Darwinian Evolution: Perspectives from Science, Philosophy, and Theology
Prof. Marty Hewlett
The current working paradigm of modern biology is the neo-Darwinian synthesis…the melding of Mendelian genetics, population genetics, and mutation with Darwin’s model for speciation by descent with modification. Both the laws of genetic inheritance and the theory of evolution are supported by multiple lines of evidence derived from observations in several sub-disciplines of biology. Nevertheless, there continues to be controversy surrounding the hypothesis put forward in 1859 by Charles Darwin in his book “On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.” I will discuss the biological models, the nature of the data supporting these models, and the philosophical and theological contexts surrounding these issues. I will conclude by supporting theistic evolution as a framework for understanding the science of biological evolution.
Martinez “Marty” Hewlett, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, University of Arizona, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology —
Marty has taught at UNM-Taos since 2003. He currently serves as a Research Scholar at UNM-Taos and is an Adjunct faculty member in the Religious Studies Program at UNM. Dr. Hewlett earned his Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry from USC in 1964 and his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Univ. of Arizona in 1973. He was a post-doctoral fellow in the laboratory of Dr. David Baltimore at MIT, where he specialized in molecular virology. Dr. Hewlett has received many awards and fellowships for his teaching and research, including the J.K. Russell Fellowship (2006) and the University of Arizona Faculty of Science Innovative Teaching Award two times (1986 and 2000). He has been the Principal Investigator of numerous federal research grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF). He is the recipient of an American Cancer Society Faculty Research Award (1982-87) and the Fogarty Senior International Fellowship (1986-87). His research specialties include molecular virology as well as philosophy of science. His textbook, Basic Virology, Fourth Edition, (M. Hewlett, D. Bloom, D, Camerini, Wiley-Blackwell Science) has just been published. He is the co-author of Evolution: From Creation to New Creation (Ted Peters and Martinez Hewlett, Abingdon Press) and Theological and Scientific Commentary on Darwin’s Origin of Species (Ted Peters and Martinez Hewlett, Abingdon Press). Dr. Hewlett is a lay member of the Order of Preachers (the Dominicans).