|
Philosopher
Robert Audi speaks on "Science
and Church-State Separation"
 |
| Robert
Audi addressed about 85
faculty, staff, students
and community members in
a presentation sponsored
by the Center for Religion,
the Professions & the
Public. |
Sept.
21, 2006 -- Renowned philosopher
Robert Audi spoke at MU on Sept.
21, 2006, about the challenge
of teaching science in public
schools in a society that has
both separation of church and
state and a commitment to religious
freedom.
A
professor at University of Notre
Dame, Audi said that the nation’s
plurality of beliefs –
some fundamentally religious
– can make teaching topics
such as evolution and the origin
of the universe a challenge.
In his lecture, given at the
MU School of Medicine, Audi
explored topics such as evolutionary
biology, secular humanism in
ethics, the multi-faceted character
of religion and treatment of
intelligent design in proposing
a framework for teaching students
with a wide variety of beliefs.
Addressing
about 85 faculty, staff, students
and community members, Audi
advocated
neutrality toward religion in
science courses, but not indifference
to beliefs held by students.
Science
education should be enhanced
to include philosophy of science
and epistemology, or philosophical
inquiry into the nature, sources,
limits and methods of gaining
knowledge, Audi said. Teachers
should describe scientific method
and introduce the idea of methodological
naturalism, which assumes that
observable events in nature
are explained only by natural
causes. The method assumes neither
the existence nor nonexistence
of the supernatural, considering
supernatural explanations to
be outside of science.
Audi
emphasized that scientific method
is not incompatible with a belief
in God. He endorsed cultivating
a “scientific habit of
mind” in all students.
Audi,
Ph.D., is a David E. Gallo Professor
of Business Ethics in the Department
of Management at the University
of Notre Dame’s Mendoza
College of Business. He co-edited
the Association for Practical
and Professional Ethics Book
Series and was president of
the Society of Christian Philosophers.
Audi’s expertise includes
business ethics and the philosophy
of religion.
Earlier in
the day, he spoke to about 20
selected faculty on the topic
of "Ethics as an Interdisciplinary
Enterprise."
Audi's
appearance was sponsored by
the MU Center for Religion,
the Professions & the Public.
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