By Lauren Kane –
On Monday and Tuesday, April 23 and 24, Dr. Lenn Goodman came to Salve as a part of the Atwood Lecture Series. The title of his lecture was Creation and Evolution, the same title as the book he wrote on the topic. Dr. Goodman is a professor of the humanities and philosophy at Vanderbilt University.
The lecture began with the analysis of the ideas of creation and evolution from their origins. Dr. Goodman’s in-depth study of these two different theories that answer the big question of “where did we come from” shows that they weren’t always opposites. Creation and evolution were once allies in their beliefs, rivaled by eternalists, who believed that all things had always been the same based on the laws of nature never changing. Dr. Goodman explained how, over time, eternalist views assimilated into those of creationalists, and how the two ideas became the mutually exclusive opponents that they are today. Based on this distance between two ideologies, the main point that Dr. Goodman wanted to get across in his lecture was harmony.
“Evolution is a support of religion, not a threat to it,” said Goodman.
The topic of this lecture in particular was requested by Dr. Khalil Habib of Salve’s Philosophy Department, who had asked Dr. Goodman to present on a lecture based on his book Creation and Evolution.
“I believe [Dr. Habib] thought we have a lot of faculty, students, alumni, who are concerned with how we connect our scientific theories and our religious commitments,” said Goodman.
The student body that attended the lecture agreed.
“I bet his book would be really interesting!” said freshman Hannah Cazzetta.
Overall, students found the lecture to be eye-opening.
“I came away from Dr. Goodman’s lecture with a better understanding that every culture agrees that happiness is knowing God,” said freshman Pat Flynn.
Dr. Goodman provided a visual aid in the form of an outline handout. The handout outlines a summary of Dr. Goodman’s lecture, and can be obtained in PDF form by request from Salve Regina’s Dr. Luigi Bradizza. His contact information can be found on Salve’s Political Science Faculty page; simply e-mail a request to Dr. Bradizza for an electronic copy of the outline. Dr. Goodman is very published, with his focuses on Jewish and Islamic Philosophy. He is currently working on a new translation of “The Guide to the Perplexed” and has a book to be published and released in the next year.
For information on lectures in the Atwood Series, the SalveToday Calendar of Events posts the dates of upcoming lectures.
