Course Description
The course will address and discuss philosophical and theological repercussions of the theory of biological evolution, with a special emphasis on issues related to the classical Aristotelian-Thomistic tradition of metaphysics, ontology, and creation theology. The main themes will include: the possibility of the acceptance of the notion of species transformism on the side of the classical metaphysics and creation theology, the question of whether God creates through evolution, the relation among evolutionary biological and theological anthropogenesis, the question of relevance and plausibility of creationist and intelligent design (ID) movements, the history of the reception of the theory of evolution in the Catholic Church, the contemporary and future theological aspects of the evolution of the human species.
Bibliography
AUSTRIACO, NICANOR PIER GIORGIO, JAMES BRENT, THOMAS dAVENPORT, and JOHN BAPTIST KU. Thomistic Evolution: A Catholic Approach to Understanding Evolution in the Light of Faith. Tacoma, WA: Cluny Media, 2016.
CARUANA LOUIS, ed. Darwin and Catholicism: The Past and Present Dynamics of a Cultural Encounter. T&T Clark, London and New York, 2009.
FOWLER, THOMAS B., and DANIEL KUEBLER. The Evolution Controversy: A Survey of Competing Theories. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2007.
PETERS TED and MARTIN HEWLETT. Evolution from Creation to New Creation: Conflict, Conversation, and Convergence. Abingdon Press, Nashville, 2003.
TABACZEK, MARIUSZ. Theistic Evolution: A Contemporary Aristotelian-Thomistic Perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2023.