The death of John Fleming professor of natural science sparked the first of several debates about whether the subject should remain on the curriculum. Was science necessary for the rounded education of a candidate for the ministry in the Free Church? Indeed it was, until 1934.
Science now holds its own place in the New College curriculum with an MSc in Science and Religion being offered to students. Professor Mark Harris, Programme Director of the MSc, was even invited to deliver the Inaugural Lecture in 2019.
Inaugural Lecture – 2019
The creation-evolution debate is often taken as representative of the conflict between science and religion in modern society. For sure, it is the noisiest and most attention-grabbing manifestation of such conflict. But its tendency to polarise between either Genesis or evolution obscures many of the nuanced questions which have arisen in the historical reception of Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection.
Edinburgh’s New College has been the academic home to some prominent scientists and theologians who have grappled with these questions since the early days of evolutionary science. Most obviously, this activity was focused through the decision to create a Chair in Natural Science in 1845 which would be occupied by a recognised scientist. The Chair became ‘extinct’ in the 1930s, but its holders made some important assessments of evolution along the way.
The lecture outlines the contributions made by the individuals who have occupied this chair, as well as some more recent figures in the evolution of science and theology at New College.
Watch the full lecture by clicking on the video above.