When research and scientific discovery mingle with ethical and philosophical questions, investigators must be versatile – especially when those tough questions involve the origins of the universe and the human race.

Sahotra Sarkar, professor of philosophy at the University of Texas-Austin, will give two speeches Monday about issues of scientific understanding and their related philosophical queries.

The first, a lecture on environmental ethics and habitat reconstruction, will take place at 1 p.m. in Room 105 of Kildee Hall. Sarkar will present a second lecture on weaknesses of the intelligent design argument at 7 p.m. in the Sun Room of the Memorial Union.

Intelligent design asserts that the universe is too complex to have come about purely by chance, and thus an intelligent entity must have directed its construction.

Sarkar said intelligent design does not have a massive amount of support in the academic world, especially in the realm of biology, where evolution is the highly accepted explanation for biodiversity.

“Within the scientific community, there’s almost no discussion at all,” Sarkar said.

Sarkar added that while the intelligent design debate has only a small presence in academic circles, the controversy still sees activity in the general public.

Because of this, Sarkar’s new book, “Doubting Darwin?: Creationist Designs on Evolution,” is the first of his publications to be aimed at a general audience as opposed to those in academia. The book will be released in April.

The main public facet of the debate has been centered in high school science classrooms. Sarkar said a major turning point in the intelligent design movement was the court case involving the Dover, Penn., school district, where a judge overturned the Dover school board’s decision to insert a disclaimer about evolution’s status as a theory and material about intelligent design into science curricula, saying the material had religious motivations and did not belong in a science classroom.

“I think that, by and large, it [the intelligent design movement] is in retreat because of the Dover case,” Sarkar said. “But I think, all the same, it hasn’t disappeared completely.”

Clark Wolf, associate professor of philosophy and religious studies, is director of the ISU Bioethics Program, which invited Sarkar to speak.

Wolf agreed with Sarkar’s assessment of the debate and said he believes the issue has yet to be thoroughly understood by the public even though the research community sees little conflict on the issue. The lingering controversy could affect many people, not just those in academia, he said.

“It’s a public debate; it’s not really a scientific debate,” Wolf said. “This is a topic that’s important for all of us. I think this is a crucially important issue in America right now.”

Wolf said Sarkar’s varied academic background gives him an edge in tackling issues where philosophical questions weave themselves into scientific research and therefore he was an excellent choice to discuss the issue of intelligent design.

“Dr. Sarkar is best known for his work in the philosophy of biology,” Wolf said. “He is a scholar who crosses disciplines in the best sense.”

Kevin de Laplante, associate professor of philosophy and religious studies, first encountered Sarkar’s work as a graduate student. They share many research interests, and de Laplante was instrumental in inviting Sarkar to speak at Iowa State.

De Laplante also said Sarkar’s broad research interests allowed him to be an especially effective analyst for issues such as intelligent design.

“Sarkar is uniquely qualified to critically assess some of the more sophisticated pro-intelligent design arguments based on research from computer science and information theory,” de Laplante said.