Prof. Martin Roth led seven students through the debate on intelligent design as part of a special winter break course.
> (Photo: Knox College)<span>

Knox College in Galesburg, Ind. recently completed its first run of a one-of-a-kind course taught by a one-of-a-kind professor. In December, Martin Roth professor of philosophy of science at Knox taught a short philosophy course titled, “Intelligent Design,” to explore the topic historically and critically at the secular college. This is the first known course solely dedicated to intelligent design. A concentrated course, it debuted during the college winter break from Nov. 29 through Dec. 16 with seven students meeting for three-hour sessions, three times a week for three weeks.

Discussion-based courses often generate a flood of possibilities in the classroom. And that’s what Roth was after. “I want to see what topics the students were interested in, what they pick up on, which directions they want to go,” he explained. The students enjoyed the material and appreciated that the arguments presented were far less tainted and silly than they were accustomed to. 

“Anti-Darwinists claim that you're killing God and Pro-Darwinists claim he's already dead,” said Micah Riecker, a senior creative writing major from Traverse City, Mich. “It just keeps spinning because people are so uninformed about what is going on.” Added Roth: “All of the students are now very much aware that the issue is far more complicated than implied by the media.”

Course content

In each three-hour class, Roth’s goal was not to simply lecture but rather to review the material and explore varying viewpoints. Questions concerning ethical implications would often arise as the students progressed through the material. Such questions, however, allow the students to work through their ideas, said Roth. The students agreed. Said Riecker: “The class was very interesting to me because I knew very little about what the whole idea with intelligent design was. I went in without any kind of firm footing. But Dr. Roth is an incredible teacher and he had us reading the groundwork for the arguments for and against ID right away.”

To add to the give-and-take, a member of the biology faculty and a local clergyman were invited as guest speakers, which, Roth says, the students enjoyed. The clergyman went through his theory that science is not separate from religion in that it is basically a philosophy. Following him was the biology faculty member who listed specific examples of how Darwinian theory has proven itself in science. The setting was treated as both discussion and debate with the two speakers successfully representing sides for and against intelligent design. 

Roth designed the course to “look at intelligent design on three levels: as an argument for the existence of God, as an alternative to evolution in science, and in the context of the current debate over evolution and religion.” According to Roth, it is important to understand that ID is not something recently installed on today’s front page like an ice block to cool the seething evolution-creation debate. Rather, “intelligent design has a long history. The idea originated well before Darwin’s work in the 1850s,” Roth said. 

The course delves into the history of the intelligent design movement, beginning with Plato, the first philosopher to make an argument for the existence of God based upon the design of this world. Our seemingly miraculous, biological design and the fine-tuning of the universe allowing for the existence of life have become the chief supports for this argument. Second, the class tackled current scientific debates, including Darwin’s argument for natural selection and whether or not intelligent design fits into the category of science as enterprise. Finally, the class discussed the multi-faceted question of how this affects religion and morality.  

Response

The response generated from Roth’s class has been overwhelmingly positive among students and faculty. “Various school administrators have told me that they heard positive things about the course from students who enrolled in it,” Roth said. It appears that students who participated received a better explanation of intelligent design than they expected. “I gathered from the enthusiasm and interest with which they discussed matters that they were engaged with the topic,” said Roth. Riecker recalls from his experience, “Dr. Roth was very good to us and treated the issue fairly. We were given the best of both sides.” Even some of Knox’s prospective students and their parents shared in the enthusiasm, having applauded the fact that Knox offers a course addressing this subject, Roth said. With the momentum resulting from the course, it looks probable that these prospective students will have the opportunity to experience it for themselves. 

Required Reading

The principal reading material was Debating Design by Michael Ruse as well as excerpts and articles by William Dembski and others on intelligent design and natural selection. In addition, the class studied some chapters of Phillip E. Johnson’s Darwin on Trial and Moral Darwinism: How We Became Hedonists by Benjamin Wiker and William Dembski.

Liz Kemmerer is an editorial intern at Science & Theology News.