President Gordon B. Hinckley

• Let thy Holy Spirit abide constantly within these walls and be felt by all who teach and learn. May there be an absence of intellectual arrogance; rather, may there be that humility which comes of recognition that man, with all of his knowledge and understanding, shares only a feeble light when compared with the wisdom of the almighty. (BYU as a Covenant Community p.24 (from the dedication of

the Joseph Smith Building at BYU).

God created the world, and my faith does not hinge on the detailed procedures he used

Henry Eyring The Faith of a Scientist.

And behold, all things have their likeness, and all things are created and made to bear record of me, both things which are temporal, and things which are spiritual; things which are in the heavens above, and things which are on the earth, and things which are in the earth, and things which are under the earth, both above and beneath: all things bear record of me.

Moses 6:63

Evolution

Evolution CellularReproduction

Occurs through

processes of

Evolution CellularReproduction

Ecology

Explains relationships

Occurs through

processes of

EvolutionMetabolism CellularReproduction

Ecology

Explains relationships

Leads to common Processes

in

Occurs through

processes of

Evolution

The Cell

Metabolism CellularReproduction

Ecology

Critical interrelationships in

Energy utilizations Leads to unity

of

Allows continued Existence of

Critical relationshipsFound in

Explains relationships

Leads to common Processes

in

Occurs through

processes of

Setting some terminology straight

HYPOTHESIS

• A tentative explanationtentative explanation of one or more phenomena in nature that can be testedcan be tested by observations, experiments, or both. In order to be considered scientific, a hypothesis must be falsifiablemust be falsifiable, which means that it can be proven to be incorrect.

Fact

• A natural phenomenon repeatedly confirmed by observation.

Law

• A descriptiondescription of how a natural phenomenon or relationship will consistently occurconsistently occur under a given set of circumstances.

Theory• A well-substantiated explanationexplanation of some aspect of

the natural world that typically incorporates many incorporates many confirmed observations, laws, and successfully confirmed observations, laws, and successfully verified hypothesesverified hypotheses.

• The theory of evolution is a collection of explanatory concepts which seek to make sense of the accumulated knowledge about the relationships between living things and how organisms have originated. Theories allow us to predict what we may expect to see in new investigations, in other words theories give us a framework for doing new and different investigations that may further help to explain the given phenomena.

TRUTH • “ A scientific statement is true if all

attempts to falsify it have failed. Truth in science is not some final statement that is correct for all time. It means ‘true beyond all reasonable doubt’. “ John A. Moore (Science as a way of knowing pg. 136. 1993 Harvard U. Press)

INDUCTIONINDUCTION

• involves reaching a conclusion based on observations, moving from the specific to the from the specific to the generalgeneral. This is the method of reasoning used by Darwin to develop his theory of Natural Selection

DEDUCTIONDEDUCTION • Involves drawing specific conclusions specific conclusions

from some larger assumptionsfrom some larger assumptions (from general to specific). The formulation of a prediction based on a hypothesis is an example of deductive reasoning. When new data are added in support of the theory of evolution, they are often the result of looking for specific results we would expect to see based on the theory which is already in place… In other words what the theory would predict we might see.

Science as a way of KnowingScience is empirical (based on

observation and experimentation) Data collected from experimentation

must be reproducible. Many different groups of scientists can

do the same experiments and get the same results.

Experimental design must be falsifiable.

Religion as a way of knowing Based on faith, feelings and subjective

experiences Not based on visual senses One person’s experience cannot be

replicated exactly by another Knowledge is gained by individuals as a

sum total of that individual’s experiences and study

These differences could lead to a potential

conflict between science and religion.

• There is value and need for both “ways of knowing”. It is important not to be closed minded or dogmatic in either direction. Just because they are different does not make one way of knowing more important or more correct than the other.

Discussion

• Evolution packet defined

• BYU Evolution packet

• A Lester Allen

• Kenneth J. Brown