Science and Religion 2000 - Final Exam Study Sheet

LONG ESSAYS

The exam will also contain TWO long essay questions. The length of your answer should be (roughly) 1.5 pages to two pages of bluebook. There will be three essay questions on the exam from which you will select the two that you answer. Those three essay questions will be selected from the following set of questions:

1: Compare and contrast a theistic interpretation of the Anthropic Principle and a non-theistic interpretation of the Anthropic Principle.

2. Suppose that at some future date it is really established that human beings are reducible to physics and chemistry, reductionism succeeds, and the Chinese Room argument and the Godelian arguments fail. How would this hypothetical conclusion affect our concepts of theistic evolution, particularly applied to human beings?

3. Consider two scenarios:

A). A scenario in which complex and advanced ET civilizations are abundant in the Milky Way.

B). A scenario in which humanity is alone in the Milky Way.

Write an essay on either or both of the following questions:

What are the implications for theism and for atheism if (A) is true?

What are the implications for theism and for atheism if (B) is true.

That is, would the truth, say, of (A) support or not support theism and/or atheism.

4. Davis's argument about miracles is often referred to as a Bayesian argument. Why is it referred to as a Bayesian argument?

5. What is the role of chance in biological evolution? Which of the various definitions of chance are most applicable to this role of chance?

The exam will contain 8 short answer questions, drawn from the second part of the course. The short answer questions will be SIMILAR to the following questions, but none of the following questions will actually be used on the exam. The answer to each question should typically be no more than a few sentences long.

1. Formulate and explain the Drake Equation.

2.Evolution is described as "survival of the fittest." What does it mean to be "fit"?

3. Briefly describe one piece of evidence which supports the proposition that much of the biological diversity on our planet is the result of evolution by natural selection.

4. Provide definitions for each of the following: (a) libertarianism, (b) hard determinism, (c) soft determinism.