 1 April)

Primary Reading

Secondary Reading

X. Darwin: Evolution, Naturalism and Chance

Meeting Twenty (Wednesday 3 April) and Meeting Twenty One (Monday 8 April) and Meeting Twenty Two (Wednesday 10 April)

Primary Reading

Secondary Reading

XI. Darwin: Evolutionary Debunking Arguments

Meeting Twenty Three (Monday 15 April) and Meeting Twenty Four (Wednesday 17 April) and Meeting Twenty Five (Monday 22 April)

Overviews

Primary Reading

Secondary Reading

XII. Darwin: One Hundred and Fifty Years Later

Meeting Twenty Six (Wednesday 24 April) and Meeting Twenty Seven (Monday 29 April) and Meeting Twenty Eight (Wednesday 1 May)

Primary Reading

Updated: 25 April 2013