Was God created by humans? Daniel Dennett and Dinesh D'Souza will offer up two different answers to that question tonight in the Cabot Auditorium during a debate hosted by the Freethought Society.
In addition to being a philosophy professor at Tufts, Dennett is "one of the most well-known atheists around," according to Freethought Society President Pat Andriola. Dennett will be arguing in favor of the resolution, which states that God is a man-made invention.
D'Souza, a conservative Christian and best-selling author, will oppose it.
Provost Jamshed Bharucha will moderate the debate.
Both Dennett and D'Souza have already debated the subject. "They're both very suitable for the job," Andriola, a freshman, said.
As they are already adequately prepared to discuss the subject in general, Dennett and D'Souza have prepared by focusing primarily on each other's arguments.
"In the last couple weeks, they've both been looking at film and papers," Andriola said.
Dennett is on sabbatical this year but will be returning to the Hill to do the debate pro bono. D'Souza cost $10,000 for the group to secure, according to Freethought Society Public Relations Director and Treasurer Xavier Malina.
The society is ready for a large turnout. "We are expecting Cabot to be filled completely," Andriola said. The debate will also be broadcast live in Pearson 104 to those who don't get seats in the auditorium.
"Each debater, starting with Professor Dennett, is going to get 20 to 25 minutes to open up his case," Andriola said. Following these statements, they will get two five-minute rebuttals each.
Finally, there will be a question and answer session during which the debaters will field inquiries from the audience.
According to Andriola, the debate will focus on a topic that is by no means new to his group. "One of the main things we discuss in our group is, 'Is there a God or not?'" he said.
The society has been around since the 2004-2005 academic year, but it was not recognized by the Tufts Community Union Judiciary until this fall. It aims to fill a hole that its members see on campus.
"Until this year, there hasn't been very much open debate on the values of religion," Malina, a sophomore, said.
Andriola agreed. "We want people to be more educated on religion in general," he said. "I think that, for Tufts students, this [debate] is going to be very important for their own personal beliefs."
