05-15-06

Media Release

OSU to Host Debate on Intelligent Design Controversy

CORVALLIS, Ore. – A proponent of intelligent design will debate a defender of evolution on Monday, May 22, at Oregon State University, beginning at 7 p.m. in the CH2M-Hill Alumni Center ballroom on campus.

The event is sponsored by the OSU Socratic Club and supported by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute. It is free and open to the public.

Michael Ruse, a professor at Florida State University who has written or edited more than 20 books on evolution, will square off against Cornelius G. Hunter, an adjunct professor at Biola University and also an award-winning author.

Their topic: "Evolution vs. Intelligent Design: Scientific Assumptions in a Free Society."

In the debate, Hunter will argue that the assumption of an "unevolved intelligence" better explains the history of life forms than does natural selection. Ruse will counter that intelligent design fails to meet the criteria for genuine science and that naturalistic evolution provides a full explanation.

Both speakers will be given equal time for their presentations, said OSU history professor Gary Ferngren, and the audience will have an opportunity to address questions to the debaters.

Ruse is the Lucyle T. Werkmeister Professor of Philosophy at Florida State, where he has taught since 2000. He has given expert testimony in several court cases about intelligent design and the teaching of creationism, and he has written books on the topic, including "Debating Design: Darwin to DNA."

Hunter, of Biola University, is the author of "Darwin's God: Evolution and the Problem of Evil." He has a forthcoming book titled "Science's Blindspot." His research interests include optimal estimation and molecular biophysics.

The OSU Socratic Club, now in its fourth year on campus, is modeled after the original Socratic Club, founded at Oxford University in 1941 by C.S. Lewis. For more information on the student organization, visit: http://oregonstate.edu/groups/socratic