In 2009, OU hosted the world’s largest series of events celebrating the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin and the 150th anniversary of the publication of his book, “On the Origin of Species.”
The Darwin 2009 festivities featured a series of debates and lectures focusing on the importance of Darwin and his theory of natural selection.
“It was very popular and very controversial,” Piers Hale, history of science professor, said of Darwin’s seminal work. “It changed perspective on what it meant to be a human.”
150 years after its original publication, “On the Origin of the Species” is still stirring up controversy.
At OU, hundreds of students turned out for a debate on intelligent design, the idea often offered up as an alternative to evolution. Michael Ruse, a philosopher and historian of science, and William Dembski, an intelligent design proponent and professor of philosophy, debated the question of whether intelligent design is a scientific theory on Feb. 27.
The following month, thousands of students packed the McCasland Field House to hear renowned evolutionary biologist and atheist author Richard Dawkins speak on “The purpose of purpose.”
Prior to the speech, members of the Oklahoma state legislature filed a resolution expressing disapproval of the lecture, but the resolution wasn’t taken up in committee. Dawkins referenced the legislature’s attempt to stop his visit during his speech, which was greeted with widespread laughter and applause from students and faculty members.
After the lecture, other members of the legislature attempted to launch an investigation into the circumstances under which Dawkins was invited to campus. The investigation drew the attention and ire of Dawkins fans both inside and outside the state.
Even though many of the speakers have already come to OU, there are still more events on the Darwin 2009 calendar.
Brian Langerhans of the OU Department of Zoology and biological station delivered a lecture titled, “Predicting Evolution in a Genus of Livebearing Fish” in George Lynn Cross Hall on Wednesday.
More fall events for Darwin 2009 will be announced later on the event’s Web site, ou.edu/darwin.
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bpage 3 years ago
I believe Darwin's work is "On the Origin of Species", not "On the Origin of THE Species"--possibly a minute grammatical difference but a profound contextual difference.
tommyscheurich 3 years ago
You mean the Darwin 2009 political, social, and cultural debates, not scientific debates.
The theory of evolution is the only rigorous explanation we have for the diversity of life that closely fits the facts. Other explanations might circumvent the facts or exploit loopholes in our current understanding, and their proponents might insist they haven't been proven wrong. In the case of creationism, this is because it can't be proven wrong: it was constructed to have an answer for everything by tracing its logical roots back to an arbitrary, untestable assertion.
Among life scientists, there is no debate about the explanatory power of the theory of evolution. Some philosophers and life scientists, working in tandem, have proposed that the real debate is over whether the theory ought to be restrained to the role of theoretical knowledge, available in textbooks and museums for the curious to seek out, or employed as an active line of rhetoric in our culture that shapes how we think and act in society.
Woofer58 3 years ago
Darn... I live too far away to participate firsthand. Hope there are plenty of posts on these lectures. I love Darwin debates. It is such an elegant and well-backed blueprint for how living creatures have become how they are.
Here is a nuggest I have been looking at- my observation: "Looks like human beings may have co-developed with some medicinal plants". Uh..huh. Do some reading here-
Cannabinoid receptor - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Now tell me this--"why or how humans developed in such a manner as to have two receptors (known of today) that are absolutely specific to external chemicals from a plant ??"
That has a LOT of implications as far as 'natural selection' goes. There is real evidence that humans have used cannibis since before recorded history.
Have humans needed/used cannibis for so long that our bodies recognize it in a symbiotic nature ?? Is it just a coincidence that receptor CB2 is linked to our ability to process pain signals ?? Or that CB1 'seems' to play a role in tumor reduction ??
Isn't evolution great !!!?
affliction4ever 3 years ago
Whenever a group attempts to prevent a lecture from even happening, it becomes evident that their arguments are rather pathetic. If you can't even handle listening to the opposer, an academic debate becomes difficult.
People would gladly welcome intelligent design proponents more often - well, of course if they didn't sound like indoctrinated Christian morons.