Ron Levy, Instructor Tuesday-Thursday, 1:00 PM – 2:20 PM

rlevy@peabody.jhu.edu

Science & Religion

PY 260.236 Course Schedule – Spring 2008


www.peabody.jhu.edu/3240


 
  1/13 (Tu) Orientation


ASSIGNMENT:

--Register for class via www.turnitin.com (ASK FOR REGISTRATION INFO!)

--Read Brecht’s Galileo, Scenes 1 and 2 (bring text to next class)


1/15 (Th) Ways of Understanding – Some Historical perspective

ASSIGNMENT: Complete Brecht’s Galileo for next class



“THE WARFARE OF SCIENCE WITH THEOLOGY”: THE CASE OF GALILEO


1/20 (Tu) Bertold Brecht’s Galileo

ASSIGNMENT:

--Study Brecht
--Create blog and e-mail URL (to rlevy@peabody.jhu.edu)



1/22 (Th) Galileo’s Achievement

ASSIGNMENT:

--Read Galileo’s letter

--post three quotations from Brecht on blog

--post three quotations from Galileo on blog



1/27 (Tu) Galileo in his Own Words (1615)

Galileo, “Letter to the Grand Duchess Christina”

ASSIGNMENT:

--Read Pope Paul II
--Read Cardinal Poupard
--Post three quotations from Church documents on blog



1/29 (Th) The Church Looks Back (1992)

Pope John Paul II, “Lessons of the Galileo Case;” and

Cardinal Poupard, “Galileo: Report on Papal Commission Findings”


ASSIGNMENT: Complete and submit essay via www.turnitin.com by Sunday at 11:59 PM.


   ***2/1 (Su) ESSAY DUE (via turnit.com @ 11:59 PM)


  2/3 (Tu) The Writing of Your Peers

    

ASSIGNMENT: Peer Reviews (two) due Thursday night via turnitin.com



HISTORICAL REFLECTIONS: BLURRED DISTINCTIONS


2/5 (Th) The Great Isaac Newton


ASSIGNMENT: Read articles by James Force (excerpts) and Richard Popkin (complete)



2/10 (Tu) Some Scholarly Assessment

James E. Force, “Newton’s God of Dominion: The Unity of Newton’s Theological, Scientific, and Political Thought” (excerpts); and

Richard H. Popkin, “Newton’s Biblical Theology and his Theological Physics”


ASSIGNMENT:

--Post blog entry on Force and Popkins articles (as explained in class)

--Begin rewrite, due next week

--Select article for presentation (as explained in class)


2/12 (Th) Workday (appointments for consultation)

Your Rewrites and Presentations


ASSIGNMENT:

--Rewrites (with Revision Guide and “Compare Document Printout”) due in hard copy on Wednesday, 2/18 at noon.

--Study excerpts (pp. 42 – 52) from A Source Book in Medieval Science; respond to study questions on your blog.

--Study your article for presentation (mark your copy, create notes, post abstract on blog--as explained).



2/17 (Tu) AUDITION WEEK – NO CLASS

   ***2/18 (W) Rewrite Due!!

2/19 (Th) AUDITION WEEK – NO CLASS



HISTORICAL REFLECTIONS: RELIGION FUELING SCIENCE


2/24 (Tu) The Condemnations of 1277

“The Reaction of the Universities and Theological Authorities to Aristotelian Science and Natural Philosophy” (assorted documents from the 13th Century)


ASSIGNMENT:

--Post response to today’s discussion on your blog

--Begin Diderot, “Conversation Between D’Alembert and Diderot”

--Prepare for next week’s presentation and posting



2/26 (Th) The Merton Thesis

ASSIGNMENT:

--Post response to today’s presentation on your blog.

--Prepare for next week’s presentation

--Read Diderot (“Conversation” and “Dream”)



3/3 (Tu) ASSORTED VIEWPOINTS – PRESENTATIONS OF SCHOLARLY WORK


ASSIGNMENT:

--Finish and study Diderot



NEW “ENLIGHTENED” THINKING


3/5 (Th) Denis Diderot, D’Alembert’s Dream


ASSIGNMENT:

--Reflect on blog (post passages)
--Prepare for and begin essay


  3/10 (Tu) DIDEROT, contd.


ASSIGNMENT: Write essay due Friday



3/12 (Th) The Art of Argument


ASSIGNMENT:

--Submit essay tomorrow

-- Read Fine, “The Pigheaded Brain” and excerpts from William Paley (bring Science, Evolution, and Creationism to each class)


***3/13 (F) ESSAY DUE (via turnit.com @ 11:59 PM)


3/16 (M) SPRING BREAK – NO CLASS

3/18 (W) SPRING BREAK – NO CLASS



THE “WARFARE OF SCIENCE WITH THEOLOGY”: ONLY IN AMERICA


3/24 (Tu) PATTERNS OF BELIEF—TRADITIONS OF UNDERSTANDING

Cornelia Fine, “The Pigheaded Brain” from A Mind of Its Own:  How Your Brain Distorts and Deceives.
William Paley, Natural Theology; or, Evidences of the Existence and Attributes of the Deity.  Collected from the Appearances of Nature (excerpts)

ASSIGNMENT:

--Read William Dembski and
--Read excerpt from Science, Evolution, and Creationism, pp. 37 – 43


3/26 (Th) THE DESIGN CHALLENGE

William A. Dembski, “The Design Argument” &  
Science, Evolution, and Creationism, pp. 37 – 43

ASSIGNMENT: Read Stephen Jay Gould (bring Science, Evolution, and Creationism to class).



3/31 (Tu) CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORKS: THE “NOMA” PRINCIPLE

Stephen Jay Gould, “Non Overlapping Magisteria”


ASSIGNMENT:  Read Langdon Gilkey (bring Science, Evolution, and Creationism to class)
 


4/2 (Th) CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORKS: THE ACLU's THEOLOGY

Langdon Gilkey, “Theories in Science and Religion” (excerpts from his Little Rock testimony, 1981)


ASSIGNMENT:  Read Kitzmiller v Dover (bring Science, Evolution, and Creationism to class)



4/7 (Tu) ) THE LAW OF THE LAND:  KITZMILLER V DOVER

Tammy Kitzmiller v Dover Area School District (abridged, 2005 opinion of the U.S. District Court)


ASSIGNMENT: Work on essay, due Saturday, 4/11 @ 5:00 PM


4/9 (W) NO CLASS


ASSIGNMENT: Complete essay



***4/11 (S) ESSAY DUE (via turnitin.com @ 5:00 PM)


ASSIGNMENT: Read Einstein’s “Cosmic Religious Feelings” (1 article)


20th CENTURY TRUTHS AND SCIENTIFIC MYSTICS


4/14 (Tu)  WORD FROM THE TOP:  THE ICONIC GENIUS SPEAKS
Albert Einstein, “Cosmic Religious Feelings”

ASSIGNMENT: Read Einstein’s “Science and Religion” and Paul Tillich’s “Discussion with Einstein”

4/16 (Th)  EINSTEIN, contd.
Albert Einstein, “Science and Religion”
Paul Tillich, “A Discussion with Einstein”  

ASSIGNMENT:
--final blog posting (by Sunday evening)
--Read Paul Davies and John Hick (2 articles)

4/21 (Tu) THINKING ABOUT MIRACLES
Paul Davies, “Do Miracles Exist?”
John Hick, “Miracles”

ASSIGNMENT: Read Spivey & Smith (1 article)

4/22 (Th)  MIRACLES IN CHRISTIAN THOUGHT
Robert A. Spivey & D. Moody Smith, “The New Testament Understanding of Miracles”  

ASSIGNMENT: Read Lackey and Russell (2 articles)   

4/28 (Tu) THE CHALLENGE OF THE BIG BANG
Douglas P. Lackey, “The Big Bang and the Cosmological Argument”  
John Robert Russell, “Cosmology and Theology”

ASSIGNMENT: Read Jastrow and Geisler (2 articles)

4/30 (Th) THE CHALLENGE OF THE BIG BANG, contd.
Walter Jastrow, “God and the Astronomers”
Norman Geisler & Kerby Anderson, “Origin Science”

ASSIGNMENT: Complete your Final Essay


***5/4 (M)  FINAL ESSAY DUE (via turnit.com @ 11:59 PM)


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