RLB52 Creationism and Evolutionism

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2021
Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
Teacher(s)
doc. PhDr. Luboš Bělka, CSc. (lecturer)
Mgr. Bc. Jan Trtílek (assistant)
Guaranteed by
Mgr. Jana Valtrová, Ph.D.
Department for the Study of Religions – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Mgr. Ivona Vrzalová
Supplier department: Department for the Study of Religions – Faculty of Arts
Timetable of Seminar Groups
RLB52/Kombi01: Fri 12. 3. 14:00–15:40 J21, Fri 9. 4. 14:00–15:40 J21, Fri 7. 5. 14:00–15:40 J21, L. Bělka
RLB52/Prez01: Mon 14:00–15:40 G03, L. Bělka
Prerequisites (in Czech)
RLA01 Introduction to Religion || RLKA01 Introduction to Religion
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.

The capacity limit for the course is 50 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/50, only registered: 0/50
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
Course description: Basic questions of cosmology; the Christian interpretation of the origin of the Universe; the relationship between evolution and creation; the relationship between science and religion; the "scientific creationism" in the USA and elsewhere. At the end of this course, students should be able to understand the basic problems of the creationism versus evolutionism controversy as well as be able to explain basic arguments of the both sides of the controversy.
Learning outcomes
At the end of the course students should be able to:
  • Define basic relations between religious and scientific interpretation of the Universe;
  • Define basic forms of religious account of the Creation;
  • Describe basic structure of the scientific interpretation of the Universe (evolution);
  • Describe basic examples of Creation versus Evolution discussions.
    • Syllabus
    • (0) Introduction.
    • (1) Creation in Christian tradition: History of the idea.
    • (2) Evolution in Christian tradition: History of the idea.
    • (3) "Scientific" creationism: Definitions and ideas I.
    • (4) "Scientific" creationism: Definitions and ideas II.
    • (5) Strategy of "scientific" creationism in the USA.
    • (6) Evolutionary theory and the falsification criterion.
    • (7) "Scientific" creationism as a pseudoscience.
    • (8) Case study: Species notion in the "scientific" creationism.
    • (9) "Scientific" creationism and media.
    • (10) Case study: Noah s Ark (catastrophism versus uniformitarianism?).
    • (11) Case study: Man - a contemporary of dinosaurus?
    • (12) "Scientific" creationism in the Czech Republic.
    Literature
      required literature
    • DAVIES, Merryl Wyn. Darwin a fundamentalismus. Vyd. 1. Praha: Triton, 2002, 70 s. ISBN 8072542672. info
    • BĚLKA, Luboš. Evolucionismus a vědecký kreacionismus (Evolutionism and scientific creationism). Brno: CERM, 1998, 9 pp. ISBN 80-7204-079-0. info
      recommended literature
    • DARWIN, Charles. Darwinův Původ druhů v ilustracích. Edited by Richard Leakey, Illustrated by Richard E. Leakey. 1. vyd. Praha: Panorama, 1989, 220 s. ISBN 80-7038-023-3. info
    • Okultismus a věda. Translated by Kateřina Štěpánková. Praha: Stanislav Libovický, 1994, 190 s. ISBN 80-901672-0-9. info
    • Spor o Darwina. Edited by Phillip E. Johnson - Alena Koželuhová. 1. vyd. Praha: Návrat domů, 1996, 211 s. ISBN 80-85495-57-0. info
    Teaching methods
    lectures, class discussions, reading of texts, homeworks.
    Assessment methods
    Colloquium
    Written test based on the required reading, lectures, and presentations (100 points, the minimum of 60 points, i.e. per cent is required to pass the test). Test represents 100 % of overal evaluation in the course.
    Language of instruction
    Czech
    Further Comments
    Study Materials
    The course is taught once in two years.
    Listed among pre-requisites of other courses
    The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2001, Spring 2003, Autumn 2003, Spring 2007, Autumn 2007, Spring 2010, Spring 2014, Spring 2017, Spring 2019.
    • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
    • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/spring2021/RLB52