 |
|
The program focuses on
five thematic areas:
|
Science cannot resolve moral conflicts, but
it can help to more accurately frame the debates about those conflicts.
HEINZ PAGELS |
Bioethics
Discoveries in the biological sciences and developments in biotechnology are having profound impacts on the biosphere generally and human health in particular, raising important public policy issues. The program seeks to enhance the level of public
discussion of these issues.
Evolution
The program seeks to assist the general public, especially the religious communities, to understand the scientific robustness of the contemporary theory of biological evolution, as well as to address the historical and philosophical dimensions of the cultural debate that surrounds evolutionary biology.
Human Nature
Developments in paleoanthropology, human genetics, the neurosciences, and robotics are placing the age old question of what it means to be human in new light. The program
seeks to explore the significance of the
convergence of scientific, technological,
ethical, and religious factors for a contemporary understanding of human nature.
Bioresponsibility
Program activities in the area of bioresponsibility encourage religious communities
to explore with the scientific community
the current scientific understanding of
ecological dynamics, the human values
that are brought to bear to determine
environmental policies, and the religious perspectives that underlie them.
Cosmos
Over the past century human understanding of the extent, structure, and history of the cosmos has expanded to a literally astronomical degree. This area of the program seeks to explore the implications of the growing body of knowledge about the cosmos and its composition, including the possible cosmic extent and history of life, for religious understanding and ethical perspectives.
And Beyond
In addition to its specific thematic areas,
the program includes projects, activities,
and resources related more generally to
the nature and dynamics of the relationships among science, ethics, and religion.
|
|
