Philosopher Robert Audi speaks on "Science and Church-State Separation"
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| 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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