On the 18th February 2016, the Manchester Debating Union held a debate at the University of Manchester on the motion: “This House Believes Science has an undeserved Monopoly on the Truth”

Event Description:

Science has always been considered synonymous with truth. But should we question that definition? Can religion and philosophy provide truths about the world? About what is moral? Can it answer questions which cannot be answered through rational scientific inquiry? This week we ask- does science have an undeserved monopoly on the truth?

The Speakers were:

Proposition:

Abdullah al Andalusi: one of the founders of the Muslim Debate initiative. Abdullah has delivered talks internationally on the question of the purpose of life, the existence of God, the Miracle of Quran, the superiority of the Shariah as a social and political system, and Islamic Economics.

Dr Gary Keogh: Lecturer in Theology and Religious Studies at the University of Manchester.

Opposition:

Dr Johan Hulleman: Lecturer at the University of Manchester in Psychology. His research interests include, Visual Search ,Visual Attention and Methodology.

Cerys Bradley: Currently studying a PhD in Information Security at the Jill Dando Institute, UCL. Cerys has an MRes in Crime and Security Science and a BSci(Hons) from King’s College, London. Cerys was also a European Universities Debating Championship semifinalist 2014, winner of the Paris Open 2015 and Imperial IV 2014 as well as a finalist at 6 domestic and international competitions

Conclusion of the Debate:

The MDU usually count peoples’ opinions before and after the debate to measure the shift of opinion, and base the success or failure of the motion on such a result. However, as the MDU host explains at the beginning of the video, on the day MDU was unable to count people’s’ opinions before the debate began, and so were unable to ascertain how many changed their mind after listening to the debate, and in what direction such a shift was directed towards. However, the video is presented below for you to listen to both sides of the argument and decide for yourselves.