Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Load more
Recommended publications
-
Argumentation and Fallacies in Creationist Writings Against Evolutionary Theory Petteri Nieminen1,2* and Anne-Mari Mustonen1
Nieminen and Mustonen Evolution: Education and Outreach 2014, 7:11 http://www.evolution-outreach.com/content/7/1/11 RESEARCH ARTICLE Open Access Argumentation and fallacies in creationist writings against evolutionary theory Petteri Nieminen1,2* and Anne-Mari Mustonen1 Abstract Background: The creationist–evolutionist conflict is perhaps the most significant example of a debate about a well-supported scientific theory not readily accepted by the public. Methods: We analyzed creationist texts according to type (young earth creationism, old earth creationism or intelligent design) and context (with or without discussion of “scientific” data). Results: The analysis revealed numerous fallacies including the direct ad hominem—portraying evolutionists as racists, unreliable or gullible—and the indirect ad hominem, where evolutionists are accused of breaking the rules of debate that they themselves have dictated. Poisoning the well fallacy stated that evolutionists would not consider supernatural explanations in any situation due to their pre-existing refusal of theism. Appeals to consequences and guilt by association linked evolutionary theory to atrocities, and slippery slopes to abortion, euthanasia and genocide. False dilemmas, hasty generalizations and straw man fallacies were also common. The prevalence of these fallacies was equal in young earth creationism and intelligent design/old earth creationism. The direct and indirect ad hominem were also prevalent in pro-evolutionary texts. Conclusions: While the fallacious arguments are irrelevant when discussing evolutionary theory from the scientific point of view, they can be effective for the reception of creationist claims, especially if the audience has biases. Thus, the recognition of these fallacies and their dismissal as irrelevant should be accompanied by attempts to avoid counter-fallacies and by the recognition of the context, in which the fallacies are presented. -
Answers to Practice Quiz #2
Philosophy 1104: Critical Thinking Answers to Practice Quiz #2 [Total: 50 marks] 1. In which of the following pairs of propositions does A provide conclusive evidence for B? Also say whether or not A provides at least some evidence, no matter how weak (i.e. say whether A is positively relevant to B). Write just „Yes‟ or „No‟ in each column provided. A B Conclusive Some evidence? evidence? (i) Fred just hit a hole-in-one Fred is a very good golfer No Yes (ii) I have between 4 and 6 eggs I have at least 3 eggs Yes (iii) I have at least 4 eggs I have 5 or more eggs No Yes (iv) It‟s not the case that every Every politician is honest No Yes politician is corrupt. (v) Janet likes listening to Jazz Vancouver is west of Calgary No No (vi) Simpson is a world-class skier Simpson is a non-smoker No Yes (vii) We‟re having fish for supper We‟re having trout for supper No Yes (viii) Qin‟s theory is rejected by all Qin‟s theory is false No Yes relevant scientific authorities (ix) Sally is a Catholic Sally has eight children No Yes (x) Ali stabbed a man in Vernon, Ali first entered Canada in No No B.C. in 1998. 2002. [1 mark each] In rows where you say ‘yes’ in the first column, you should of course say ‘yes’ in the second as well! Or just leave the second column blank, if you prefer. 2. Each of the following definitions is flawed in some way (each in just one way, I think, or at least one main one). -
Proof of God Scientific Proof That God Exists Week 1
Proof of God Scientific Proof That God Exists Week 1: Proof of Creation Our Mission: To take as many people to Heaven as we can before we die. Period. But the Lord made the earth by his power... Jeremiah 10:12 NLT As the Scriptures say, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and discard the intelligence of the intelligent.” So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish. 21 Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe…God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. 1 Corinthians 1:19-23, 27 NLT Scientific fact: The universe has a beginning. Bible fact: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:1 NLT The biggest evidence that there is a God is found in what the father of modern science Francis Bacon called, the Law of Causality. “True knowledge is knowledge by causes.” - Francis Bacon Cosmological Argument: 1. Everything that had a beginning had a cause. 2. The universe had a beginning. 3. Therefore the universe had a cause. 1. The universe is running out of energy. Second Law of Thermodynamics: The total entropy of an isolated system can never decrease over time. In all spontaneous processes, the total entropy increases and the process is irreversible. Law of Entropy: With time, things naturally fall apart. -
News and Notices SCIENCE-SPIRIRTUALITY
News and Notices SCIENCE‐SPIRIRTUALITY Templeton Prize The winner of the 2001 Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion is The Revd Canon Dr Arthur Peacocke of Oxford University. As a physical biochemist specialising in biological macromolecules, Dr Peacocke pioneered early research into the structure of DNA, showing that the chains in the molecule are not branched but form a double helix. In 1971, the one‐ time agnostic became an Anglican priest. The only Oxford University Theology faculty member to hold both a Doctor of Science and a Doctor of Divinity degree, Dr Peacocke is a strong proponent of "critical realism," holding that both science and theology aim to depict reality and must be subject to scrutiny, while recognising their creative interaction. Created by global investor and philanthropist Sir John Templeton in 1972, each year the Templeton Prize acknowledges a living person who has shown extraordinary originality in advancing humanity's understanding of God and the role of spirituality in people's lives. Sir John has sought to honour progress in religion just as the Nobel Prizes recognise advances in economics, medicine, and chemistry. Currently valued at £700,000 sterling, the Prize represents the world's largest annual monetary award given to an individual and is always set at a level that exceeds that of the Nobels. Dr Peacocke joins an illustrious group of professional scientists who have won the Templeton Prize: last year's winner, Freeman Dyson, a physicist whose futuristic views have consistently called for the reconciliation of technology and social justice; physicist and theologian Ian Barbour in 1999; astrophysicist Paul Davies in 1995; physicist Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker in 1989; and Benedictine monk and professor of astrophysics Stanley Jaki in 1987. -
Kohlhammer, 1965. Pp. Xvi + 393
BOOK REVIEWS DIE RELIGIONEN IRANS. By Geo Widengren. Die Religionen der Mensch heit 14. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer, 1965. Pp. xvi + 393. DM 39 — This is an important book, yet at the same time an understandably con troversial one for two reasons: the strong personal views of the author and the difficulty of reaching universally acceptable conclusions because of problems of interpretation inherent in the available sources, especially for the earlier period. At the outset, the reviewer would suggest that this book be read side by side with the equally important work of J. Duchesne-Guille- min, La religion de l'Iran ancien (Paris, 1962), which appeared while Widen- gren's book was still in press. The two scholars cite earlier studies of each other and often indicate disagreement of interpretation on many points. This kind of disagreement is really salutary for the reader; for he is thus re peatedly warned that there are numerous serious problems in the investiga tion of Persian religion and that, for the present at least, no convincing solution is possible. W.'s book is at once systematic and comprehensive, and it reveals throughout a first-hand knowledge of the original sources He deliberately employs the plural Religionen in his title, because he covers not only pre- Zoroastrianism, Zoroastrianism, and later modifications of what may be regarded as Persian religion proper in the Parthian and Sassanid periods, but he deals also with Mandaeism, Manichaeism, and the cults of the Sagdians, Sacae, and other East Iranian peoples. He closes his exposition with a treat ment of Persian religion and its influence after the Islamic conquest. -
Probability, Statistics, Evolution, and Intelligent Design
Probability, Statistics, Evolution, and Intelligent Design Peter Olofsson n the last decades, arguments against Darwinian evolution An ID Hypothesis Testing Challenge to Evolution have become increasingly sophisticated, replacing Cre- In his book The Design Inference, William Dembski introduces ationism by Intelligent Design (ID) and the book of Genesis I the “explanatory filter” as a device to rule out chance expla- by biochemistry and mathematics. As arguments claiming to nations and infer design of observed phenomena. The filter be based in probability and statistics are being used to justify also appears in his book No Free Lunch, where the description the anti-evolution stance, it may be of interest to readers of differs slightly. In essence, the filter is a variation on statistical CHANCE to investigate methods and claims of ID theorists. hypothesis testing with the main difference being that it aims at ruling out chance altogether, rather than just a specified Probability, Statistics, and Evolution null hypothesis. Once all chance explanations have been ruled The theory of evolution states in part that traits of organisms out, ‘design’ is inferred. Thus, in this context, design is merely are passed on to successive generations through genetic mate- viewed as the complement of chance. rial and that modifications in genetic material cause changes To illustrate the filter, Dembski uses the example of in appearance, ability, function, and survival of organisms. Nicholas Caputo, a New Jersey Democrat who was in charge Genetic changes that are advantageous to successful repro- of putting together the ballots in his county. Names were to be duction over time dominate and new species evolve. -
UC San Diego UC San Diego Electronic Theses and Dissertations
UC San Diego UC San Diego Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title The new prophet : Harold C. Urey, scientist, atheist, and defender of religion Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3j80v92j Author Shindell, Matthew Benjamin Publication Date 2011 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO The New Prophet: Harold C. Urey, Scientist, Atheist, and Defender of Religion A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in History (Science Studies) by Matthew Benjamin Shindell Committee in charge: Professor Naomi Oreskes, Chair Professor Robert Edelman Professor Martha Lampland Professor Charles Thorpe Professor Robert Westman 2011 Copyright Matthew Benjamin Shindell, 2011 All rights reserved. The Dissertation of Matthew Benjamin Shindell is approved, and it is acceptable in quality and form for publication on microfilm and electronically: ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ Chair University of California, San Diego 2011 iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Signature Page……………………………………………………………………...... iii Table of Contents……………………………………………………………………. iv Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………………. -
Mc2 67 Danese Father-Jaki.Pdf
n. 67 dicembre 2017 STANLEY JAKI E L’EDUCAZIONE SCIENTIFICA di Beniamino Danese* * Laureato in Fisica, è tra i fondatori del sito www.reinventore.it L’opera del grande storico della scienza Stanley Jaki offre preziose indica- zioni per chi è impegnato oggi nell’educazione scientifica. Una rilettura dei suoi testi principali e di alcuni contributi specifici consente di evidenziare cinque punti cruciali: la prospettiva storica, l’insegnamento per esempi, il valore delle parole, il realismo degli oggetti, le radici cristiane della scienza. Alcuni anni fa, quando gli scrissi di essere un fisico che lavorava nella science education, Padre Jaki mi diede un consiglio rias- sunto in una sola riga: «La scienza non è filosofia e la filosofia non è scienza» [1]. È una riga paradossale, che non ha mancato di causare discus- sioni senza fine ogni volta che l’ho difesa con amici e colleghi. Come minimo, non ha mai mancato di «svegliare la mente», che è lo scopo dei paradossi [2]. Padre Jaki infatti aveva una predilezione per questo tipo di frasi brevi e incisive. Così, per esempio, su scienza e religione: «Non osi unire l’uomo, ciò che Dio ha separato». Ma torniamo a scienza e filosofia. Padre Jaki ne ha discusso a più riprese. Ci interessa in questa breve introduzione approfondi- re questa sua frase che costituisce in una certa misura la sintesi del nostro intervento. «Diversamente dalla verità scientifica, sem- pre nitida perché ristretta, la verità filosofica è sempre ampia perché comprensiva, e non importa quanto particolare, e anche Padre Stanley L. Jaki (1924-2009) quanto banale, ciò possa apparire. -
Stanley L. Jaki, O.S.B. Gy#R, Hungary, 17 Aug
Stanley L. Jaki, O.S.B. Gy#r, Hungary, 17 Aug. 1924 - Madrid, Spain, 7 Apr. 2009 Nomination 5 Sept. 1990 Field Philosophy and History of Science Title Distinguished Professor of Physics at Seton Hall University, South Orange, USA, and Priest of the Benedictine Order Commemoration – Professor Stanley Jaki was a Catholic priest of the Benedictine order. He was born in Hungary in 1924 and his country’s history affected him deeply. He confided in me how traumatized he was by the communists coming to power backed by the Soviet Army. Consequently, his monastic order was a victim of the oppression. After finishing his studies in Rome, he wasn’t allowed to return home and emigrated to the USA. That experience strongly influenced his historian work. The passion of his words and work can be divided into three points. Firstly, Fr Stanley Jaki’s work target was to clarify the relations between the sciences of nature and the Catholic Church. He did it on the epistemological level. He promoted Gödel’s theorem on philosophical interpretation concerning the incomplete formal systems in order to thwart the rationalist philosophy which set science as an absolute knowledge. He did it in physics and cosmology. His books, The Relevence of Physics (1967), and God and the Cosmologists (1980) brought him to receive the Lecomte de Nouy Prize (1970) and The Templeton Prize (1987). And in addition, he was invited to serve as a Gifford Lecturer at the University of Edinburgh. The second significant feature of Professor Stanley Jaki’s works was historical. In his writings he presented his wide perspectives about science since its Greek origins. -
Stanley L. Jaki, Osb
VOLUME 13 NUMBER 1, SEPTEMBER 2009 $5.50 Stanley L. Jaki, OSB August 17, 1924 – April 7, 2009 But thou hast ordered all things in measure, and number, and weight. —Wisdom 11:20 Listen Up! Two Chesterton Classics Now Available As Audiobooks. ORTHODOXY Read by Dale Ahlquist (8 Compact Discs) $34.95 THE INNOCENCE OF FATHER BROWN A Dramatic Reading by Kevin O’Brien Introductions and Epilogues by Dale Ahlquist (12 Compact Discs) $44.95 Listen to these great books in the car or when you are otherwise paralyzed. Thrill at the Father Brown mysteries as actor Kevin O’Brien brings them to life. Contemplate the depth and mirth of Orthodoxy again and again. ❏ ORTHODOXY QTY: ____ ❏ THE INNOCENCE OF FATHER BROWN QTY: ____ + $3.00 Shipping each set TOTAL: __________ NAME A C ADDRESS S 4117 Pebblebrook Circle, CITY/STATE/ZIP Minneapolis, MN 55437 952-831-3096 PHONE [email protected] www.chesterton.org ❏ VISA ❏ MC ❏ AMEX ❏ DISC # (Or include your check/MO) EXP. DATE SIGNATURE listenup_ad.indd 1 8/18/08 12:03:05 PM : TA B L E OF C O N T EN T S : Volume 13 Number 1, September 2009 4 |:TREMENDOUS TRIFLES: 22 |:CONFERENCE REPORT: 5 |:LUNACY & LETTERS: The English Chesterton Society Conference 7 |:EDITORIAL: BY FR. THOMAS LUTZ Old Friends and Old Misunderstandings 25 |:TALES OF THE SHORT BOW: 8 |:STRawS IN THE WIND: The Explorer The Sentimentalist Of Science BY JOHN PETERSON Ballade of Capital Sweethearting 38 |:FEAR OF FILM: BY G.K. CHESTERTON BY JAMES G. BRUEN JR. L’Argent 10 |:ALARMS & DISCURSIONS: 28 |:MANALIVE: REVIEWED BY ART LIVINGSTON An Interview with Peter J. -
203 Stanley L. Jaki. Science and Creation: from Eternal Cycles to An
Philosophy in Review XXXVII (October/December 2017), no. 5/6 Stanley L. Jaki. Science and Creation: From Eternal Cycles to an Oscillating Universe. Real View Books. 375 pp. $29.00 USD (Paperback ISBN 9781892539205). This book is the new edition of the most important work by Stanley Jaki (1924-2009), a leading scholar in the area of the science-faith relationship. The Hungarian Catholic priest and philosopher, Distinguished Professor at Seton Hall University, and Winner of the Templeton Prize for 1987, devoted all his research to highlighting the impossibility of any contrast between science and faith. He rejected all those conceptions supporting the insubstantiality of faith and the absolute priority of scientific discourse. The opinions expressed in his major works can be summed up in the following points: a realistic worldview, the key role played by Christian theology in the origin of exact science, and a divide between the dominions of science and religion. The quantitative dimension of science, based upon measurements, and the salvific aim of religion, unequivocally contrast with the possibility of a real conflict between the two disciplines. Many errors have been committed because of the misunderstanding about their specific goals. Concordism just represents one of those mistakes, as the Bible does not include any scientific content. Another kind of mistake is made by scientists who adopt scientific statements to demonstrate the inconsistency of religion. Creation out of nothing, for instance, cannot form part of natural science, as the ‘nothing’ is not a scientific concept. According to Jaki, a true worldview consists in registering objects, whose reality implies the difference between the external world and human mind. -
Irreducible Complexity (IC) Has Played a Pivotal Role in the Resurgence of the Creationist Movement Over the Past Two Decades
Irreducible incoherence and Intelligent Design: a look into the conceptual toolbox of a pseudoscience Abstract The concept of Irreducible Complexity (IC) has played a pivotal role in the resurgence of the creationist movement over the past two decades. Evolutionary biologists and philosophers have unambiguously rejected the purported demonstration of “intelligent design” in nature, but there have been several, apparently contradictory, lines of criticism. We argue that this is in fact due to Michael Behe’s own incoherent definition and use of IC. This paper offers an analysis of several equivocations inherent in the concept of Irreducible Complexity and discusses the way in which advocates of the Intelligent Design Creationism (IDC) have conveniently turned IC into a moving target. An analysis of these rhetorical strategies helps us to understand why IC has gained such prominence in the IDC movement, and why, despite its complete lack of scientific merits, it has even convinced some knowledgeable persons of the impending demise of evolutionary theory. Introduction UNTIL ITS DRAMATIC legal defeat in the Kitzmiller v. Dover case, Intelligent Design Creationism (IDC) had been one of the most successful pseudosciences of the past two decades, at least when measured in terms of cultural influence. It is interesting to explore the way this species of creationism had achieved this success, notwithstanding its periodic strategic setbacks as well as its complete lack of scientific merits. Of course, a full explanation would include religious, socio-political, and historical reasons; instead, in this paper, we will take a closer look at the conceptual toolbox and rhetorical strategies of the ID creationist.