Ken Miller

We just got back from hearing an interesting lecture by Ken Miller at N.C. State University. Unfortunately, the fact that I have to be up before dawn tomorrow forced us to leave before the panel discussion with Mr. Miller and local clergy and turn down an offer from Bora to get a beer afterwards (though it was nice to run into him again, even if it was quick and a bit hurried). It was an interesting, insightful and often amusing talk. It is not often I see a lecture that includes video of the speaker's appearance on The Colbert Report. He started with a discussion of the current state of the battle to get Intelligent Design in the classroom, specifically focused on his experience testifying in the Dover, PA case. Although I knew a lot of the details, Dr. Miller provided an interesting view of the proceedings and some of the details (specifically regarding the early editions of Of Pandas and People). Dr. Miller followed this with some brief explanations of the faults and flaws in the ID's attacks on evolution. Again, I had heard the details before, but Dr. Miller's added insight made it worth listening to.

Dr. Miller finished by discussing the implications that evolution (and the failure of ID) has for people of faith, such as himself. He takes the position, opposite of those such as Richard Dawkins, that religion is not at odds with evolution and the two can coexist quite easily. I found myself feeling very conflicted listening to his words. I was raised in a Jewish family (not a surprise to anyone that knows my first and last name), but I consider myself a strong atheist today. I agree with Richard Dawkins and the view that a belief in god is misguided at best and complete ignorance at worst. However, I am also concerned with the public acceptance of science in general and evolution specifically. Although I agree with Dawkins' points, I think his methods are just as like to offend and upset as they are to actually convince anyone. I think that Miller and his approach is probably a lot more likely to ease the tension between the anti-evolution groups and the anti-religion groups.

So, do I support Miller's ideas, which I do not really believe, because they are more likely to avoid conflict and reduce tensions? For a long, I think the answer would have been yes. However, within the last year, I have been more and more outgoing and vocal about my atheism. So, I think that today I have to stand with Dr. Dawkins on this one.