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12-14 November 1997
Field Museum in Chicago
This was the first major public conference organized by
the AAAS Dialogue on Science, Ethics, and Religion. This multidisciplinary conference provided
scientific accounts of and philosophical and religious commentary on
evolution from the Big Bang through the evolution of human culture.
This event yielded a number of products, including a public television
special (broadcast on WYCC in Chicago in spring 1998), an eight-part
video series, and a volume based on the conference presentations, currently
entitled The Epic of Evolution, to be published by Prentice Hall
in 2002.
Epic of Evolution Conference Sponsored by the AAAS Program of Dialogue Between Science and Religon
with the Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago
(Titles enclosed in "?" are those selected
by the Presenters.)
Wednesday, November 12
| 8:30 am |
Registration/Coffee |
| 9:00 |
Welcome to Conference |
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Session I - Introduction: The Importance of Understanding
Evolution |
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An overview of the importance of the science and
religion dialogue, of evolution as a grand paradigm in science and
a factor in the religious assessment of humanity's place in the
universe, of the need for greater scientific literacy and of the
significance of the science and religion relationship in science
education. |
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Introduction to the Conference |
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Audrey Chapman |
Director, Program of Dialogue between Science and
Religion, American Association for the Advancement of Science |
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| 9:30 |
Session II - Cosmic Origins: Evolution on the Grand
Scale |
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a presentation of contemporary cosmogonies and
their religious significance. |
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|
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Contemporary Cosmogonies |
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Joel Primack |
Department of Physics, University of California -
Santa Cruz |
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Q&A with Lecturer and Audience |
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|
| 10:20 |
Break |
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|
| 10:35 |
"The Cultural Significance of the Story of the
Universe" |
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Brian Swimme |
Department of Philosophy, Cosmology and Consciousness,
California Institute of Integral Studies |
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Q&A with Lecturer and Audience |
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Panel Discussion and General Q&A with Audience
|
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| 11:55 |
Lunch Break |
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| 1:15 pm |
Session III - Matter to Mammals: The Evolution
of Life on Earth |
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presentations of the stages of evolution of life
and historical perspectives on the religious reception of evolutionary
theory. |
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|
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The Evolution of Life |
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Niles Eldredge |
Department of Invertebrates, American Museum of Natural
History |
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Q&A with Lecturer and Audience |
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|
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Historical Perspectives on Evolution and Religion |
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Ronald Numbers |
Department of the History of Medicine, Center for
Health Science-Medical School, University of Wisconsin-Madison
|
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Q&A with Lecturer and Audience |
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|
| 2:55 |
Break |
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|
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| 3:10 |
Session IV - Darwin and Neo-Darwinism: Natural
Selection as the Mechanism of Evolution |
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presentations on natural selection and other evolutionary
mechanisms and contemporary theological responses to Darwinism.
|
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|
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"The Mechanism of Evolution" |
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Ursula Goodenough |
Department of Biology, Washington University
|
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Q&A with Lecturer and Audience |
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|
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"Neo-Darwinism in Theological Perspective"
|
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John Haught |
Department of Theology, Georgetown University |
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Q&A with Lecturer and Audience |
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Panel Discussion and General Q&A with Audience
|
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|
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5:30
|
End of Day |
Thursday, November 13
| 8:30 am |
Coffee |
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|
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|
| 9:00 |
Session V - From Lucy to Linus: The Appearance
of Homo Sapiens |
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presentations on the origin and development
of humanity and the human brain and religious interpretations of
what it means to be distinctively human. |
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|
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"Innovation in Human Evolution" |
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Ian Tattersall |
Department of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural
History |
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Q&A with Lecturer and Audience |
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|
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"The Evolutionary Hierarchy of Mind" |
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Terrence Deacon |
Department of Anthropology, Boston University |
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Q&A with Lecturer and Audience |
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|
| 10:40 |
Break |
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| 10:55 |
"Evolution, Neuroscience and Human Nature" |
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Nancey Murphy |
School of Theology, Fuller Theological Seminary |
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Q&A with Lecturer and Audience |
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Panel Discussion and General Q&A with Audience
|
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| 12:20 pm |
Lunch Break |
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|
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| 1:50 |
Session VI - The Journey toward Meaning: The Evolution
of Culture, Society and Religion |
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presentations on the evolution of culture and religion
and theological perspectives on the biological foundations of human
society. |
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|
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The Evolution of Culture |
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Solomon Katz |
Department of Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania
|
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Q&A with Lecturer and Audience |
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|
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"The Evolution of Religion: Views of Cosmology
and History" |
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Mary Evelyn Tucker |
Department of Religion, Bucknell University
|
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Q&A with Lecturer and Audience |
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|
| 3:30 |
Break (15 min.) |
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| 3:45 |
"Homo sapiens: The Cultural Religious
Animal?" |
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Philip Hefner |
Chicago Center for the Study of Religion and Science
|
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Q&A with Lecturer and Audience |
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Panel Discussion and General Q&A with Audience
|
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| 5:10 |
End of Day |
Friday, November 14
| 8:30am |
Coffee |
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|
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|
| 9:00 |
Session VII - Selfish Genes and Self-giving Lives:
The Evolution of Ethics and Morality |
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presentations of theories of the evolution of morality
and the origins of ethics. |
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|
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"The Human Enigma: Biological and Cultural Evolution" |
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Francisco Ayala |
Donald Bren Professor of Biological Sciences, Department
of Ecology and Evolution, University of California-Irvine |
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Q&A with Lecturer and Audience |
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|
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"Sociobiology and Moral Discourse" |
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Loyal Rue |
Department of Religion and Philosophy, Luther College |
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Q&A with Lecturer and Audience |
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| 10:40 |
Break |
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| 10:55 |
"The Evolutionary Roots of Morality - An Assessment
from Theological Ethics" |
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Stephen J. Pope |
Department of Theology, Boston College |
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Q&A with Lecturer and Audience |
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Panel Discussion and General Q&A with Audience
|
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|
| 12:20 pm |
Lunch Break |
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|
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| 1:50 |
Session VIII - Where Do We Go From Here? Evolution
and the Human Future |
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presentations on the human future in the light
of evolution from environmental, traditional and theological perspectives |
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Human Impact on the Evolution of the Environment |
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Mary Barber, |
Sustainable Biosphere Initiative, Ecological Society of America
|
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Q&A with Lecturer and Audience |
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|
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Science, Tradition and the Future |
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N. Scott Momaday |
Regents Professor, Department of English, University of Arizona
(invited) |
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Q&A with Lecturer and Audience |
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|
| 3:30 |
Break |
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|
| 3:45 |
"The Story and the Dream: The Next Stage of the
Evolutionary Epic" |
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Thomas Berry |
History of Religions, Fordham University (retired), Greensboro
NC |
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Q&A with Lecturer and Audience |
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Panel Discussion and General Q&A with Audience
|
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Closure |
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|
| 5:20 |
End of Day |
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