Just on the face of it, while Deborah Haarsma may be an excellent astrophysicist, I don't see how she has any relevant expertise on the key issues in the debate over evolution or even over the compatibility of evolution with Christianity.
However, as seems to be the case in this debate, it's often assumed that a scientist just by virtue of being a "scientist" irrespective of field is considered a good enough spokesperson for evolutionary theory. That's like calling on Richard Dawkins or Ernst Mayr to argue for the big bang theory or against a finely-tuned universe.
In fairness, there are some people who are polymaths, or at least some who are experts in multiple disparate fields, so I should listen to Haarsma make her case before drawing any hard and fast conclusions.
By contrast, Stephen Meyer is a philosopher of science (biology). Since evolution is an interdisciplinary subject, and certainly whether neo-Darwinism is compatible with Christianity, it's well worth listening to a well-studied and well-published philosopher of science like Meyer. In fact, if nothing else, Meyer is almost always worth listening to, judging by his past presentations, lectures, and published literature.
Just on the face of it, while Deborah Haarsma may be an excellent astrophysicist, I don't see how she has any relevant expertise on the key issues in the debate over evolution or even over the compatibility of evolution with Christianity.
ReplyDeleteHowever, as seems to be the case in this debate, it's often assumed that a scientist just by virtue of being a "scientist" irrespective of field is considered a good enough spokesperson for evolutionary theory. That's like calling on Richard Dawkins or Ernst Mayr to argue for the big bang theory or against a finely-tuned universe.
In fairness, there are some people who are polymaths, or at least some who are experts in multiple disparate fields, so I should listen to Haarsma make her case before drawing any hard and fast conclusions.
By contrast, Stephen Meyer is a philosopher of science (biology). Since evolution is an interdisciplinary subject, and certainly whether neo-Darwinism is compatible with Christianity, it's well worth listening to a well-studied and well-published philosopher of science like Meyer. In fact, if nothing else, Meyer is almost always worth listening to, judging by his past presentations, lectures, and published literature.