Dr. Anelli used the time in class to further discuss Darwin and his influences. The discussion went into further depth of the era while Darwin was creating his theories and research. It was interesting to hear more about the background of the era before and during Darwin which we did not see recreated in the movie. The only glimpses of the ideology at the time, portrayed in the movie, is when Darwin discussed God with his wife and colleagues. When discussing the time pre- and post-beagle, it was very engaging again because the movie did not cover this part of Darwin’s life. After discussing Darwin’s “On the Origin of Species” in many classes, I enjoyed that this class looked at Darwin’s personal life more. I also appreciated how Dr. Anelli tied in the past ideas to present topics. The topic of religion vs science is always a hot topic, and I liked how it was not phrased in an either-or-situation or pinning the two beliefs against another.
Madison – I appreciate your concise summary and agree with you that Dr. Anelli did a good job of avoiding portraying science and religion as an “either-or”. This was a point brought out by several student posts. In my opinion, the reality we face when trying to understand life and the universe is that science will always allow us to appreciate how complex the universe is, but will always be incomplete when asked to explain why.