Professor Stephen Barr
University of Delaware
The so-called Intelligent Design (ID) movement has led to increased discussion of design arguments for the existence of God. Professor Barr will look at design arguments found in early Jewish and Christian writings and distinguish three kinds, which he calls the biological, the cosmic, and providential. He will discuss how each kind fares in the light of the discoveries of modern science. The biological design argument is made more problematic by Darwinian evolution. But Barr will argue that the providential and cosmic design arguments are not only more traditional, but have been greatly strengthened by the progress of physics. He will lay to rest a common misconception about how modern physics explains the order found in nature.
There will be a reception to follow in the atrium of McKenna Hall.