The Undesigned Universe

The Undesigned Universe is a series of three lectures (9-11 January 2007 at Princeton University) from Peter Ward, Professor of Biology and Earth and Space Sciences, University of Washington.

MP4 videos (~80-90 minutes each):

Part 1: “Designs on Life”: Beginning with various definitions of life and a brief history of how life arose and evolved on Earth, the first lecture will consider the diversity of possible life, basic precepts of Darwin’s theory of evolution and the theory’s battles with creationism, and finally how life is a series of biological compromises superimposed on historical contingencies and structural constraints.

Part 2: “Designing a Habitable Solar System”: This lecture will discuss the notion of a “habitable zone” around any sun, what a star system optimally designed for life would look like, and finally how our solar system measures up.

Part 3: “The Construction of the Cosmos”: He begins with a brief history of the cosmos and a discussion of the threats to the existence of any galaxy. The notion of “bio-friendliness” and the optimization of life will be juxtaposed with the concept of a “galactic habitable zone,” which suggests a finite age for life in the cosmos and thus a refutation of intelligent design.

From Open Culture’ University Podcast Collection (more sources available under “University Channel” or from Princeton’s web site).

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