Mohammad Abu-Hamdiyyah
Retired, Former Professor of Chemistry, University of Kuwait
England
Paper Title: Phenomenology and the Structure of Knowledge in the Qur'an

In our previous work (The Qur'an, An Introduction; Routledge, London, 2000) the development of Religion in the East Mediterranean region was briefly reviewed and a fresh reading of the Qur'anic discourse was presented from a modern perspective. In this study we stressed the phenomenological aspects of and the structure of knowledge in the Qur'anic discourse.

Human beings, according to the Qur'anic discourse, find themselves embedded in this world and already initiated with the learning process, which allows them to proceed along the way of life’s journey. This is the empirical fact of existence and the starting point for the inquiry into the meaning and purpose of life. However, human beings are reminded that when they are pursuing knowledge of this world not to forget that they are looking at things of this world from the inside of the system and not from the outside, as they are not direct witnesses (observers) to the creation of the system (the universe) nor of themselves, who form part of this system (18:51). Nevertheless they are commanded to go about and investigate and learn how the creation was started (29:20).

They are told that the act of learning is a gift from God, 'who taught the human being what he knew not' (96:5). This act has two components: the human being (the receiver), with God’s spirit (32:9), the divine gift of self-reflective consciousness (76:2), being the active ingredient in her/him, which is part and parcel of the fully developed human being; the other component being the things in the world of the human being (the emitters), which are pervaded with God’s light (24:35). The created or naturally available things are the phenomena, what the Qur'an calls the signs of God, which have been provided for human beings to make use of in this life, in order to exist and light their way. The act of making 'use of a thing' gains the human being a unit of experience (a revelation) and in this process, the 'thing' in question becomes clearer to the human being, more understood, unveiling part of its reality. The bit of light that enlightens us on gaining a new experience is God’s which was unconcealed in the act of learning.

The above constitutes the basic structure of human cognition (revelation) and this may be pictured as resulting from an overlap of two waves arising from two fields, one from the human being the other from the 'thing,' which is being made use of. This is analogous to tying two ends of two strings together, one from the human being, the other from the 'thing.' This process of tying-up, or connecting and confining, is ubiquitously used in the Qur’an to represent the resultant activity of perception and cognition, as a result of the human being’s intentional interaction with the surroundings, and may be looked upon as the basis of 'reason.' This process applies also to all revelations (new experiences, discoveries) relating elementary units of experiences (observations) to each other or to more complex relationships that provide us larger overall pictures (concepts) we conceive to represent our world of experience.

The first revelatory step in the process of generating human knowledge starts with the ability of human beings to give names to things they make use of (2:31), in other words the generation of language or speech (55:4), through which experiences in life are communicated to other human beings. Coupled with this ability of naming things they make use of, is the revelatory ability to count these things and the consequent generation of all other manipulations like addition and so on. The ability to weigh and measure (the dimensions of) things using convenient arbitrary standards at hand and naming them as well as estimating the times of happenings of events utilising shade lengths or estimates, positions of the sun and sunrise and sun set and so on, were all revelatory acts. It is clear from the above that Knowledge results from the accumulation of experiences obtained by actively interacting with and interrogating some parts of nature which interest or concern the human being and then making a mental picture of the experiences gained. This is the reason the Qur'an calls nature (the world which we are in and are part of, in all its manifestations) the world of witnessing, wherein lie all the signs of God and hence all the active information needed to light our way. This is the basis of empirical knowledge and it is emphasised that it is also the only way to gain faith to keep us on the move and learning, thus strengthening our initial belief. This is not to prove the existence of God, which is impossible by definition, but to lead humans towards the ultimate truth and reality as is proclaimed in (41:53).

Mohammad Abu-Hamdiyyah was born in 1930 in Palestine. He became a US citizen in 1968. He earned a BSc Chemistry (Honours) summa cum laude at the University of Wales UK in 1957. He served as a Pre-Doctoral Research Fellow at the University of Southern California from 1961-65 earning his Ph.D in 1965. He then worked as a Research Chemist at Dupont in the Pioneering Research Lab in Wilmington, Delaware, from 1965-68. From there he became Professor of Chemistry in the College of Petroleum and Minerals in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, serving from 1968-73. He also served as Professor of Chemistry at the University of Kuwait from 1973-1990. Since 1990, Abu-Hamdiyyah has been living in retirement in England and working on the Semitic Scriptures and the relationship of Science to Religion.

Tamás Agócs
Director, East-West Research Institute, Buddhist College of Budapest
Local Society: 3 Cultures Group
Budapest, Hungary
Paper Title: The Mystery of Meaning (Bohm and Buddhism)
Tuesday, June 7 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm in Golkin Room

1. Aim and topic

It seems that the dialogue between science and religion is mainly a matter of epistemology. What we need is a new language that could infuse the totality of our quest. The mutual interpenetration of scientific and religious discourse is currently on the way, and some significant steps have been taken. For example, the meta-scientific terminology developed by David Bohm seems to contain the germs of such an all-embracing meta-language. In this paper I wish to contribute to the unfolding of its potential by highlighting some analogies between Bohm's thinking and different Buddhist presentations on the nature of reality.

2. Name and form: soma-significance

Bohm’s revolutionary notion of "soma-significance" offers a convenient starting-point for our discussion. Bohm introduces the new term to emphasize the unity of the physical and mental aspects of all experience:

The notion of soma-significance implies that soma (or the physical) and its significance (which is mental) are not separate in the sense that soma and psyche are generally considered to be; rather they are two aspects of one overall indivisible reality.

3. Karma as signa-somatic activity

Bohm distinguishes two aspects of the dynamic relationship between name and form: the soma-significant and signa-somatic relationship. The first refers to the way we interpret our experiences, while the second is related to intentional action. Meaning and intent are thus two sides of a single activity: "Meaning unfolds into intention, and intention into action, which however, has significance, so that there is in general a circular loop of flow." This is similar to the Buddhist understanding of action or karma, held to be responsible for the evolution of both beings and environments. As Bohm puts it: "both nature and mind as we experience it (...) share a basic over-all process which is an extension of soma-significant and signa-somatic activity." Karma is a reciprocal relationship between mind and matter: "action toward the rest of the universe is ultimately a result of the totality of what it means to us. But (...) the reaction of the rest of the universe to us is its signa-somatic response according to what we mean to it."

4. Unfolding Meaning

Bohm describes how meaning is capable of indefinite extension, and this is substantiated through the Buddhist analysis of the mind and material reality. If there were a bottom level of reality, it would be unambiguous, but quantum theory implies that no such bottom level is possible. The ambiguity of meaning is brought into a crucial role in the understanding of the behaviour of both mind and matter.

5. The Meaning of Meaning

Finally, I would like to offer some analogies to Bohm's thoughts on the implicate and explicate orders, the polarized structures of meaning, the interdependence of content and context and the self-referential nature of mind. In doing this, I am drawing on Buddhist epistemological discourse.

Tamás Agócs was born in 1966 in Budapest, Hungary. He is a scholar and teacher of Tibetan Buddhism, a translator and a practitioner. He graduated from the University of Budapest in English literature and oriental linguistics. As a post-graduate student, he also studied at the University of Virginia. He was awarded Ph.D. in 1997 for a linguistic dissertation on the Tibetan editions and commentaries of the Diamond-sutra.

Presently he teaches Tibetan language, Buddhist philosophy and meditation at the Buddhist College in Budapest. He has published two books, several translations and articles. In the past few years he did extensive research in Nepal on the religious lore of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism. He studied some of the most important treatises on the nature of mind. The technological difficulties involved in translating such texts into English have led him to research in a number of fields such as quantum physics, dynamical psychology, and the modern sciences of consciousness.

In 2004 he founded the East-West Research Institute to coordinate research at the college and initiate programs for the application of Buddhist ethical, epistemological and metaphysical principles in different fields of science and human activity.

Peter C. Aichelburg
Professor of Physics, Institute for Theoretical Physics, Univ. of Vienna
Local Society: Complimentarity of Science and Theology
Vienna, Austria
Paper Title: On the evolution of the concept of time and its implication for modern cosmology
Tuesday, June 7 11:00 am - 12:30 pm in Golkin Room

From the ancient Greeks, the concept of time has evolved over a period of more than two thousand years. With the emergence of the individual sciences, the problem has shifted from philosophy towards the natural sciences. Physics, as the basis of fundamental science, plays an essential role. At the beginning of the last century, the concept of time was revolutionized by Einstein's Theory of Relativity. What are the logical connections of the modern concept of time to the ancient philosophy?

I compare the ideas of Aristotle on time with those in post Einsteinian physics and shall argue that this comparison suggests an interesting interpretation in modern cosmology.

Peter C. Aichelburg is Professor of theoretical physics at the Institut für Theoretische Physik, Universität Wien, in Vienna, Austria.

Born in Vienna, his education includes elementary school in Vienna and Ascona (Switzerland), secondary education in Caracas, Venezuela and Barbados, and a PhD in Physics and Mathematics, University of Vienna (1967). He was a research fellow at the International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste, Italy (1968-69) and lecturer at the Scuola Internationale Superiore di Studi Avanzanti in Trieste (SISSA), Trieste, Italy (1981-86). He has been an Assistant (1974), Associate (1980), and full Professor (2000) at the University of Vienna. He is director of the Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of Vienna (1984-86, 1990-92) and head of the advisory board to the European Forum Alpbach (2001-). His scientific publications are on gravitational physics, cosmology and classical field theory. His books include: Albert Einstein; his Influence on Physics, Philosophy and Politics, (P.C Aichelburg u. R.U. Sexl, Vieweg, 1979), translations German and Japanese; Evolution, Entwicklungsprinzipien und menschliches Selbstverständnis in einer sich verwandelden Welt, (Hrg. P.C. Aichelburg u. R. Kögerler, Verl. Niederösterr. Pressehaus, 1979); and Zeit im Wandel der Zeit, (P.C.Aichelburg Hrg., Vieweg, 1988).

Edward J. Alam
Associate Professor, Faculty of Humanities, Notre Dame University, Lebanon
Local Society: Notre Dame University, Lebanon Communio Study Circle
Zouk Mikael, Lebanon
Paper Title: Einstein, Beauty, and Natural Theology: Elementary Reflections!
Monday, June 6 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm in Class of '49 Room

The year 2005 has been declared the "Year of Physics" by the United Nations in order to commemorate the one hundredth anniversary of three seminal papers published in 1905 by the great theoretical physicist, Albert Einstein (1879-1955). The first paper addressed certain problems concerning electromagnetic energy, the second concerned an aspect of electron theory, which came to be known as Einstein’s special theory of relativity, and the third addressed features related to statistical mechanics. I have neither the competence, nor the intention to address these achievements in any sort of technical way. What I do propose rather is to address in a general way (1) the role that beauty played in the conception and birth of Einstein’s theory of special relativity, (2) the relation, in the broadest terms, of this theory to his theory of general relativity, and (3) the immense positive effect, still vastly underestimated, of his theory of general relativity on the science of Natural Theology, while highlighting what I consider to be the best arguments in this tradition. Points one and two are simply introductory points. My focus shall be on the third point. Thus, my claim will be that Einstein’s presentation of a "contradiction-free, scientific account of a gravitational universe" had enormous positive implications for Natural Theology in general, and for the Thomistic proofs in particular.

Edward J. Alam is an associate professor in the Faculty of Humanities at Notre Dame University in Lebanon. He earned his Ph.D in Philosophy from the University of Utah in 1996, writing his doctoral dissertation on the philosophical contributions of John H. Newman's An Essay in Aid of a Grammar of Assent. He was a plenary speaker at the World Congress on Metaphysics in Rome in July of 2003, and has published a number of articles in various journals around the world on a variety of subjects including mysticism, natural theology, human rights, cultural progress, comparative religion, and Trinitarian theology. He was Director of International Academic Affairs from 1999-2004 at Notre Dame University. Dr. Alam resides in Lebanon with his wife and four children.

Paul Allen
Assistant Professor, Department of Theological Studies, Concordia University
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Paper Title: What is a Theological Explanation?
Tuesday, June 7 9:00 am - 10:30 am in Hall of Flags

Recent work in the philosophy of science suggests that critical realism is controverted in its attempts to reconcile mutually opposed priorities in epistemology. In developing Popper's falsificationism, critical realists have affirmed both the objective logic of inference and the creative, socially contingent, subjective nature of human understanding. But, can this be done without stretching the meaning of critical realism to breaking point? What about theological explanations? Can they be depicted in critical realist terms? Is there a theological equivalent to scientific critical realism?

In this paper, I show, through attention to the contributions of Ernan McMullin (scientific realism), Wentzel van Huyssteen (postfoundationalism) and Bernard Lonergan (theological functional specialties), that theological explanations can be construed analogously to scientific explanations. The key difference in theology lies in terms of the ultimacy of meaning and the value predicated of existence.

In his position of scientific realism, McMullin has developed a theory of scientific explanation that he terms retroduction. This is a realist, probabilistic, and historical theory of science. Where retroduction pertains to the science-theology dialogue is by correcting the popular approaches to knowledge in the writings of Thomas Kuhn and Imre Lakatos. Kuhn and Lakatos have been widely interpreted by theologians for their holist rationality, widely regarded as applicable to theological explanation. Sympathetic theological interpretations of Lakatos, for instance, have focused on the dialectic between core doctrines and auxiliary hypotheses. But, these interpretations generally provide for merely a heuristic portrait of theology, which is inadequate. On its own, a heuristic only follows the epistemological structure of questions and answers, it does not attempt to judge the worth of the structure of the explanations given. To go from a heuristic to an explanatory perspective, I argue that elements from McMullin's retroduction theory such as: a) theory assessment criteria, b) insight and c) truth as correspondence can legitimately be used to measure the effectiveness of theological explanations. I cite the anthropic principle as an example to suggest what is and what is not explanatory in science and theology.

I end the paper with a few reflections on how my interpretation of a theological explanation, in borrowing from McMullin, may be similar to that of Wentzel van Huyssteen, who has developed a postfoundationalist theory of theological explanation that claims rationality is 'transversal.' This notion of theological explanation may also be similar to the way that Bernard Lonergan defined systematics in his scientifically inspired theological method of functional specialties. For Lonergan's conception of theology, as McMullin's reading of science anticipates, the twin priorities of discovery and verification are wedded to human rationality and the object of religious knowledge. Here, as critical realists tried to suggest earlier, the problem of subject/object opposition is mitigated.

Paul Allen is Assistant Professor in Theology at Concordia University, a public university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He received his Ph.D. from L’Université Saint-Paul in the University of Ottawa. Allen has two books in progress, including Via Media: Ernan McMullin and Critical Realism in the Science-Theology Dialogue (forthcoming; and hHe is co-author, with Peter M.J. Hess, of the forthcoming volume Catholicism and the Sciences, in the Greenwood Religion and Science series. He has chapters / articles in a number of collected works and journals such as Théologiques and the Encyclopedia of Science and Religion. He teaches in the area of systematic theology, inter-religious dialogue, science and religion, and faith and culture. He lives in Montreal with his spouse and two children.

D. Brian Austin
Associate Professor and Chair, Department of Philosophy, Carson-Newman College
Jefferson City, Tennessee, USA
Paper Title: The Nature of the Supernatural: Possible Routes through the Conceptual Conundrums of the Natural/Supernatural Distinction
Tuesday, June 7 11:00 am - 12:30 pm in Hall of Flags

Many of the most active debates in the Religion/Science field deal with the supernatural. From ID to naturalistic theism the words "nature" and "supernatural" are used repeatedly. Very often these terms are used in ambiguous or imprecise ways. Often they are used polemically, a usage that further erodes any philosophical substance that the words may have. There have been a few philosophical works that contribute to the clarification of the meaning of these key concepts, a notable example being Del Ratzsch’s Nature, Design and Science: The Status of Design in Natural Science (Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 2001). This work does an excellent job of exposing our intuitions about what counts as "natural" (as well as "designed"). Ratzsch’s monograph is valuable to the discussion of the natural/supernatural distinction primarily because it frames clearly the (nearly?) intractable difficulties of making sense of this distinction.

Part One of the paper will examine the difficulties of distinguishing nature from supernature, focusing on Ratzsch’s notion of "counterflow." The paper will attempt to show that many of the debates about supposedly natural and supernatural causation reduce to a question about the origins of intelligence--a question whose full answer will require, of course, an understanding of the nature of intelligence itself. Prospects of solving this problem, as posed, are not bright.

Part Two of the paper focuses on American philosopher Charles Sanders Peirce, who inspired Southern U. S. novelist Walker Percy to begin to think in new ways about the way in which human intelligence transcends normal avenues of cause and effect. Peirce’s notion that logic boils down to "signs" and their relations suggested to Percy and to many others a potentially very profitable way to approach questions of intelligence and free will, those human qualities that suggest a human transcendence over the "natural" world. Percy's heavily Peirce-influenced essay collection, The Message in a Bottle (NY: Farrar, Strauss, Giroux, 1975), offers a vision of how human experience transcends "laws of nature." If this kind of semiotic transcendence is the prime analogy for talk of other kinds of transcendence (the "supernatural") then new dialogue directions may be opened.

Part Three of the paper consists of a preliminary exploration of ways in which Peirce’s statistical reading of experience and his notion of the "transcendent" sign can help to reframe claims and questions about the "supernatural" in ways that do not suffer the conceptual difficulties described above. The paper will argue that while this reframing will not solve these problems (which may, in the end, turn out to be mysteries), it may serve to elevate affected parts of the Religion/Science dialogue into regions of more light, less heat, and promising new directions.

D. Brian Austin is Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Philosophy at Carson-Newman College, Jefferson City, Tennessee, USA. He has presented and published in the Religion/Science field since 1989, when he completed his dissertation under the tutelage of Dr. Eric Rust and Dr. Richard Cunningham at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He won a Templeton Foundation Religion/Science course award in 1998 and published The End of Certainty and the Beginning of Faith (Macon, GA: Smyth and Helwys Publishing) in 2000. He has also published religion/science works in Great Thinkers of the Western World (HarperSanFrancisco, 1992) and Facets of Faith and Science (UPA, 1996).

Robert R. Barth
Director, Office of Prayer Research, Unity®
Unity Village, Missouri, USA
Paper Title: The Office of Prayer Research^SM: A Bridge of Information and Understanding between Science and Religion on the Scientific Study of Prayer
Tuesday, June 7 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm in Franklin Room

Historically, when science and religion have come together, there has been more clash than collaboration. To give men and women of science and spirit a place to explore, confer, and pursue common possibilities, Unity® founded the Office of Prayer Research in July 2004. Its mission is to advance scientific research on the effects of prayer and to serve as a conduit for the exchange of information about prayer studies. The Office of Prayer Research provides an opportunity to make significant contributions toward humankind’s scientific understanding of the power of prayer and its overall impact on health.

The history of prayer research began in 1872 with a study conducted by Francis Galton, a cousin of Charles Darwin. Galton set out to prove that prayer did not have an impact on the longevity of the person praying or receiving prayer. Since then, more than 500 scientific prayer studies have been documented and are now being reviewed by the Office of Prayer Research. The Office of Prayer Research has developed an expanding online database of scientifically credible prayer study summaries, the only clearinghouse of information of its kind, available at http://www.officeofprayerresearch.org.

While some of the evidence demonstrates that religion, spirituality, and prayer have a positive impact on health, within the studies, there is a great deal of speculation as to why prayer has such a positive impact. Some studies indicate it could be because religion promotes a healthier lifestyle, or that more support is offered to members of church congregations, or because meditation and times of quiet and prayer can help relieve stress. Other studies tackle the issue of whether the power of prayer comes from God.

Some of the challenges facing researchers as they study prayer include: how science, so accustomed to dealing with the tangible, can prove the existence of things that are taken on faith; how researchers can establish "pure" control groups (groups that would not receive any prayer from anyone); and how researchers can account for psychological factors which may interact with health outcomes.

Bob Barth, director of the Office of Prayer Research, has a unique resumé in the study of both science and spirituality. He graduated from Gonzaga University where he studied physics and mathematics. He conducted research for the National Science Foundation in nuclear physics. It was while working on his master's degree in theoretical astrophysics at the University of Washington that Mr. Barth decided to become a minister.

Mr. Barth has worked at Unity for 20 years as a minister-educator and is the former director of what is now known as Unity Institute, Unity's department of education and ministerial school.

Mario Beauregard
Associate Professor, Departments of Radiology and Psychology, Universite de Montreal
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Paper Title: The Neurobiology of the Mystical Experience
Sunday, June 5 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm in Hall of Flags

The turn of the new millennium has seen the emergence of a new field of scientific investigation that I now call spiritual neuroscience. The main objective of this domain of research - at the crossroads of psychology, religion, and neuroscience – is to explore the neural underpinnings of religious/spiritual/mystical experiences. In line with this, my research team and I recently conducted two neuroimaging studies (one with functional magnetic resonance imaging or fMRI, the other with quantitative electroencephalography or QEEG) to identify the neuroelectrical and functional neuroanatomical correlates of the mystical union with God (Unio Mystica), the ultimate goal of the contemplative techniques practiced by Christian mystics. The subjects of these studies were fifteen Carmelite nuns. During my talk, I will present the results of these two neuroimaging investigations.

Mario Beauregard is currently associate professor in the Departments of Radiology and Psychology at the Universite de Montreal (Quebec, Canada). He obtained a B.Sc. in Psychology (1985) and a Ph.D. in Neuroscience (1992) from Universite de Montreal. His Ph.D. work was done under the supervision of Dr. Laurent Descarries and focused on the microiontopheretic characterization of dopaminergic neurotransmission in the rat's central nervous system. After obtaining his Ph.D., he did a first postdoctoral fellowship (1992-1994) with Dr. Jocelyne Bachevalier, at the Department of Neurobiology & Anatomy, University of Texas Medical School (in Houston).

His research topic was a second postdoctoral fellowship at the Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University (1994-1996), working this time on the neural basis of implicit memory in humans, under the guidance of Dr. Howard Chertkow. As an independent researcher, the leitmotiv of his research concerns the investigation of the neural substrate underlying the relationship between self-consciousness, volition, and emotion regulation. In order to do so, he uses functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), positron emission tomography (PET), and multi-channel EEG. Beauregard's other major research interests regard the mind-brain question and the neurobiology of spiritual transformation.

Stephen Bellamy
Ph.D student, Centre for Religion and the Biosciences, University College, Chester, United Kingdom, and Vicar of St James's Church
Local Society: Centre for Religion and the Biosciences
Birkdale, Southport, United Kingdom
Paper Title: Born to Save?: The Ethics of Tissue Typing
Monday, June 6 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm in Hall of Flags

Technology has made it possible not only to achieve in vitro fertilisation but also to test IVF embryos for their tissue type. This enables the selection for implantation of an embryo with the matching tissue type to an existing seriously ill sibling. When the resulting child is born, cord blood can be collected and subsequently used as a source of potentially life-saving stem cells for its sick sibling. Tissue typing was first done in the USA in 1999 and compatible stem cells were successfully used to treat a girl suffering from a serious and potentially fatal blood disorder.

A host of questions surround the practice of tissue typing. Is tissue typing compatible with a Christian view of what it means to be human or is it an unacceptably instrumental use of a human embryo or child? Does tissue typing constitute the first step down a ‘slippery slope’ to selecting embryos according to parental choice of desirable traits, in an unacceptable commodification of children? How significant is it that the request to tissue type is not driven by parental whim but by the serious medical condition in the ailing sibling? Should tissue typing be allowed for the purpose of providing donor cells to help not a sibling but another close relative, such as a parent? Is a future obligation placed on the tissue-matched child to continue to donate stem cells, tissue or even an organ to her ailing sibling? As preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) is a relatively new technique, what safety risks are entailed to the embryo or future child through removing a single cell for testing or through misdiagnosis?

As with all use of embryos even for routine IVF, tissue typing is subject to strict control and regulation in the UK, with every case requiring a specific license, yet there is no such legal restraint on the performance of PGD or tissue typing in the USA. Which is the better position ethically in regard to the prevention of unacceptable uses of the embryo or to the monitoring of the safety of such novel procedures?

Some secular responses to questions about tissue typing focus almost entirely on parental freedom and autonomy, yet this can be challenged as producing an ethic, driven by market forces, which could allow embryo selection and discard for almost any reason. Such a response ascribes no moral value to the embryo which is ever sufficient to overrule parental wishes.

Amongst the distinctive contributions of a Christian response are compassion towards the sick coupled with a mandate to seek healing by legitimate means, the belief that limits do exist to the permissible selection and discarding of embryos, and that a child should be accepted as a gift of God rather than as a commodity that we specify.

Stephen Bellamy is a parish priest in the Church of England, currently serving as Vicar of St James's Church, Birkdale in Southport, UK. His undergraduate degree was in chemistry from Jesus College, Oxford. He trained for ordained ministry at St John's College, Nottingham and was one of the founder members of the Society of Ordained Scientists when it was inaugurated in 1987. In addition to his parochial ministry he is also a part-time Ph.D. student at University College, Chester, researching how a Christian theological anthropology can inform ethical decision-making about genetic interventions in humans.

Barrett P. Brenton
Associate Professor of Anthropology, Department of Sociology & Anthropology, St. John's University
Queens, NY, USA
Paper Title: HIV/AIDS, Food Insecurity, and Genetically Modified Food Aid in Southern Africa: Seeking Common Ground Solutions through a Commitment to Peace, Justice and Sustainability

The recent drought and need for emergency food assistance in southern Africa is unlike similar crises that have emerged in the past. The impact of HIV/AIDS has exacerbated the problem to catastrophic proportions, creating a new variant of famine. A missing generation of productive parents is emerging as they die from HIV/AIDS, leaving grandparents and children burdened with the responsibility of food crop production. This has led to declines in the area of land planted, crop yields, agricultural knowledge, and household labor. Worsening regional economies and political uncertainty have added to the dilemma. Genetically modified maize as an emergency relief food has also become a paramount concern for countries like Zambia, who do not want it to contaminate local food production and taint export markets that demand genetically modified free foods. This is placed in contrast to the U.S Government's condemnation of countries limiting their acceptance of genetically modified relief food when people are near starvation. One solution with limited success has been to mill the maize before distribution so that it cannot be planted and have its altered genome spread into local crops. Rather than condemn countries for limiting their acceptance of genetically modified relief food, the crisis must be approached with an integrated perspective that deals simultaneously with HIV/AIDS, malnutrition, food insecurity, and concerns over food and crop safety. This paper will present current research on the coordination of responses to the unfolding food and health crises in southern Africa by international faith-based and secularly-oriented organizations, with a focus on the situation in Zambia. It will suggest how a broader approach to disease must integrate perspectives of peace, justice and sustainability in order to promote common ground solutions based in religious motivation and the use of appropriate scientific interventions. Finally, the paper confronts and challenges the assumption that there is a moral imperative to use biotechnology in order to meet the world's food needs.

Dr. Brenton, broadly trained as a Biocultural Anthropologist (B.A. University of Nebraska-Lincoln; M.A./Ph.D. University of Massachusetts-Amherst) is currently an Associate Professor of Anthropology, a Research Fellow for the Vincentian Center for Church and Society, and a Faculty Coordinator for the Local Societies Initiative: Roundtable on Religion, Science, and Social Justice at St. John's University. His primary specialty is the anthropology of food and health. Dr. Brenton's cross-cultural and global applied research experience has included work in South America, Southern and Eastern Africa, Western Europe, and in Native American communities across the U.S. His most recent publications include: associate editor for the 3 volume Encyclopedia of Food & Culture; co-editor of Global Perspectives on Complementary and Alternative Medicine; and a contributor on food policy issues to the Oxford Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink. In addition, he is co-editor of the international journal Ecology of Food and Nutrition, and is the past president of the Society for the Anthropology of Food and Nutrition, a section of the American Anthropological Association.

Emmanuel M. Carreira
Professor (retired), Philosophy Department, Universidad Pontificia Comillas
Local Society: Science, Culture, Theology Group, Associacion Espanola Ciencia y Cultura (AECyC)
Madrid, Spain
Paper Title: Finality in Science and Human Life

Human activities, both in the development of Science and in the Philosophical and Religious quest for meaning, constantly imply the conviction that one can find sufficient reasons to explain the "why" of existence, of order and of personal behavior. A careful use of scientific methodology will reveal its limitations in this regard, since we have to deal with concepts and realities that cannot be subjected to experimental checks and that cannot be quantified to introduce values in an equation. But their presence and importance in human thought and life cannot be denied, since ideas of purpose and free will are the foundations of every society and also of the religious convictions of most people through human history.

While in their own activities all scientists act according to the same presuppositions of human dignity, free choice and the quest for Truth, Order and Goodness, it is common to find in abstract discussions some statements that call into question those very assumptions, relegating intelligence to the realm of chance currents in the brain and free will to an illusion, possibly linked to the indeterminacy of quantum-mechanical processes in the neurons. Thus the most meaningful and goal-directed endeavors are finally attributed to chance, a word that ultimately has no content and is equivalent to a childish "just because."

In biblical anthropology the most daring definition of Man is put forward at the start: The Image and Likeness of the Creator. This dignity confers on human efforts the highest possible value, and on human existence the role of giving a sufficient reason for the existence and evolution of the Universe, even if its development leads to the final state of emptiness and cold that Cosmology predicts. Science, Philosophy and Theology appear as partial ways to know and understand the full richness of reality, from the atom to the Universe, from the simple cell to Man. They provide complementary views, each according to its own methodology and within a restricted area of application, but without conflict or subservience.

Fr. Emmanuel M. Carreira, S.J. has Licentiates in Philosophy and Theology, a Masters in Physics, and a Ph.D. in Physics from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. where he worked on cosmic rays directed by Dr. Clyde Cowan, co-discoverer of the neutrino. For 32 years he has taught the Philosophy of Nature at Comillas University, in Madrid, and Physics and Astronomy at the college level in Washington and Cleveland, alternating semesters. As part of the faculty and staff of the Vatican Observatory he participated in summer courses in Astrophysics, and for 15 years he was a member of the Observatory Board of Directors.

He has lectured with the sponsorship of the Vatican in Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Argentina, Uruguay and Chile. Other invitations have led to talks in Germany and Ireland, and in numerous Spanish universities. He also presented invited papers on Science and Faith in Cali and Medellin (Colombia), at the Congress on Metaphysics and Science (September 2000, Rome) and again at Santiago de Compostela (September 2002). His special interest is centered in Cosmology and its implications for Philosophy and Theology. His e-book in English, Essays on Faith and Science, is available on the Web.

Joanne M. Carroll
Associate Professor, St. John’s University College of Pharmacy and Allied Health Professions
Local Society: The Rosalie Rendu Roundtable on Religion and Science
Jamaica, New York, USA
Paper Title: Conservative Religious Ideology, U.S. Policy on Reproductive Services and the Impact on Women's Health
Tuesday, June 7 9:00 am - 10:30 am in Class of '49 Room

The HIV/AIDS epidemic and maternal mortality in developing countries present new challenges to religious institutions who oppose artificial contraceptive methods on moral grounds. As this moral agenda is increasingly influencing public policy, it is imperative that institutions reexamine these positions and include scientific and epidemiological data in the consideration of their stance. Moreover, while the official Catholic Church position opposes the use of artificial contraception, a 1995 survey of Catholics found that the majority of Catholics did not agree that use of contraceptives was immoral.

Conservative religious ideology is shaping U.S. domestic and international policy that funds the provision of HIV prevention and reproductive health services. These dramatically impact women's health. In the U.S., some conservative Christian denominations and the Catholic Church are strong advocates of a "pro-life" position that opposes abortion and also increasingly seeks to restrict the use of artificial contraceptive methods. These groups have influenced public policies that fund the development and implementation of sex education curricula, international aid programs and health services for women in the U.S. and abroad. A recent investigation by a Congressional committee found that 80% of abstinence-only curricula developed under federal grants contain misleading or erroneous information about reproduction, sexually transmitted diseases and/or contraception. An increasing proportion of funding for sex education in schools is being earmarked for abstinence-only programs, leaving young people with an incomplete understanding of reproductive health risks and prevention. On the international level, funding through the Leadership for AIDS, TB and Malaria earmarked 33% of the HIV prevention funding to be abstinence-only, prohibiting any mention of condoms. U.S. funding for some U.N. agencies and non-governmental organizations serving the developing world have been significantly reduced or withdrawn because of federal restrictions on provision of some reproductive health services. These cuts have resulted in the loss of entire health programs in areas without any other health resources.

Epidemiological data demonstrates that the spread of HIV is now highest in young women globally. The global surveillance data indicate soaring rates of infection in India and China as well as Africa. Poverty dramatically increases risk for infectious diseases and pregnancy related morbidity and mortality. Access to accurate information and provision of comprehensive health services, including contraception, must be employed to address the pressing needs of young people, especially women in these areas.

This paper, first, will present current epidemiological data about maternal morbidity and mortality from pregnancy-related complications, HIV transmission rates, AIDS prevalence and impact of HIV/AIDS in the developing world. Second, the paper will explore current U.S. domestic and international policies on reproductive health services that have been influenced by conservative religious ideology. Lastly, the paper will consider the impact such policies have on women’s health globally.

Dr. Carroll earned a Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from the City University of New York. Her research has explored the molecular mechanisms regulating the gene expression of the catecholamine biosynthetic enzymes responsible for the synthesis of adrenaline and related neurotransmitters in the nervous system. She teaches basic pharmaceutical sciences including human physiology, infectious diseases, clinical immunology, gene technology and public health. She also serves as the Director of Graduate Research Programs in the college. Since 2001, Dr. Carroll has been a fellow in the Vincentian Center for Church and Society at St. John’s. Her work with the Center has focused on social justice and health issues. Dr. Carroll in collaboration with Dr. Barry Brenton, Dr. Craig Baron and Sister Margaret John Kelly, with funding from the Metanexus Institute, is developing a Local Societies Initiative at St. John's University. The St. John's LSI is focused on Religion, Science and Social Justice and will include discussions on food, hunger, poverty, and health.

Jaime Castillo and Arturo Villanueva
Professor, IT Dept; Professor, Humanities Dept, Universidad Popular Autónoma del Estado de Puebla
Local Society: Centro de Estudios de Ciencia y Religion (CECIR)
Puebla, Mexico
Paper Title: The Mayans: Religion and Science
Tuesday, June 7 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm in Class of '49 Room

This paper portrays the relationship between science and religion of the prehispanic Mayan culture. The first part introduces a brief panorama of Mayan geography and history. The second part highlights essential religious concepts including cosmology, spirituality and sacrifice. The third part focuses on how the Mayans associated scientific developments in mathematics and astronomy with religion.

Prof. Jaime Francisco Castillo is full-time professor of Software Engineering at Universidad Popular Autónoma del Estado de Puebla (UPAEP), in Puebla, Mexico, where he has been teaching for the past 13 years. He obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology in 1989 from the Universidad del Valle de Puebla, Mexico, and his Master’s in Information Technology from UPAEP in 2005. Jaime specializes in software engineering, software quality assurance and systems development project management. He has directed several educational joint venture projects with San Diego State University and with the University of Central Oklahoma, where he has done postgraduate studies in IT. Jaime is a founding member of the Center for Science and Religion Studies (CECIR) at UPAEP, and in January 2002, was co-collaborator of the Latin American Workshop of the Science and Religion Course Program and the VI International Encounter of the Centers of Culture, both held at UPAEP.

Prof. Arturo Villanueva was born in Puebla, Mexico in 1965. He received his Bachelor´s degree in Chemical Engineering from the Universidad Popular Autónoma del Estado de Puebla (UPAEP), Mexico in 1995. Prof. Villanueva obtained his first Master’s degree in Education from the same university in 2001, and a second Master’s degree in Communication and Educational Technology from the Latin-American Educational Communication Institute (ILCE), Mexico in 2004. He has collaborated with the Center for Science and Religion Studies (CECIR) at UPAEP with the translation of basic documents. He designed the multimedia courses for the Humanities department involving philosophy courses for all the undergraduate programs at UPAEP, where he is currently full-time professor and coordinator of the Humanities Program.

Gang Chen
Associate Professor, Dept of Philosophy, Huazhong University of Science & Technology
Local Society: Center for the Study of Science and Human Spirituality
Wuhan, Hubei, China
Paper Title: On the Mind-Body Problem: From a Natural Point of View

To define mental events as perceptions from an internal point of view and physical events as perceptions from an external point of view, and to walk along the fine line between the mental and the physical, the author develops a perception dualism, which explains some long-persisting ontological issues in philosophy of mind, such as the mind-body relation, the psycho-physical interaction, and the clash between free will and natural necessity. It also recovers some of the observations and conclusions achieved by Descartes and Leibniz. Perception is the most essential feature of mind. While defining mental/physical events in terms of perceptions, the author also develops a theory of perception, and an argument for the reality of spirituality.

Prof. Chen specializes in History of Science, Philosophy of Science and Philosophy of Mind. He studied in the aforementioned fields at Wuhan University (China), the University of Cambridge (UK) and the University of Western Ontario (Canada). His papers have appeared in the most influential journals and newspapers in China in recent years. He is Executive Director of the Research Center for Current Philosophy which is sponsored by the "State 985 Fund." He is responsible for the international academic exchange for the Department of Philosophy at Huazhong University of Science and Technology. He will be the coordinator on campus for the Sino-British Summer School of Philosophy held at HUST in 2005.

Adam Kiplangat arap Chepkwony
Chairperson, DRS Group and Associate Professor of Religion, Department of Religion, Moi University
Local Society: Dialogue on Religion and Science Group
Eldoret, Kenya
Paper Title: Religion and Science: Living 'Double' Lives in Africa
Tuesday, June 7 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm in Class of '49 Room

In Africa, religion and science are not dichotomized as perceived in the western understanding. Religion is seen as the central pillar which embraces all aspects of life. The introduction of Christianity and colonization in the early nineteenth century however changed this understanding. In particular, the missionaries used biomedicine to prove the superiority of the Christian faith. The Africans, however, discovered that faith and science were perceived as two distinct entities by the new comers.

The Africans also discovered that the new faith conflicted with traditional religion. They were particularly put in a compromising position when the missionaries discouraged and attempted to eradicate their culture. At the same time, the Africans discovered that science and technology served their needs and improved their livelihood directly. On the other hand, their traditional religion responded to their needs better than the new faith.

This paper discusses the 'double' lives that the majority of Africans live today as followers of Christianity on the one hand and consumers of scientific and technological development on the other; as adherents of Christianity, and at the same time, followers of traditional religion. This scenario has forced many elite Africans to live 'double' lives as explained in this paper.

Prof. Adam Kiplangat arap Chepkwony is a Kenyan and currently serves as Associate Professor of Religion at Moi University in Kenya. He did his undergraduate work at Houghton College, in Houghton, New York where he obtained his BA degree in 1976. For a Masters Degree in Religion, he went to Asbury Theological Seminary and graduated in 1978.

Prof. arap Chepkwony’s teaching career began in 1978 as a teacher in a secondary school. In 1981 he did a one year Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) at the University of Nairobi, Kenya. Thereafter he taught at a Teacher Training Institution from 1981 to 1989 when he was appointed a Tutorial fellow at Moi University, Department of Religion.

At Moi University, he has taught and supervised students in the area of Comparative Religion with special emphasis on African Religion. In 1997 he graduated with a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Religion from Moi University. He also has a Higher Diploma certificate in Psychological Counseling obtained in 2003. He served as the Head of Department from 1997 to 2003 and currently is the External Examiner of Makerere University in Uganda. He has published several journal articles, book chapters, and encyclopedia entries. His interest in Religion and Science has developed since he was invited to The Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences, at Berkeley, California in 2000. He won a CTNS/Templeton Foundation Science and Religion course award in the year 2002 and the Local Societies Initiative award in 2004. He is presently the chairperson of Dialogue in Religion and Science Group at Moi University, Kenya; the contact person of African Association of the Study of Religion and the Chair of Ecumenical symposium of Eastern African Theologians.

Ronald Cole-Turner
Professor of Theology and Ethics, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Paper Title: Design and Destiny: Philosophical and Religious Perspectives on Human Germline Modification
Monday, June 6 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm in Hall of Flags

Although human germline modification remains some years in the future, interim technologies are already in clinical practice. These include preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) and cytoplasmic transfer. Germline modification is well established in other mammals, including other primates. Most observers believe that it is just a matter of time before it is attempted in human beings.

Issues of safety are paramount in any decision to go ahead with human germline modification, and it may turn out that current standards of safety simply cannot be met, given the possible long-term effects of germline modification. But it is quite reasonable to assume that given enough time, safety issues will be resolved and that as a society we will have to answer the question: Should we intentionally modify the genes of our offspring?

This paper reviews the arguments for and against germline modification that are put forward by bioethicists, philosophers, theologians, and religious leaders. Arguments in favor include possible benefits to future patients and the right of parents to exercise reasonable freedom in reproduction. Arguments against include the potential risks, including risks to distant descendants; possible violation of human nature, dignity, or rights; potential objectification of offspring and distortion of the parent-child relationship; the prospect of the loss of freedom for modified offspring who lose the sole authorship of their lives; and the possible loss of equality among human beings, which is the necessary precondition for human moral community. Each of these objections is criticized, with the conclusion drawn that they do not succeed as a compelling argument against every form or use of germline modification, and therefore do not justify a comprehensive ban.

Next, the paper reviews religious perspectives. Religious objections range from concerns about the status of the embryo to a defense of the sovereign right of God as the sole creator of each individual human life. Many assume, of course, that religion (or at least Christianity) is categorically opposed to this technology. Perhaps surprisingly, however, a number of religious leaders and scholars have remained open to the prospect of human germline modification, assuming of course that safety can be achieved. These opinions, which range from views held by Paul Ramsey to Karl Rahner to Pope John Paul II, will be summarized. In essence, they take two forms: the prospect and duty for therapy and the rightful openness of humanity to self-transcendence (found in Rahner). To these the paper adds a third religious argument in support of the possibility of germline modification, namely, that human technology may be a means by which divine creation continues and is taken to levels unattainable without technology. In this light, it is possible even to entertain, with caution and yet without theological prohibition, the prospect that we should engineer post-human forms of existence.

Ronald Cole-Turner is on the faculty of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, where he holds the H. Parker Sharp Chair in Theology and Ethics, a position that relates theology, science, ethics, and technology. He is a graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary (Ph.D. and the M.Div.). His publications include The New Genesis: Theology and the Genetic Revolution (1993); Pastoral Genetics: Theology and Care at the Beginning of Life (co-authored, 1996); Human Cloning: Religious Responses (edited, 1997); Beyond Cloning: Religion and the Remaking of Humanity (edited, 2001); and God and the Embryo: Religious Voices on Stems Cells and Cloning (co-edited, 2002). He is currently editing a book on the question of human germline modification.

Larry J. Crockett
Professor of Computer Science and Director of the Honors Program, Augsburg College, and Priest, Episcopal Diocese of Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Paper Title: Radical Heterodoxy in Science and Radical Orthodoxy in Christianity: The Implications of Wolfram's Revolt in Science for Radical Orthodoxy in Theology
Tuesday, June 7 9:00 am - 10:30 am in Hall of Flags

Aside from relative backwaters here and there or except in major profile cases, cries of "heresy" are heard less often in Christianity today than in the past. But in an ironic turn of events, cries of "heresy" are now more newsworthy in science. The most notable heretic in contemporary science is Stephen Wolfram. Wolfram's central claim is that algorithms are at once simpler and more powerful than equations.

Wolfram tries to convince us that most advances in traditional modern science involved finding a shortcut that allows us to determine the outcome of a system’s behavior without calculating each step of its development; such equations express the computationally reducible. Since most scientific activity moved to northern Europe after the Renaissance and later the Counter Reformation, the idea of the equation progressively supplanted the older Mediterranean idea of the algorithm as the pivotal computational principle in science.

But the rise of complexity studies has documented the diminishing returns of equation-based conventional science. It is remarkable, in fact, how little can be explained scientifically: turbulence, American politics, and epilepsy, for example. Wolfram argues that equations cannot usefully help us model such phenomena. Instead, Wolfram urges us to abandon equations if we wish to model complex phenomena and embrace algorithms in general and computer simulations with cellular automata in particular. Cellular automata simulations of complex systems turn out to be computationally irreducible.

Radical orthodoxy (RO) in Christian theology is a "post-secular theology" that has been expressed most notably by a trinity of writers: John Milbank, Graham Ward, and Catherine Pickstock. Several central ideas characterize RO. First, 20th-century modernism, inspired most of all by the Enlightenment, is in its death throes. Modernism assumed, among other things, that an exact picture of the material world is possible, at least in principle. We know now our epistemic situation is much more dire.

Second, what might be called the "secular consensus" is also dying. As Jeff Sharlett has commented, "the logic of secularism" is dissolving. Post-modernism has successfully derailed the philosophical and cultural consensus that provided a foundation for modernism. Foundation talk is now seen as irremediably quaint. Third, post-modernism itself has turned out to be a self-destructive movement. There is no foundation either for modernism or post-modernism.

Fourth, RO argues that all that remains is language expressed in communities. Indeed, the logos of God is the only certainty that can withstand all the limitative results from the twentieth century. More specifically, Pickstock argues that the Western philosophical tradition itself lives within the liturgy of the church and the liturgy, in fact, is the only context in which it can live. Notably, all human attempts at knowledge and understanding must be rooted in theology.

This paper explores the implications of Wolfram's emphasis on program and computational irreducibility for RO's emphasis on liturgy and theology. Program will be argued to be the computational analogue in science to liturgy in Christian community. Each involves irreducible, step-by-step work to create models for problems and contexts for meaning. I believe that some light can be cast on how science's relationship to Christianity should be reframed.

Larry Crockett is Professor of Computer Science and Director of the Honors Program at Augsburg College, Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is also a priest in the Diocese of Minnesota and serves part-time at St. Mary’s Church, the oldest Episcopal Church in Minnesota. He is the author of two books, Universal Assembly Language (McGraw-Hill) and The Turing Test and the Frame Problem: AI's Mistaken Understanding of Intelligence (Ablex). He is one of the co-authors of Teaching and Learning in Honors, published by the National Collegiate Honors Council. He has authored more than twenty-five articles in a variety of publications, ranging from Computer Language to Quodlibet. At Augsburg he teaches courses in computer science, the Honors Program, religion, and philosophy. He is a past-recipient of a Templeton Course Development prize and has been principle investigator for a number of National Science Foundation grant projects.

Tulshiram Hari Date
Indian Institute of Industrial and Applicable Mathematics
Pune, India
Paper Title: The Relevance of Scientific Conclusions to Religion

The role of religion in modern scientific development is discussed with special reference to the Vedas and Upanishadas. Thoughts of the eastern mystics are of importance to the study of General Relativity and Quantum Theory. The science-religion dialogue in context of recent developments in modern science is the focal point of the paper.

T. H. Date, Ph.D. is presently President of the Indian Academy of Industrial and Applicable Mathematics, Pune, India. He was Tilak Professor of Applied Mathematics at University of Pune. His specialization is Relativity, Gravitation and Cosmology. He has published papers in various national and international journals like GRG Journal, Physics Review, and Astrophysics Journal. His interest is in Science and Spirituality.

Dana David
Independent Researcher
New York, New York, USA
Paper Title: A Vernacular Healing System: Reinventing the Circle with Cadien Treaters
Tuesday, June 7 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm in Class of '49 Room

According to medical anthropologists more than 80% of the world’s population is wholly or partially dependent on vernacular healing systems (traditional medicine) for meeting their health care needs. This 80% includes peoples of the developing world as well as indigenous and minority ethnic groups in industrialized countries. This situation is not expected to change in the near future. Furthermore, the increasing spread of chronic diseases such as diabetes and cancer, together with the renewed threat of re-emergent infectious diseases, makes it urgent that we reach a better understanding of vernacular healing systems and the role they play in the health of peoples who rely on them.

Recourse to vernacular treatments suggests that the two systems, bio-medicine and traitement, are complimentary and exist side by side. Combining what appear to be disparate elements--medication and prayer--demonstrates how individuals integrate health traditions and underscore the social aspect of illness. In examining Cadien healers in South Louisiana, known as treaters, their knowledge of prayers taught to them by older community members for ailments ranging from warts to pneumonia qualify treaters to administer treatments which involves praying over the sick individual. Many individuals state that any body of water between the treater and the patient limits the effectiveness of a treatment. In breaking down the speech act into components, patient and illness are both the subject. In the interaction between patient and healer, the patient initiates the healing act by asking for a treatment, defining their illness, and giving a gift. While the interaction reflects the values of reciprocity fundamental to Cadien culture and empowers the individual, it does not mirror the interaction between patient and medical practitioner where the patient is the object.

An important cultural implication developing out of an analysis of the speech act in a treatment session is the coexistence of both scientific and traditional systems. Referring to the clinical experience, Foucault in Naissance de la Clinique points out the objectification of sickness. The clinical experience shifted the rapport from the individual in relation to himself to language about things. Foucault points out that the articulation of medical language is around the object, which is the patient. Medical discourse evacuates the interactive, verbal process characteristic of socio-medical systems such as treating. Analysis of treating act allows for identification of important interactive elements pertinent to vernacular medicine and highlights a necessity for health care that is more interactive.

Cadien healers known as treaters and their practice of traditional medicine is situated in the domain of vernacular systems of belief about health that explore experiences, beliefs, and values which influence an individual’s choice about medical care. Treaters and the body of popular knowledge that supports their practice demonstrate that illness, while an individual experience, is culturally defined. An important implication for further study would be to outline a classification system that would serve health care providers with an understanding of how individuals in traditional communities make choices in seeking out heath care.

Dana A. David received her M.A. from Middlebury College in 1991 and her Ph.D. in Francophone Studies from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in 2000. Her dissertation, "Parole, pratique et pouvoir: le role des traiteurs dans la société cadienne," takes a phenomenological approach to the study of vernacular medicine practiced by Cadien treaters in the region west of Lafayette.

She has conducted extensive fieldwork with traiteurs, celebrated Mardi Gras with an all women’s run, and collected data for a forthcoming Cadien Dictionary. Her research interests include vernacular medicine, documenting cultural definitions of illness, and personal narratives. She is currently an independent researcher and employed as a flight attendant living in New York City.

Gregory N. Derry
Professor, Physics Department, Loyola College in Maryland
Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Paper Title: Apprehending Nature Within a Generalized Framework of Complementarity
Tuesday, June 7 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm in Golkin Room

Complementarity is the name given to a framework for the analysis of ideas worked out by Niels Bohr as part of his work in the interpretation of quantum theory. Within this framework, it becomes possible to maintain the truth of contrary descriptions, which are considered not as competing contradictions but rather as complementary aspects that are both needed for a complete understanding. Complementarity has been controversial, sometimes hailed as a liberating way to face a complex world but also condemned as obscurantism and a flight from reason. Several thinkers have proposed complementarity as a valuable way in which to view the relationship between science and religion, but this too has been criticized on grounds of logic and has been feared as an excuse to maintain the mutual irrelevance of scientific and religious worldviews. Most of these proposals and criticisms, however, have divorced complementarity from its logical development by Bohr in response to contingent facts and within the context of broader epistemological issues. To understand what potential role complementarity may play in the discussion of science/religion issues, we must start by understanding the subtle line of thought devised by Bohr, consisting of four crucial premises: interactions at the microscopic scale are discontinuous (the "quantum postulate"); an observed object cannot be known except through some means of observation; space-time coordination and causality are thus no longer simultaneously compatible; classical concepts like space-time coordination and causality are indispensable for describing physical phenomena. From these premises, the complementarity interpretation of quantum theory can be developed and then expanded to explain both indeterminacy and wave-particle duality. Bohr hoped to broaden the "epistemological lesson" of complementarity to include other sciences, but he restricted its application to empirical studies. In this work, I will develop a set of premises that are analogous to those of Bohr but suitably widened in scope so as to include non-empirical dimensions of existence. For example, the "means of observation" in Bohr's formulation is a non-sentient experimental apparatus, but in the present version this is taken to mean a subjective knower as in the tradition of critical philosophy. By employing a set of appropriate analogies of this type, a generalized framework of complementarity is worked out based closely on Bohr’s reasoning but now appropriate for analyses beyond restrictions confined to empirical data. The resulting generalized complementarity framework will then be used to demonstrate that a view of nature based on scientific materialism and a view of nature entailing a sacred aspect are both equally true, do not contradict each other, and are both necessary in order to have a complete understanding of nature. Implications of holding these complementary views of nature as sacred and nature as mundane will be explored, and limitations on each view required for logical consistency will be noted. The usefulness of this methodology for examining traditional problems like creation, design, and the basis of human consciousness will be briefly indicated.

Gregory N. Derry is a professor of physics and former chair of the Physics Department at Loyola College in Maryland. He teaches at all levels and maintains an ongoing research program in experimental surface physics. He has also written an introductory book on the nature of scientific inquiry, What Science Is and How It Works, published by Princeton University Press. In addition to the chapter on the relationship of science to religion in his book, he has also published an article on the role of mathematics in the religious concepts of various cultures and times, called "Matter, Divinity, and Number." Designated as a Newman Scholar by his institution several years ago, Prof. Derry presented a critical commentary on Cardinal Newman’s concept of science and how it relates to theology and to liberal education. He holds a B.S. degree from Union College and a Ph.D. from the Pennsylvania State University, both in physics. Previous appointments include Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Fernando di Mieri
Professore Incaricato di Filosofia della Conoscenza presso lo Studio Filosofico Interprovinciale dei Domenicani d’Italia "San Tommaso d’Aquino"
Local Society: Studio Filosofico Interprovinciale "San Tommaso d’Aquino"
Naples, Italy
Paper Title: Roman Church, Philosophy and Science in front of the Concepti
Tuesday, June 7 9:00 am - 10:30 am in Franklin Room

Generally speaking, the Roman Church has been strongly criticized as an enemy of scientific progress; for example, its responses to Galileo and Darwin. Now, she is under attack as a result of her defence of life unborn. Many scientists, who say they speak in the name of Science, argue that the Church is greatly damaging research in many fundamental fields and, in order to defend pre-embryos, is not being sensitive to the illness and suffering of so many people, waiting for new relief that may come as a result of stem cell research. The Roman Church, Magistra humanitatis, would be such an adversary of mankind.

In this paper, I speak about the necessity of completely changing this paradigm. In fact, by means of an evaluation of some scientific facts and philosophical interpretations, I want to show that the Catholic Church speaks just as she does because she is particularly careful about new scientific advances. So, she is really interested in science and, looking at this, can propose her ethical message.

Too many times, the name of St. Thomas Aquinas, who is the highest Catholic thinker, is used in order to show a sort of incoherence in Catholic documents. My paper will finish by elucidating the proper thought of St. Thomas and his attention to science that, if related to the present century, would sustain the doctrine of the immediate rational animation of the conceptus. I try to show, then, that Aquinas is, from a certain point of view, inconsistent with his own premises.

Fernando di Mieri was born in 1956. After gaining the Laurea in Philosophy at the University of Salerno in 1978 he began his academic activity as a Cultore della materia at the Istituto di Pedagogia first and at the Department of Philosophy successively in the same University. In the meantime he began to teach at the Istituto Filosofico "San Tommaso d’Aquino." Now he teaches Philosophy of Knowledge at the Studio Filosofico Interprovinciale dei Domenicani d’Italia "San Tommaso d’Aquino"-Naples. He has been appointed as a visiting professor at the University of Toronto and as Faculty Visitor at the University of Oxford-Sub-Faculty of Philosophy. Among his publications, there are the following: "Il 'De Institutione Arithmetica' di Severino Boezio" (in Sapienza, Naples 1983), "Simone Weil e il pensiero debole" (ibid em, ... ), "Il Risorgimento di Giacomo Leopardi" (in Rivista di Studi Italiani,Toronto 1998) and the contributions to the books La Riforma Gentile (Rome 1983), Aspetti della scuola fascista(Naples 1984), et alii.

The relationship between science and faith has been a major theme in recent years and di Mieri is going to publish his lectures from the Studio Filosofico Interprovinciale dei Domenicani d’Italia "San Tommaso d’Aquino"-Naples.

Kathleen Duffy
Professor of Physics, Chestnut Hill College and President, Metanexus Institute
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Paper Title: Teilhard and the Texture of the Evolutionary Cosmos
Sunday, June 5 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm in Hall of Flags

Jesuit paleontologist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, whose 50th death anniversary we celebrate this year, is a pioneer in the science and religion dialogue. Reacting to a theology that ignored the theory of evolution, he developed a synthetic view of the cosmos by integrating the evolutionary theory with his Christian beliefs. To effect this synthesis he made wide use of scientific imagery. Sometimes subtle, this imagery is taken mainly from physics but also from chemistry and biology. At times his images even allude to modern developments in science such as chaos theory, complexity theory, and superstring theory. This lecture will examine the integrative power of metaphor; in particular, it will address Teilhard's scientific imagery as it pertains to cosmic evolution, and it will examine its effectiveness.

Kathleen Duffy, SSJ received her PhD in Physics from Drexel University. Currently, she is Professor of Physics at Chestnut Hill College. Formerly, she taught physics at Drexel University, Bryn Mawr College, Ateneo de Manila University and University of the Philippines. She has published research in atomic and molecular physics and in chaos theory in journals such as Physics Review Letters, Journal of Chemical Physics and Chemical Physics Letters, as well as Philippine journals and bulletins. She is presently president of the Board of Directors of the Metanexus Institute for Religion and Science and Cosmos and Creation. Her current research interest is in the synthetic work of Teilhard de Chardin and its relationship to modern developments in science. She has published some of her work in this field in Teilhard Studies.

George F. R. Ellis
Mathematics Department, University of Cape Town
Cape Town, South Africa
Paper Title: Physics and the Real World
Sunday, June 5 11:00 am - 12:30 pm in Hall of Flags

This talk will point out some of the ways that physics underlies the functioning of complex systems, including the human mind. The limits of reductionist physics in describing such systems will be considered. In particular it will be pointed out how present day physics gives a causally incomplete understanding of the real every-day world, because it does not comprehend human volition, which is clearly causally effective. Various aspects of and attitudes to this causal incompleteness will be considered.

George F. R. Ellis, Ph.D., is professor of Applied Mathematics at the University of Cape Town. After completing his Ph.D. at Cambridge University with Dennis Sciama as supervisor, he lectured at Cambridge and has been visiting Professor at Texas University, the University of Chicago, Hamburg University, Boston University, the University of Alberta, and Queen Mary College (London University). He has written many books and papers on relativity theory and cosmology, among them The Large Scale Structure of Space Time, co-authored with Stephen Hawking (Cambridge University Press,1973); Before the Beginning: Cosmology Explained (Merion Boyars, 1993); Is the Universe Open or Closed? The Density of Matter in the Universe with Peter Coles (Cambridge University Press, 1997); and Dynamical Systems in Cosmology with John Wainwright. He has also written on science policy and developmental issues, science education, and science and religion issues. He is co-author with Nancey Murphy of On the Moral Nature of the Universe (Fortress Press, 1996) and editor of The Far-flung Universe: Eschatology from a Cosmic Perspective (Templeton Foundation Press, 2002). He is past president of the International Society of General Relativity and Gravitation and of the Royal Society of South Africa and fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications. Among the prizes and honorary degrees he has received are the Claude Harris Leon Foundation Achievement Award, the Gold Medal of the South African Association for the Advancement of Science, and the Star of South Africa Medal, which was presented to him in 1999 by President Nelson Mandela. He is the recipient of the 2004 Templeton Prize.

Valery N. Finoghentov
Professor, Chief of Department of Philosophy, Ufa State Institute of Service
Local Society: Quest for Modern Worldviews
Ufa, Russia
Paper Title: Interplay between Science and Religion: Methodologist's Reflections
Monday, June 6 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm in Class of '49 Room

Contemporary relations between science and religion have become more complicated because in today’s world, different cultures interplay and collide with each other. These cultures can differ radically according to the place which science and religion occupy in them. Indisputably, the problem of the interplay of science and religion can not even be posed beyond its socio-cultural context nor without defining the socio-cultural framework. What follows is that dealing with this problem in a contemporary context requires a certain methodological basis: a typologisation of cultures is necessary (in our opinion), which must be relevant to the problem under consideration. This typologisation, at the same time, is a scheme for considering a crucial (for our problem) period in the development of cultures. An essential element of the proposed methodological basis is identifying the culture represented in the western society (and the culture which is being formed in Russia at present) with one of the proposed types of culture. In our opinion, when reflecting upon the interplay of science and religion, it would be appropriate to proceed from the following typologisation of cultures.

The first type corresponds to cultures which should be characterized as monocentrical. In our case it would be religiocentrical cultures. They are characterized (as it is seen from the notion itself) as being "oriented in accordance with" one center, which determines and organizes everything else. Religion is such a center. Religion underlies this type of culture, permeates all other sectors of culture, sanctions them, dictates the rules of play, and treats them as minor or subordinate. In the course of the substantial part of human history, there have existed religiocentrical cultures. Many of them remain religiocentrical even in our time.

Still, religiocentricity is a transient state of a culture. Starting at least from the 17th century, a culture of a new type began taking shape. At that time secularization processes became intensified. Other spheres of culture and social life (politics, economics, art, education, science and technology) started to ease themselves from the dominating influence of religion, to gain more and more independence and self-sufficiency. Science is highly valued in such a transitional culture: it is considered most valued and virtually omnipotent. Science is thought as a means of tackling all the problems that face man and humanity. The common belief that science is leading (and will lead) to truth, justice, and happiness is inherent insuch a transitional (from the monocentrical to the polycentrical) society. In this culture a peculiar religious attitude is being formed towards science. Yet, it would not be correct to define such a society as science-centrical. Actually, science has never been a foundation of culture, has never molded other sectors of culture. But the trend of a transitional society towards science-centeredness has always been obvious. It is assumed that the trajectory of cultural development (from the Middle Ages to the present) should be pictured as follows: monocentrical (religiocentrical) culture – transitional one (from religiocentrical to polycentrical) - polycentrical culture. Within the framework of the approach suggested in this article, a culture that is being formed at present in Russia (and that has in the main been formed in Western society) can be defined as fundamentally polycentrical. There is no, there cannot be, there must not be a single center that fully determines such a culture. Diverse spheres of such culture are self-sufficient, relatively autonomous, and fulfill specialized functions. Assuming the polycentrical character of the present-day culture means that representatives of each sector of culture (science, art, religion etc.) should fully acknowledge the propriety of relatively autonomous existence and development of other sectors of culture. It also requires: 1) for each sector –to establish the long-term relations with all other sectors of culture; 2) for each sector – to clarify (more profoundly) its own essence as well as the essence of other sectors of culture.

The next methodological principle (which is the sole basis for adequately solving the problem of the interrelation between science and religion) is the principle of system comparison of particular sectors of culture. To be more exact, when reflecting on the problem of the science and religion interplay, it is not their particular (or even important) characteristics that should be our first consideration, but the main modes of their being. When dealing with this problem, it is crucial to remember that science and religion (as socio-cultural entities) are, at the same time: 1) social institutes, 2) specific types of human activity, and 3) the totality of results of this activity. For better clarification of science and religion interplay in the light of the systematicity principle, it is essential to compare their socio-cultural functions. Only varied systematic consideration of this interplay in the context of a particular type of culture makes it possible to grasp its manifold nature, its diverse and non-straight-forward character. It enables us to see that this interplay can be of a conflicting character. It reveals that in some cases there is a reason to speak about the independence of religion and science. It brings to light the issues which necessitate the dialogue between religion and science. It reveals the issues which can be thought of as meeting points or potentials for the integration of both science and religion.

Valery N. Finoghentov:

Educational background
Graduated from Bashkir State University, Ufa, USSR, Department of Physics in 1975

Professional career
1975-1980 - Lecturer in theoretical Physics, Bashkir State Pedagogical Institute, Ufa
1980-1982 – Lecturer in Philosophy, Bashkir State University, Ufa
1982-1984 – Postgraduate Course at the Chair of Philosophy, Bashkir State University, Ufa
1984-1990 – Lecturer, Assistant Professor in Philosophy, Bashkir State University,Ufa
1990-1992 – Doctorate Course at the Chair of Philosophy, Ural State University, Yekaterinburg
1992-1994 – Assistant Professor in Philosophy, Bashkir State University, Ufa
1994-1995 – Professor in Philosophy, Bashkir State University, Ufa
1995 - present - Professor, Head of the Philosophical Chair, State Institute of Service, Ufa

Bibliographic listing of most important publications
I have more than 100 publications. Most important publications: Time, Being, Man (Ufa, 1992, 222 pp, in Russian); The Temporality of Being (Yekaterinburg, 1992, 385 pp, in Russian); About senseless and sense of person’s life. About temporary and eternal in being of person. About person’s liberty and unliberty (Ufa, 2000, 182 pp); Philosophy (Ufa, 2001, 359 pp).

Michael Firmin
Chair, Department of Psychology, Cedarville University
Cedarville, Ohio, USA
Paper Title: Collision of Epistemological Frameworks: Religion and Social Science's Unshared Understanding of Ethics
Monday, June 6 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm in Class of '49 Room

Religious scholars and social science experts frequently differ, and sometimes clash, when writing and discussing issues of ethics. I suggest here that persons on both sides of the debates possess significant unshared understandings on fundamental world-view issues. Moreover, until progress is made on these fronts--hope for unity on ethical topics is dubious.

First, religious scholars and social scientists differ in how they understand the construct of truth. The difficulties (or impossibility) of aptly grouping all religious scholars and all social scientists into two categories notwithstanding, I argue that religious scholars--generally--believe that some type of truth is absolutely knowable. Moses may have come down with two tablets of stone, or Mohammad may have scribed a holy writing, or Joseph Smith may have penned divine words while seeing through God-given glasses. But in some manner, a body of truth exists that was provided outside of normal human ken. Social scientists, in contrast, view truth in terms of empirical observations. In this paradigm, truth is understood in terms of probabilities. If observations are found to be accurate, say, 95 out of 100 times (p<.05)—then social scientists generally understand these findings as truth. Humanism, rather than divine revelation, is the basis of knowing truth to social scientists.

Moreover, religious scholars, particularly those with fundamentalist leanings, which represents the majority of religious followers world-wide, find some type of truth to be absolute. The teachings of a Great One may be considered sacred and in need of orthodox interpretations. To the social scientist, in contrast, truth is relative. What they observe today may be different from what they observe tomorrow. Consequently, social scientists and religious scholars lack a solid shared foundation for overlapping epistemological understandings.

Upon these divergent understandings, religious scholars and social scientists part further in understanding ethics, since the construct of ethics is based on truth-notions. To the religious scholar, ethics involves discussions of what is morally right and wrong. The practicing social scientist, in contrast, discusses ethics in terms of rules by which professionals in a field have agreed to abide. The American Psychological Association, for example, establishes a code of ethics. However, this code is not a moral code. Psychologists do not speak in terms of rightness or wrongness of their actions. Rather, they address behaviors that have empirically been found associated with ill-fated consequences. Unlike the religious followers, who would view violation of a code as immoral, social scientists speak in terms of breaching legal agreements.

What steps should be considered toward perceptual mergings? I will develop the following: Do not assume meanings, define meanings when communicating, think on levels-of-understanding rather than linearly, portray mutual respect, attempt to phenomenologically view one another’s world’s, and holistically dialogue, looking for natural connection points.

Michael Firmin is professor and chair of the psychology department at Cedarville University in Cedarville, OH. He has taught full-time in higher education for 16 years, including a former position as Graduate Studies Director. Firmin is an Ohio licensed psychologist and National Certified Counselor (NCC), possessing three master’s degrees and two Ph.Ds. His most recent doctorate is from Syracuse University in Syracuse, NY. Seminary educated, he is ordained and a former pastor. Firmin has over 50 conference presentations and journal publications, is a member of Psi Chi (national honor society of psychology), and is included in Who's Who in America.

Lucio Florio
High Seminary of La Plata at the Catholic University of Argentina, and the Santo Tomás de Aquino University, Buenos Aires
Local Society: The Science-Theology Society of La Plata
La Plata, Argentina
Paper Title: Points to Establish the Epistemological Criteria to Build a Global University
Tuesday, June 7 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm in Class of '49 Room

The constitution of a global university - including the different sciences, philosophy, religions and their theologies - is a very important and critical challenge. All of the historical attempts to achieve a universal science since the Modern age have crashed against the two permanent temptations of thinking, i.e., eclecticism and syncretism.

In this paper, I will propose certain essential points to take into account. These are: a) Level of reliability of the disciplines b) Their control from inside and outside c) Epistemological institutions to ask for control.

1. Sciences
   1. The level of reliability of every science and theory comes from its coherence with its own methodology and the corroboration of the experience.
   2. The modern sciences have developed an internal control of themselves. Otherwise, philosophy can intervene on sciences, when they get outside of their field. Religion and theology also have a negative control on the conclusions of the sciences, if they affirm things beyond their methodologies (for example: inexistence of God, etc.).
   3. International and national science academies, universities, and research institutions can be the natural and competent organisms of epistemological control.
2. Philosophy
   1. The plurality of philosophies inhibits a unique way of thinking. Anyway, this does not imply that philosophical work is irrelevant to the human culture. On the contrary, philosophy is the only intellectual operation that can confer rationality to many fields of knowledge, including science and theology.
   2. The control of philosophy is produced by the practice of rational discussion.
   3. Philosophical institutions, congresses, etc. can operate as an epistemological frame of dialogue. Perhaps, the ensemble of voices cannot be reached, but the action of a strong rationality is very important for the rest of the areas of knowledge.
3. Religion, Theology
   1. Reliability within religions is a very difficult topic. As their object of belief is a non-apprehensible and sensitive fact, they demand from their believers an act of faith. Anyway, the large and historical religions have developed during their history a reflection about their object of faith, i.e., theology. It tends to introduce rationality into the exercise of faith. In this way, it adds a criterion of reliability to the believers.
   2. The control of the objectivity of each religion occurs in three ways: the original sources (holy books, etc.), the theology and the teaching of its leaders.
   3. The leaders and the central schools of theology are the epistemological institutions to ask for the control of objectivity in the religions.

Lucio Florio is a theologian from La Plata, Argentina. He studied in La Plata, Rome and Buenos Aires, where he obtained the doctoral degree in Systematic Theology. He teaches in the High Seminary of La Plata, at the Catholic University of Argentina and the Santo Tomás de Aquino University, both of them in Buenos Aires. He is the director of the Argentinean edition of the Communio magazine. Florio has written many articles about Trinitarian theology and about topics of culture and theology. In Spain, he also published the book: Mapa trinitario del mundo. Actualización del tema de la percepción del Dios trinitario en la experiencia histórica del creyente (Trinitarian Map of the World: Updating of the Perception of the Trinitarian God in the Believer’s Historic Experience), Salamanca: Secretariado Trinitario, 2000. In recent years, Florio has taken part in different meetings about science and religion. He was a lecturer at the Winter Workshop of the Science and Religion Course Program: "Ciencia y Religión: Hacia una Nueva Cultura de Colaboración", which took place at the Universidad Autónoma de Puebla (México), in January-February 2002; also at the meeting "L’Evoluzione. Crocevia di Scienza, Filosofia e Teologia," Ateneo Pontificio Regina Apostolorum, Rome, April 2002, with the lecture: "Trinity and Evolution." Florio was also the President of the Organizing Committee of the International Meeting "Sciences, Philosophy and Theology: At the Search of a Worldview," La Plata, August 20, 21, and 22, 2003, and the editor of the book with its lectures (Dirección General de Escuelas, La Plata, 2004). He was a lecturer at the XXth meeting of the European Society for the Study of Science and Theology, April 2004, Barcelona, Spain. He also presented a paper on "Science and Religion in Argentina" at the 2004 Metanexus meeting, Science and Religion in Context.

Affiliations include: European Society for the Study of Science and Theology (ESSSAT); Argentine Theological Society (SAT); Associazione ex-alunni del Pontificio Istituto Biblico, Rome; and Santa Ana Foundation, La Plata, Argentina. He also serves on the Board of InterFASE, International Faith and Science Exchange, of Boston (USA) and is director of the Local Society of Science and Religion of La Plata, Metanexus Institute, since February 2004.

Dr. Florio is a priest of the Roman Catholic Church, La Plata Archdiocese, Argentina, and he has worked in parishes for some years. Now he is also devoted to educational and theological work.

Thomas B. Fowler
President, Xavier Zubiri Foundation of North America and Associate of Fundación Xavier Zubiri, Madrid
Local Society: Fundacion Xavier Zubiri LSI
Fairfax, Virginia, USA
Paper Title: Xavier Zubiri: Sentient Intelligence and the Relationship of Science and Philosophy
Tuesday, June 7 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm in Hall of Flags

Philosophy and science both seek truth about reality. Throughout its history, philosophy has been influenced by developments in other fields, particularly science and mathematics. But a solid working relationship between philosophy and science has proved elusive: either it was difficult to find room for science within the philosophical enterprise, because it covered the same ground, often with contradictory results, or because particular scientific theories and results were wedded to philosophical doctrines, with disastrous consequences later. No satisfactory relationship can emerge until the nature of human intellection--in the broadest sense--is properly understood. Zubiri has argued that human intelligence unfolds in three stages: primordial apprehension of reality, logos, and reason. The latter two stages build on the first, and it is the first which puts us into direct contact with reality. In this view, reality is not a zone of things, but an aspect of the way we apprehend. In particular, reality is formality--the mode of delivery of our apprehension, and not the content thereof, as has been heretofore assumed. The scientific and the metaphysical are closely connected, because both are forms of knowledge emerging from reason or the third mode of human intellection. In a nutshell, the relationship is as follows: philosophy examines all of reality as delivered at all three levels, from all sources; science concentrates on measuring (explaining) what Zubiri terms reality in depth, or reality beyond our perceptions, at the third level only. Science utilizes functional explanations that ultimately allow us to perceive aspects of reality which would otherwise remain hidden; whereas philosophy tells us about the real in toto and how to interpret what science uncovers with respect to reality, i.e. what the functional explanations mean as descriptions of reality. For example, philosophy tells us how causality and functionality are related, and what that means with respect to the relationship of real things. Indeed, the unfolding of reality through science is not fundamentally different from its unfolding through personal experience, poetry, music, or religious experience. All human knowing is of the real, because reality is the formality under which man apprehends anything. In man’s quest for understanding, the utilization of scientific concepts, amplified and interpreted, presupposes only that the sciences are an appropriate way of access to reality. Philosophy, in turn, reflects on the data offered by the sciences as "data of reality." But philosophy is not looking to duplicate the efforts of science--that would be absurd; the two are complementary. Both philosophy and science examine the "world," that to which the field of reality directs us. Science provides us with an invaluable window onto reality, but philosophy enables us to understand what we are seeing through that window as reality. There are other windows onto reality as well, provided by art, literature, music, and theology, for example.

Thomas Fowler is president and founder of the Xavier Zubiri Foundation of North America. He works closely with the Fundación Xavier Zubiri in Madrid. He has taught physics, mathematics, engineering, logic, and philosophy at several colleges and universities in the United States and abroad. At present he is on the faculty of George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. He has authored numerous studies on Zubiri's thought, and translated two of Zubiri's works, Nature, History, Godx and Sentient Intelligence. He is editor and founder of The Xavier Zubiri Review, a journal devoted to Zubiri's philosophy, and will be traveling to El Salvador for an international Zubiri conference in June of 2005. He is doing research for a book on Zubiri and the problem of causality, a topic on which he has published several articles. He also works as a consultant to the U.S. Government in scientific and technical matters. In addition to his continuing work on Zubiri, he recently completed a book on the evolution controversy, a subject of life-long interest to him.

Gao Huizhu
Professor, College of Law and Politics, Shanghai Normal University
Local Society: Workshop of Religion and Science
Shanghai, China
Paper Title: Religion and the Modern Metropolitan City
Tuesday, June 7 11:00 am - 12:30 pm in Hall of Flags

In China, it is a custom to mention religion and superstition in the same breath. The fixed expression “religion and superstition” in everyday talk is a case in point. It is quite common for people to associate religion with superstition. Is it true that religion is the same as superstition? If the answer is ”yes”, then religion will gradually lose its market in such a metropolitan city as Shanghai with the development of education, the popularization of science and knowledge and the opening of the information superhighway. And there will be less and less followers of any religion. However, this is not the case according to available statistics. Then, why does religion still exist in such a metropolitan city as Shanghai, and why is it still expanding? The underlying reasons are not easy to explain and thus require careful study. The text tells some reasons. 1) human being’s pursuit of Metaphysics as the most profound reason for the existence of religion: firstly, the fact that people of different races and nationalities have the isomorphic organic system can lead to the fact that there exists the same human nature; secondly, the substantially integrative relationship between human beings and space has made the relationship between human beings and heaven a question commonly raised by people of different races; furthermore, fragile, limited life and inevitable death both result in human being’s pursuing the world metaphysically. 2) the problem of sociology: the first feature is the quick pace of the city life; the second feature is the insulation of the city life; the third feature is the great variety of the city life. So the characteristics of general city life are enlarged because of the specialty at that time. The number of the adherents in mainland has expanded. In China, the research on religion from the perspective of the anthropology and sociology has already started. The positive influences of religion in the social activities of our city may be further revealed.

Huizhu Gao is a female, ethnic Han, native of Shanghai, and professor of the College of Law and Politics at Shanghai Normal University, P.R.China. As a research supervisor she is head in charge of the Subject of Master's Degree on Marxist Philosophy in Shanghai Normal University, Standing Di rector of National Research Society of History Materialism, P.R China, Standing di rector of Philosophy Society of Shanghai, and dean commissary in charge of Epistemological Theory of Shanghai. She received great achievements and honors in philosophy and social science research with publications of more than ten books, such as Politics Ethics in a New Era, 2004; Economy Ethics,2002; Scientist Revolutionary and Social Development in the 20th Century, 1999 and others, as well as fifty papers, including "On System Equity", 2003; "Spirit Connotation of Sea School's Culture", 2003; "Spirit Connotation of Sea School's Culture in M iscellany of Well-off Society and City Cultural Construion", 2004 as well, various of national core periodicals since 1987. She specializes in Marxist philosophy, politics philosophy and ethics. She is the chair of the LSI, Workshop of Religion and Science at Shanghai Normal University.

Don George
Professor Emeritus, Speech Communication Department, University of Southern Mississippi
Hattiesburg, Mississippi, USA
Paper Title: The Semiotic Foundation
Tuesday, June 7 11:00 am - 12:30 pm in Hall of Flags

The word semiotics signifies the study of all forms of human communicative behavior, particularly of signs and symbols. Used as an adjective here semiotic refers to what is often a major problem in all efforts to reconcile the continuous confrontation between the sciences and religion. This paper advances the thesis that significant semantic and connotative differences in the language used by both scientists and theologians impede any effort at effective communication. Scientists claim to seek truth by observation. Theologians claim to know truth by inspiration. Rigid scientists seek to reconcile religion to scientific knowledge. Fundamentalist religious philosophers try to reconcile science to religious beliefs.

Philosophers in both science and religion concede the limits of human understanding, but by dividing total reality into two categories of natural and supernatural they construct a semantic barrier between them. In the three major monotheistic world religions, Judaism, Islam, and Christianity, the concept of a single supernatural omnipotent, omniscient, personalized entity symbolized in English as God who rules the physical cosmos does not fit the criteria of science. On the other hand, efforts by scientists to explain the not yet fully unknown nature of the physical universe solely in terms of presently known physical laws, and their unwillingness to investigate or to admit the possible existence of psychic and spiritual influences on physical realities exacerbates the semiotic confrontation between religious and scientific thinking.

In the major oriental religions of Hinduism and Buddhism the expression of the continuity of life in the concept of reincarnation has been generally misinterpreted as metempsychosis. The idea of the transmigration of human souls into other forms of life as reward or punishment according to the "karma" carried over from the previous life violates both monotheistic belief and the Aristotelian logic of science. Yet, any global discussion must consider this perspective. To better express the concept of multiple lifetimes the term palingenesis, from Greek instead of Latin, is introduced as preferable to the widely misunderstood and abused term reincarnation. and the concept of repeated lifetimes is re-examined and re-interpreted. Disagreement on the nature and beginning of human life is briefly discussed.

After arguing the need to consider the semiotic foundation for all discussions of science and religion from a global perspective, and arguing they are two symbiotic aspects of a single reality, suggestions are given which may enhance communication among these confrontational areas.

Don George, Ph.D., Emeritus Professor at the University of Southern Mississippi, received his Doctoral degree from Louisiana State University in 1955 in Speech Communication with an emphasis on oral language production and perception and a minor in English language and general linguistics. He joined the faculty of The University of Southern Mississippi in 1956. From 1959 to 1961 he was on loan to the State University of New York to participate in the Ford Foundation’s English Language Project in Indonesia. From 1966 to 1968 he was Chair of the English Department at the Lebanese National University in Beirut, Lebanon on a Fulbright grant. After retiring in 1978 he was invited to teach in a program for Chinese English teachers in the People’s Republic of China from 1980 to 1982.

Dr. George has presented platform papers on various aspects of language to the International Congress of Phonetic Sciences in Prague, Leeds, Montreal, and Copenhagen, and to the World Congress of Phoneticians in Vienna. In 1998 he presented a paper "Semiotics, Science and Theology" at the Australasian Conference on Process Thought in Melbourne, Australia, to which some of this paper is related.

Rick Goldberg
President, Binah Yitzrit Foundation
Austin, Texas, USA
Paper Title: Judaism’s Yetzer as a Bio-Theological Construct
Monday, June 6 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm in Franklin Room

All world religions, whether oriented particularly or universally, make the attempt to construe man’s elemental nature. This paper attempts to describe how both the Biblical and rabbinic concept of yetzer, natural man’s most basic inclination, serve as the window through which Judaism’s depiction of human nature may be viewed.

Though the Biblical yetzer is presented as a unitary concept, the Rabbis bifurcated the impulse into, on the one hand, a good yetzer stressing Torah learning and restraint and, on the other hand, an evil yetzer emphasizing unbridled license and sexual appetite. This dualistic structure, however, became further nuanced as rabbinic language saw the evil yetzer as not only evil, but also good, and necessary to promote man’s creativity and productivity.

Further discussion will show how descriptions and personifications of the yetzer in Jewish religious texts are harmonious with what evolutionary psychologists call the short-term male reproductive strategy. The logic of that mating strategy will be introduced, and interpretations will be presented linking the relevant biological theory to Judaism’s evil yetzer.

Much of the discourse by evolutionary thinkers over the past several decades has characterized biological theory and religion as necessarily occupying different worlds. This paper makes an attempt to show how Judaism, a religion of ancient lineage, developed a basic theological and behavioral component in consonance with part of evolutionary psychology’s description of man’s essential nature.

Rick Goldberg is an independent scholar and President of the Binah Yitzrit Foundation, a group that funds research at the intersection of evolutionary psychology and Judaism. Goldberg is an active participant and teacher at his conservative synagogue in Austin, Texas. By profession, he is an environmental consultant, assisting small Texas communities and schools with utilities planning using drip irrigation technology. Rick is married with one adult daughter.

Julio A. Gonzalo
Departamento de Física de Materiales, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Spain
Local Society: Ciencia, Cultura, Teología
Madrid, Spain
Paper Title: Implications of a Finite Universe
Tuesday, June 7 11:00 am - 12:30 pm in Golkin Room

The cosmic data from NASA´s WMAP (Microwave Anisotropy Probe) satellite, as reported by the New York Times on February 11, 2003, basically confirmed the Big Bang theory and gave an estimate of the "age" of the Universe to be (13.7 ± 0.2) x 10⁹ years, previously anticipated by work based upon Einstein's standard cosmological equations. This is a finite number as are Ro ~=1.38x10²⁸ cm (present radius) and M_u ~=4.09x10⁵⁴ g (total mass) of the observable universe.

Einstein’s equations with zero cosmological constant lead to the conclusion that the term involving c²|k| (space curvature in an open universe) remains negligible forever if M_u is infinite, but becomes dominant at R>R+2GM_u/C²|k| when M_u is finite, no matter how large.

In agreement with the previous estimate, the total mass of the observable universe is given by (M_u) ~= <Ng><Ns>M_s ~= 2x10⁵⁴ g, where <Ng>~=10¹⁰ (estimated number of galaxies), <Ns>~=10¹¹ (estimated number of stars per typical galaxy) and Ms ~= 2x10³³ g (mass of an average star, like the Sun).

What are the implications? Focusing on the metaphysical implications, it is clear that a finite physical universe is contingent (non necessary), and, therefore, created. The above considerations will be contrasted with speculations based upon inflationary cosmology.

Julio A. Gonzalo is Professor of Physics at the UAM and is the author of several books on Condensed Matter and on Cosmology, the latest being Inflationary Cosmology Revisited. In 2003 he was awarded the Medal of "Alfonso X El Sabio" by the Government of Spain.

William Grassie
Executive Director, Metanexus Institute on Religion and Science
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Paper Title: Where the Rubber Hits the Road: A Call for Thought and Action
Monday, June 6 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm in Hall of Flags

This session will be an interactive series of small group discussions centered around a "Call to Thought and Action," addressed, first, to the participants in the international science and religion dialogue community, but also beyond, to people of good will around the world. The American idiom "where the rubber hits the road" connotes the essential point, the point at which something really matters or makes a difference, that which is required to get things moving. It suggests the following question for us: What difference do all our efforts at fostering the constructive engagement of science and religion really make? How is the world a different place because of our work? How does this Call affect us and our colleagues and the many different communities of which we are members? Where can we go, and how can we move ahead? To explore these questions, we will form ad hoc caucuses on the basis of geographic, religious, and disciplinary identities, each allotted 20 minutes of discussion in small groups, followed by reports back to the plenary.

William "Billy" Grassie, Ph.D. is founder and executive director of the Metanexus Institute on Religion and Science [ www.metanexus.net]. Metanexus currently runs some 300 projects at universities in 36 countries. Grassie also serves as executive editor of the Institute’s online magazine and discussion forum with over 140,000 monthly page views and over 6000 regular subscribers in 57 different countries. He has taught in a variety of positions at Temple University, Swarthmore College, and the University of Pennsylvania. Grassie received his doctorate in religion from Temple University in 1994 and his BA from Middlebury College in 1979. Prior to graduate school, Grassie worked for ten years in religiously-based social service and advocacy organizations in Washington, D.C; Jerusalem, Israel; Berlin, Germany; and Philadelphia, PA. He is the recipient of a number of academic awards and grants from the American Friends Service Committee, the Roothbert Fellowship, and the John Templeton Foundation. He is a member of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers).

Niels Henrik Gregersen
Professor and Chair of Systematic Theology at the University of Copenhagen
Local Society: Copenhagen Network on Science & Religion
Copenhagen, Denmark
Paper Title: Evolutionary Biology and the Complexification of Nature: Supplementing the Neo-Darwinian Paradigm
Sunday, June 5 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm in Hall of Flags

The Darwinian theory of evolution has many faces, and one of the major conflicts of interpretation concerns the importance of evolutionary directionality, if not progress. Another concerns the importance of evolutionary convergence within causally unrelated lineages. Strict Neo-Darwinians (such as Richard Dawkins) argue that natural selection alone can account for the evolutionary trend towards complexification. Others (such as Steven J. Gould) argue that historical contingencies, in addition to natural selection, are responsible for nature's capacity for evolution. Still other (such as Simon Conway Morris) argue that below the historical contingencies we find persistent trends in evolution that are caused by the underlying chemistry plus the ubiquitous need of organisms for a functional adaptation of cognitive structures. The paper will review some of these inner-Darwinian conflicts, and will discuss their respective relevance for various theistic accounts of evolutionary directionality.

Niels Henrik Gregersen, Ph.D. obtained his doctorate from Copenhagen University. Previously Research Professor in Theology & Science at the University of Aarhus, Denmark, in 2004 he became Professor and Chair of Systematic Theology at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark. From 1992 to 2003, Professor Gregersen has been a leader of the Danish Science-Theology Forum. From 1998 to 2002, he was Vice-President of The European Society for the Study of Science and Theology (ESSSAT) and responsible for its publication program. In 2002, Professor Gregersen was elected president of The Learned Society, Denmark and served through 2003. He was a founding member and has been an Executive Committee member of International Society of Science and Religion (ISSR) since 2002. His most recent publications include Gift of Grace: The Future of Lutheran Theology (Fortress Press, 2005), From Complexity to Life: On the Emergence of Life and Meaning (Oxford University Press, 2003), and Design and Disorder. Perspectives from Science & Theology (T & T Clark, 2002). He is associate editor of the Encyclopedia of Science and Religion volumes I-II (MacMillan Reference 2003) and systematic-theological editor of Dansk teologisk Tidsskrift.

Jose M. Guibert
Vice-rector, University of Deusto
Local Society: Grupo Deusto de Etica y Tecnologia (GDET)
Bilbao, Spain
Paper Title: Value formation strategies in a Technical School of a Catholic University
Tuesday, June 7 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm in Golkin Room

In this paper we analyze the value formation options taken at the School of Engineering of the University of Deusto (UD), a University of the Roman Catholic Church, run by the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), in Bilbao, Spain.

We are part of a University that aims in our days to serve society, particularly the society our University is embedded in. Moreover, this contribution to the community is to be sought within a University framework and from a Christian viewpoint.

The University believes that Christian philosophy, which is at the root of our culture, as well as being an answer to the ultimate questions, can also inspire the human being and stimulate him/her to achieve a deep, reflective and critical knowledge of every genuine process of human culture and heritage.

Nevertheless, in our context, the most popular religious denomination, the Roman Catholic faith, is not something shared by all nor something that can be imposed on our students and professors. The university welcomes pupils with a plurality of beliefs.

In this context, the activities related to the dialogue between science and religion are more difficult to raise than those related to the dialogue between ethics and the technology. In the nineties the University chose to include an obligatory subject of ethical contents. Subjects with religious content exist, but they are not compulsory.

The offer of Christian Ethics is optative. The Ethics of rational basis, opened to religious morality, is obligatory, because it concerns all the students, as humans and citizens, independent of their religious beliefs. It is a decisive part of their integral formation. In addition, it has to do with the pole of justice of the Jesuit mission.

By doing so, we aim at putting a means for a formation that goes beyond the pure technical formation and opens the student to the question of values.

Jose M. Guibert is currently vice-rector at the University of Deusto (Spain) and Delegate for Mission Development. He is a professor in the Department of Management and the Department of Ethics. His research topics and teaching areas in the past years have been Management of Technology and Ethics of Technology.

He obtained a Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering (1996) at the University of the Basque Country (Bilbao, Spain) and previously a S.T.L. from JSTB (Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley) working also with CTNS (Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences in Berkeley).

He has promoted, beginning in 1997, the Conferences on Society and Information Technology that have since been held at different Spanish universities (Bilbao, Salamanca, Madrid, Barcelona…).

He is presently chair of GDET (Deusto Group of Ethics and Technology) which is supported by the Metanexus Institute’s Local Societies Initiative.

Brenda G. Hackett
Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operations Officer, Metanexus Institute
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Paper Title: Ask the CFO
Tuesday, June 7 9:00 am - 10:30 am in Golkin Room

Metanexus Institute’s CFO, Brenda Hackett, will be available to answer your financial questions:

What information is needed to obtain my grant funds by international bank wire? When will I receive the funds from the grant I was awarded? What happens if a check from Metanexus is lost or stolen? How quickly will I receive a check for approved travel reimbursement? What information should my financial report contain? What happens if I spend more or less than budgeted? Can I make changes to my budget after it has been approved? What are likely sources for matching funds? Can I change my sponsoring institution? What happens if the chair of my society changes?

Brenda G. Hackett is the Chief Financial Officer/Chief Operations Officer at the Metanexus Institute.

Craig Hamilton
Managing Editor, What Is Enlightenment? Magazine
Local Society: Voices from the Edge
Lenox, Massachusetts, USA
Paper Title: Neuroscience, Consciousness, and the Soul
Tuesday, June 7 11:00 am - 12:30 pm in Franklin Room

In a recent Templeton lecture, George Ellis stated that one of the most crucial issues confronting the Science and Religion community is the attempt by hard-line neuroscientists to reduce all human experience to the interaction of neurons and in so doing, eradicate such notions as free will, meaning, and most significantly, God.

This paper addresses this point of contention head on, providing a broad survey of recent neuroscientific findings, and exploring the implications of some of these findings for the way we think about the self, consciousness, and the spiritual dimension of life. With advances in neuroimaging, neurochemistry, and the study of brain damage, many scientists are increasingly confident that they will soon be able to demonstrate the biological basis of all human behavior and experience. Others argue that the higher dimensions of who we are will never be reducible to biological processes. How are we to navigate this increasingly complex terrain?

Synthesized from in-depth interviews with over twenty leaders in the fields of neuroscience and consciousness studies, this paper presents the latest theories on the relationship between consciousness and the brain from both materialist and nonmaterialist schools and poses some central--and as yet unanswered--questions about what makes us who we are.

The paper's key contribution to the dialogue between science and religion is its contextualization of the latest neuroscientific discoveries in the light of broader theological and epistemological questions. It challenges adherents to consider scientific-materialist as well as religious viewpoints and to suspend fixed conclusions, considering anew what the nature of consciousness might be in light of the findings of contemporary science.

The overarching questions guiding the research of this paper include: 1) How can we remain truly scientific in our exploration of the brain, mind, and consciousness, without falling into dogmatic materialism and minimizing or rejecting our human and spiritual experience? 2) How do we make sense of the miracle of human consciousness in light of recent advances in brain science? 3) How will religion need to change to accommodate the findings of brain science? 4) How will science need to change if it is unable to solve the problem of consciousness? 5) How will we need to change in light of what we discover?

Through conversations, scientific anecdotes, and consideration of key theories on consciousness and the brain, this paper asks, and at times also poses answers to additional questions including:

• Is the brain a "cognitive prosthesis for the soul," or the source of consciousness itself?
• How could physical processes in the brain give rise to subjective experience?
• What conclusions are we to draw from neuroscience's ability to map regions of the brain to different aspects of our personality?
• What does the study of localized brain damage imply about the veracity of our deep-seated notion that the self is a unified whole?
• How can we preserve our humanity and spirituality while staying true to the findings of the laboratory?

Craig Hamilton is the managing editor of the award-winning magazine What Is Enlightenment? His feature articles have examined the landscape of an emerging evolutionary spirituality and have explored the work of some of the leading religious thinkers of our time. Hamilton is a founding member of Ken Wilber's Integral Institute, Integral Education colloquium, and a participant in the Synthesis Dialogues, a 35-person interdisciplinary think tank moderated by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. He has lectured widely on the themes explored in What Is Enlightenment? and recently moderated a panel discussion on the Future of Religion at the 2004 Parliament of the World’s Religions in Barcelona.

Sara Fletcher Harding
Associate Professor of Religion, Florida Southern College
Local Society: Florida Center for Science and Religion
Lakeland, Florida, USA
Paper Title: Interpretation and the Biblical Tradition in the Religio-Scientifica Dialogue: A Redefinition
Tuesday, June 7 11:00 am - 12:30 pm in Hall of Flags

The Biblical tradition as it informs and shapes the discussion of issues in science and religion manifests itself most frequently from the interpretive perspective of Biblical literalism. Whether it is the cries of the creationist or the scientific positivist, the loudest but not always clearest voices from the Biblical tradition require a literalist approach for understanding the text, or none at all. However, the scriptures of the Judeo-Christian tradition and their interpretation run as deep and varied as the cosmos itself. Once the shadow of Biblical literalism is set aside, a new set of questions regarding the text emerges, some of which strike at the fundamental issues of the science and religion dialogue. These are questions like the following: How is the Biblical text to be understood? Can the Biblical text be brought to bear on issues in science and religion? Is there a place for these authoritative writings, steeped in their ancient historical contexts, in the formal construction and engagement of issues in science and religion? This paper strives to establish and re-define the role of the Biblical tradition in the religio-scientifica dialogue. By examining the topics of cosmology and stem cell research, I construct and analyze the existing relationships between the Bible, its interpretation, and these current issues in science and religion. Then, once the limits of the existing hermeneutic are identified, I argue for an alternative reading of the Biblical text, mainly one from a historical-critical perspective, one which liberates the Biblical text and allows it to function in its social, historical and cultural contexts. It is only then that the Biblical text can elucidate questions in science and religion. Having made a case for a necessary hermeneutical shift in understanding the Biblical tradition, I then offer a new rendering of Biblical texts as they apply to cosmology and embryonic stem cell research as an example of how these authoritative writings can inform, shape and offer fresh insight to questions of science and religion.

Dr. Sara Fletcher Harding is Associate Professor of Religion at Florida Southern College (Lakeland, FL) where she has taught since 1997. Dr. Harding received her B.A. from Nebraska Wesleyan University and pursued graduate studies at Iliff School of Theology, where she received her M.A.R. with distinction. She earned her Ph.D. in Religious Studies from Marquette University in 1999 with concentration in New Testament. In addition to survey Bible courses, Dr. Harding teaches upper-level courses in New Testament, Hellenistic Greek and a course in Science and Religion. In 2001, Harding received a Course Award from the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences and formally initiated her interest and interdisciplinary research in questions of religion and science. Harding also serves as the co-director of the Florida Center for Science and Religion at Florida Southern College, which is a 2004 Metanexus Local Societies Initiative recipient. Dr. Harding's most recent paper (Lakeland, FL, 2004) was entitled "Theological and Biblical Responses to Stem Cell Research: Providing a Context for Dialogue in the Jewish and Christian Biblical Traditions."

John Haught
Thomas Healey Professor of Theology, Georgetown University
Washington, DC, USA
Paper Title: Teilhard de Chardin and the Suffering of Sentient Life
Sunday, June 5 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm in Hall of Flags

Darwinian biology has amplified not only our understanding of life's creativity, but also our sense of the enormous amount of pain that has accompanied the life-story on earth. Evolutionary biology itself can make good sense of the selective advantages of sentient life's capacity for suffering. So is there any room left for theological understanding of life's suffering after Darwin? Insights of Teilhard de Chardin may help theology address the fundamental question of why divine creativity would choose an evolutionary route toward bringing about life in the first place, especially in view of the suffering this trajectory entails. Teilhard's thought also spurs theology to deepen its understanding of divine power and love, the relationship of suffering to guilt and expiation, and the meaning and scope of redemption.

John F. Haught is Thomas Healey Professor of Theology at Georgetown University. His area of specialization is systematic theology, with a particular interest in issues pertaining to science, cosmology, ecology, and religion. He is the author of Deeper Than Darwin: Evolution and the Question of God (Westview, 2003); Responses to 101 Questions on God and Evolution (Paulist Press, 2001); God After Darwin: A Theology of Evolution (Westview Press, 2000); Science and Religion: From Conflict to Conversation (Paulist Press, 1995); The Promise of Nature: Ecology and Cosmic Purpose (Paulist Press, 1993); Mystery and Promise: A Theology of Revelation (Liturgical Press, 1993); What Is Religion? (Paulist Press, 1990); The Revelation of God in History (Michael Glazier Press, 1988); What Is God? (Paulist Press, 1986); The Cosmic Adventure (Paulist Press, 1984); Nature and Purpose (University Press of America, 1980); Religion and Self-Acceptance (Paulist Press, 1976); and editor of Science and Religion in Search of Cosmic Purpose (Georgetown University Press, 2000) as well as numerous articles and reviews. He lectures often on topics related to religion and science, cosmology, theology, and ecology.

Eric S. Hintz
PhD Student, History and Sociology of Science, University of Pennsylvania and intern, Metanexus Institute
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Paper Title: Examining Religion and Technology: Nuclear Weapons and the Roman Catholic Church
Tuesday, June 7 9:00 am - 10:30 am in Class of '49 Room

In 1962-1963, at the height of the Cold War, the world seemed to be teetering on the brink of nuclear disaster. Suddenly, an entirely new input entered the international peace process. On Holy Thursday, April 11, 1963, Pope John XXIII, the head of the Roman Catholic Church, released his encyclical Pacem in Terris, or "Peace on Earth." Pope John decried the presence of nuclear weapons, calling for an immediate cessation of the arms race, mutual and complete disarmament, and an end to nuclear weapons testing.

In my paper, I explore the historical context which motivated the release of Pacem in Terris, and its impact--both within the Catholic Church and in the Cold War political arena. In analyzing this episode, I draw on contemporary press coverage and political commentary; Catholic theological and doctrinal texts; and the writings, speeches, correspondence, and personal reflections of the story’s three principal actors: Pope John XXIII, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev, and U.S. President John F. Kennedy.

I argue that Pope John XXIII's papacy, and especially the encyclical Pacem in Terris, marked the Catholic Church's entrance as a new voice in the nuclear weapons discourse of the 1960s and that Pope John materially influenced the direction of nuclear weapons diplomacy leading up to the Limited Test Ban Treaty of 1963. In addition, I argue that Pacem in Terris was emblematic of several doctrinal changes and new attitudes appearing within the Catholic Church. For Catholics, Pacem in Terris signaled a new, more optimistic attitude toward modernity, a rapprochement with atheistic Communism, and a move from medieval, Augustinian just-war teachings towards idealistic pacifism.

In summary, my topic concerns religion and technology, more so than religion and science; my approach is sociological and historical, rather than epistemological. Thus, I do not suggest that the Catholic Church directly influenced the internal design or construction of nuclear weapons, or otherwise challenged the intellectual findings of atomic scientists. Rather, I view the Catholic Church as a forceful social and political entity, which influenced the trajectory of how a particular technology was publicly perceived and regulated. I also see the social interaction operating in the opposite direction, as the specter of this new and dangerous technology provoked changes to Catholic theology. More broadly, I am suggesting the importance of religious considerations among the range of social forces which influence the historical development of technologies.

Eric S. Hintz is a graduate student and William Penn Fellow in the history and sociology of science at the University of Pennsylvania, and an intern at the Metanexus Institute. Eric earned his B.S. in aerospace engineering from the University of Notre Dame in 1996, then worked in San Francisco as a technology consultant and high school teacher before pursuing his graduate studies in 2003. This summer, in addition to his Metanexus internship, he is also the recipient of the 2005 Ullyot Scholarship from the Chemical Heritage Foundation, where he will conduct research on the invention and diffusion of electric batteries. Eric’s historical interests are focused broadly on 19th and 20th century science and technology, with special interests in the history of invention and R&D, and the interplay between science, technology, and religion, particularly Catholicism.

Yahya Oyewole Imam
Senior Lecturer, Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies, University of Maiduguri
Maiduguri, Nigeria
Paper Title: Islam and Reproductive Health
Tuesday, June 7 11:00 am - 12:30 pm in Class of '49 Room

Reproductive health is an area of medical and health sciences which covers sex, child and maternal health, contraception and family planning, etc to mention just a few. From these areas one will not be in doubt to state that reproductive health is of great importance to both the existence and sustenance of mankind. It is likely that the importance of this discipline in these two areas has aided individual and organizational efforts towards promotion of studies in it. Though efforts have been made at the local and international levels to promote studies in reproductive health, little attention has been paid to the religious dimension of the discussion. This attitude in our opinion emanates either from the ignorance of the role of religion in reproductive health or a malicious jettisoning of it. In this paper we will examine Islamic provisions on reproductive health as contained in the sources of Islam like the Qur'an, hadith (sayings, deeds and approvals of the Prophet) and ijma (consensus of opinions of Muslim jurists). We intend to examine points of attraction and contention between Islam and contemporary reproductive health with a view to suggesting ways capable of helping all stakeholders. Another objective of this study is determination of areas where Islamic provisions can help in enhancing human friendly reproductive health. To achieve the above objectives the paper is divided into five parts. Part one provides introductory remarks on reproductive health. In the second part Islamic provisions on reproductive health will be examined. The third part of the paper discusses points of attraction between the Islamic and modern reproductive health. Part four will contain recommendations aimed at promoting reproductive health from the Islamic perspective. In the fifth part we will summarize discussions in the preceding parts and draw conclusions.

Dr. Yahya Oyewole Imam, a Senior Lecturer, is Coordinator of Postgraduate Programs and Staff Seminar Series in the Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies, University of Maiduguri, Maiduguri, Nigeria. Yahya holds a PhD degree from the University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria, and the M.A and B.A from the University of Jos, Jos, Nigeria. He has taught many courses in Islamic Studies and specializes in Islamic Law and Islam in the Modern World. He has published numerous articles including "Islam on the Internet" and "Islamic Health Care Services in the Contemporary World." His wife, Lateefah, is a Technologist in the Department of Veterinary Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Maiduguri, Maiduguri, Nigeria.

Gennady A. Kalyabin
Samara Academy of Humanities
Local Society: Through Faith We Understand
Samara, Russia
Paper Title: Atheistic Trends in Modern Education in Russia
Monday, June 6 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm in Golkin Room

Nowadays believers in Russia feel much more freedom than during seven decades of communist oppression: hundreds of churches and dozens of spiritual schools have re-opened, many religious magazines have appeared as well as newspapers, radio stations, TV programs and websites. Nevertheless the situation in "educational and mass media space" remains mostly under the dominion of a materialistic ideology. The reason for this is obvious: all heads of institutions which control today's ideological climate in Russia (or their fathers) were previously active and high ranking functionaries in the communist party or KGB.

On the other hand, many leading scientists by virtue of their anti-religious experiences in childhood (imprinting phenomenon) and their relative ignorance of any religion have become convinced non-believers (God's rejectors). These very people last year took total control of the Russian Ministry of Education and Science. Quite recently all those who expressed any sympathy whatsoever to religion, particularly to a system of moral principles, have been dismissed from this Ministry (anti-ethical cleansing). In order to demonstrate tolerance to religious views, the Ministry suggests the introduction in all schools and universities of the new subject "History of world religions" in which all kinds of religion will be treated as different forms of delusion in comparison with "neutral and objective" materialism. There are many potential teachers for this new subject: the numerous former Soviet teachers of Marxism and "scientific atheism."

There is some hope in the fact that many governmental and regional leaders as well as a large portion of Russia's intellectuals have realized the paramount significance of traditional religious values for successful social, cultural, and economical development of the country.

Gennady A. Kalyabin is a lecturer of Natural Apologetics at Samara Academy of Humanities, and Samara Orthodox Seminary. For 30 years, he taught Mathematics at Samara State Aerospace University. Dr. Kalyabin serves as chair of the Samara Scientific-Christian Society "Through Faith We Understand."

Gennady A. Kalyabin
Samara Academy of Humanities
Local Society: Through Faith We Understand
Samara, Russia
Paper Title: Mathematical Aspects of Freedom and Determination

Freedom along with personal responsibility is one of the main notions of Christian theology. Another issue of importance in Christianity is determination or predestination. Daring not to say something new about these deep and paramount philosophical questions, we shall instead give several brief observations concerning similar phenomena in pure mathematics, namely in set theory, beginning 100 years ago.

Gennady A. Kalyabin is a lecturer of Natural Apologetics at Samara Academy of Humanities, and Samara Orthodox Seminary. For 30 years, he taught Mathematics at Samara State Aerospace University. Dr. Kalyabin serves as chair of the Samara Scientific-Christian Society "Through Faith We Understand."

P. Douglas Kindschi
Professor of Mathematics and Philosophy, Grand Valley State University
Local Society: A Grand Dialogue in Science and Religion
Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA
Paper Title: The Role of Mathematics in the Science and Religion Discussion
Tuesday, June 7 9:00 am - 10:30 am in Hall of Flags

With a few notable exceptions the considerable and rapidly growing literature in the science and religion field has seen very little written from the standpoint of mathematics. Yet mathematics is seen as the language of science and has been referred to as the queen of the sciences. Mathematics has also had considerable impact in the development of philosophy, which in turn has been very influential in theology.

This paper is organized around four different quests in the history and development of mathematics: the quests for definition, truth, foundation, and certainty. Reflections on how this might impact theology are included in the discussion of each quest.

The quest for definition focuses on how the concept of number has changed over time in the history of mathematics. From the early Greek ideas of Pythagoras to current understandings, the idea of number has changed as new problems and anomalies developed. While the expansion of the number concept was often controversial the mathematical community did accommodate the new ideas and see how they were consistent with the earlier concepts.

The quest for truth also begins with the Greek understanding that truth about the world is best justified with deductive thinking as exemplified by the geometry of Euclid. This approach was dominant for over two millennia but was challenged by the development of the non-Euclidean geometries of Bolyai, Lobatchevsky, and Riemann in the early 19th century. The questioning of the deductive method, along with the rise of the empirical method in science, led to a significant reappraisal of claims for truth not only in mathematics and the natural sciences, but in the social sciences and humanities as well.

The quest for foundations looks at the impact of Descartes and his method on the understanding of providing firm foundations for knowledge. In mathematics this led to the foundations controversies of the early 20th century pitting the logicist, the formalists, and the intuitionist against each other. The foundations discussion was changed forever with the mathematical results of Kurt Gödel who proved that any mathematical system that included basic arithmetic contained statements that could not be proven in that system. Furthermore, such systems could not be shown to be free from contradictions.

The quest for certainty looks at the centuries old claim that mathematics provides certain knowledge. The claim for certainty was replaced with a search for consistency, which was then abandoned as unachievable. So where did that leave knowledge in general? If mathematics could not establish certainty could any other system aspire to the same?

For each of the mathematical quests we also look at the implications for the science and theology discussion. Does mathematics, which is seen as the language of science, shed light on the nature of science? Do the concepts of mathematics which had major impact on certain philosophies, which in turn influenced theology, have insight for our current theological discussions? What can mathematics contribute to the science and religion discussion?

P. Douglas Kindschi is currently professor of mathematics and philosophy at Grand Valley State University in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he previously served for over 20 years as the Dean of Science and Mathematics. His interest in the science and religion discussion goes back to his graduate studies at the University of Chicago Divinity School and his leading a campus ministry science-religion program while completing his Ph.D. in mathematics at the University of Wisconsin. At Grand Valley State University he developed the course "Science, Mathematics, and Religion: Ways of Knowing," which received a Templeton Course Award. He founded and has led for the past seven years a faculty discussion reading group in science and religion. He currently directs a new Local Societies Initiative program which is bringing together an interdisciplinary, inter-institutional, and interfaith dialogue for the greater Grand Rapids area.

Tamás Kodácsy
Scientific researcher, Károli Gáspár Reformed University, Reformed pastor and computer scientist
Local Society: Debreceni Természettudomány és Teológia Központ (Science and Theology Centre in Debrecen)
Debrecen, Hungary
Paper Title: Virtual World and Virtual Theology in Cyberspace

Without a doubt, the Internet is the most public part of our universe today. It is the modern version of the Agora - an open space in which free public discourse can be conducted without mediation by those in authority and without an agenda specified by the mass media. There are usually two typical approaches to the Internet by theologians: one is a conservative rejection of this media and the other is an acclaim of the Internet as a new life-space for virtual churches. I do not want to support either, but instead seek to share my experiences and opinions of symbiosis of theology and cyberspace.

We are building a new world by using and developing the Internet. Our virtual world is nothing more than a big set of 0s and 1s. John von Neumann showed us how to use these simple bits to create databases, homepages, portals, chats, forums, e-mails, etc. It seems that the story of Babel can be repeated in the 21st century when we want to create a virtual world according to our ideas, demands and wishes. I do not think that churches should protest against Internet or adhere to an old-fashioned non-electronic world. Nevertheless, theology has to be knowledgeable and inform the public that the virtual world should not be another world, in addition to the world created by God. It would be a fatal error to consider cyberspace, which is outside of reality, more than it is. At first sight the temptation to view cyberspace as a real word is understandable, since we think this misconception does not endanger us. However, in observing Internet use and the motivations guiding many users, we can assess the enjoyment experienced in building up this false world and the intention of creating a new cyber-Babel.

If church can do anything about the Internet phenomenon, then it would be to articulate the distinct identities of the virtual world and the real world. I see two critical symptoms that render it more difficult to link reality to cyberspace. These are, first, the impersonal nature of computer use, and, second, the ability to hide one’s identity behind the Internet. I would like to examine these features of cyberspace and their interaction with theology.

Tamás Kodácsy was born in 1975, in Hungary. He graduated in 2000 as a reformed pastor, and in 2001 as a programmer mathematician at Debrecen University. From 2000 to 2004 he was assistant lecturer at the Department of Christian Dogmatics at Debrecen University of Reformed Theology, and from 2004 he has been scientific researcher in Károli Gáspár Reformed University. He studied science and theology in Zürich, 2001-2002. He has been teaching Reformed confessions, early Christian doctrines, and on issues in the field of science and theology, systematic theology and cosmology. The topic of his PhD studies was the Cosmological Anthropic Principles. Kodácsy is coordinator of a Local Society, the Science and Theology Centre in Debrecen.

Eszter Kodácsy-Simon
PhD student, Evangelical-Lutheran Theological University
Local Society: Tudomany es Hit "Jesenius" Kozpont / Jesenius Protestant Center for Science and Religion
Budapest, Hungary
Paper Title: Secondary School as a Model for the Dialogue between Science and Religion
Tuesday, June 7 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm in Golkin Room

"Scientific research consists of seeing what everyone else has seen, but thinking what no one else has thought" - Albert Szent-Györgyi, Nobel Prize, 1937: Physiology and Medicine

Personal prepossession, or conviction, coming up – directly or indirectly – from previous experiences influence not only the things we accept as explanations for the operation of the world, but also actuates the way we explain or teach these things. Convictions determine the way we interpret our lives and acts or the problems of the world in the highest degree. Belief has a main role in recalling previous knowledge: it not only determine what one evokes, but, more importantly, it also defines the way we call back our memories. This is in connection with the observation that in their pedagogical work teachers are influenced much more by the way they were taught than by what they learnt.

One of the most crucial situations in which belief plays an important role while communicating knowledge is teaching in secondary schools, since young adults are extremely sensitive to every fact and every kind of interpretation of the facts. In the Hungarian teaching system, high-school graduation is usually the last time students have to give account of more than some aspects of their studies, and this can also be the last point in their lives when they are forced to think in terms of a unified world to some degree. However, in the last few years it seems that Hungarian Protestant secondary schools have begun to struggle with living in and transmitting a somewhat unified world-view or at least the importance of the dialogue between science and religion.

However, the situation was not always this way. During the 20th century the famous "Fasori" Lutheran school included legendary teachers like Sándor Mikola, László Rátz or Miklós Vermes, and legendary students, including several future Nobel laureates, such as Eugene P. Wigner, John C. Harsanyi or John von Neumann. Students graduated from this, and other Christian schools with a solid world-view in which belief and scientific knowledge, faith and scientific research could not only exist in a healthy consonance but also motivate each other. After a time of forced--and alleged--separation of belief and knowledge, nowadays it seems that in Protestant secondary schools, and in the minds of many of their teachers, belief and knowledge are in contrast rather than in dialogue, and there are more than just historical reasons behind this phenomenon.

The aim of this paper is to find some reasons for the lack of the science and religion dialogue in the pedagogical programs of Hungarian secondary schools and in their teachers' approaches. This paper asks the question of the importance of dogmatic approach in teaching and talking about the dialogue between science and religion; and also of the possible differences, other than historical, between our and the mentioned teachers' teaching systems, pedagogical programs or personal approaches.

Eszter Kodácsy-Simon graduated from Eötvös Loránd University of Sciences in Budapest with an MSc in 2000 as a physics and mathematics teacher, where she wrote her thesis on teaching models in secondary schools in mathematics. This was followed by her MA in theology at the Evangelical-Lutheran Theological Seminary in Budapest in 2003, where her thesis was written on William Ockham's system of concepts. She studied at the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago in 2000-2001 and at Helsinki University in the 2004 fall semester. She taught mathematics and physics in Sylvester János Protestant High School, Budapest in 2001-2003. Now she is a PhD student at Evangelical-Lutheran Theological Seminary in Budapest. She is the coordinator and one of the founding members of Jesenius Center for Science and Religion, Budapest.

Anne Kull
Associate Professor, Systematic Theology, Faculty of Theology, University of Tartu
Local Society: Collegium in Science and Religion at the Unversity of Tartu
Tartu, Estonia
Paper Title: Technonative Visions
Tuesday, June 7 9:00 am - 10:30 am in Franklin Room

Textual rereadings and translations are familiar practicies in literary studies, philosophy, and theology. Textual rereadings may or may not result in culturally specific interventions in nature as well as culture. The point is to get at how the lived worlds are made and unmade, in order to participate in the processes; to reconfigure what counts as knowledge, "a good life." Technoscience is a term that tries to name the mutations in chances of life and death for all organisms on the planet. Donna Haraway and Bruno Latour are my guides to the technoscientific world, where not all translators are human, where not all machines are "dead," where an autonomous liberal subject is an extinct species, where distributed cognition is rather a rule than an exception. And where communicatio idiomatum is a daily practice, not an obscure technical term from the history of theology.

Anne Kull is an associate professor of systematic theology (Faculty of Theology, University of Tartu, Estonia). Shereceived her graduate education at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago (MA, MTh, Ph.D). She is the Chair and founder of the Collegium of Science and Religion at the University of Tartu.

Sandra Costen Kunz
Ph.D. student, Princeton Theological Seminary
Princeton, New Jersey, USA
Paper Title: Teaching Students to Embody Redemptive Social Transformation: Christian Educational Theory and Methods for Higher Education
Tuesday, June 7 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm in Franklin Room

Christian social activists are expressing concern about two phenomena:

• the loss of hard-won gains in issues such as disarmament, environmental protection, and poverty reduction,
• the burnout rate in their ranks.

I first trace the development of my convictions about the direction in which higher educational theory and curricular reform for Christian faith-based social activism should move. These convictions are:

Teaching methods and curricula flow out of theories about how human beings learn. These learning theories are grounded, tacitly or explicitly, in assumptions about the relationship between the body and the mind. Most current neuroscience reflects views of human nature that are not grounded in the hard body/mind, feeling/thought, and mortal flesh/immortal soul dualisms that have shaped most mainstream Western faith-based educational theories. If educators were to take the embodied nature of all learning more seriously, the curricula and teaching methods that would result would be more effective in teaching the cognitive re-patterning necessary to creatively re-envision and transform the conflict that social activism inevitably entails.

Meditation practices taught by Ignatius Loyola (the sixteenth-century Spanish founder of the Jesuits) and Thich Nhat Hanh (the twentieth-century Vietnamese founder of the Zen Tiep Hien order) can be complementary, theologically appropriate means for training Americans in Christian congregations and educational institutions to persevere effectively in peace and justice ministries.

Student responses suggest that kataphatic, ergotrophic Ignatian meditations upon biblical narratives and images, and apophatic, trophotropic Zen meditations which foster detachment from habitual narratives and images, may be able to mutually reinforce creative problem-solving, emotional resilience, and altruistic convictions. In this paper I examine student reflections about practicing Zen meditation upon the breath in a learning context which included:

1. Ignatian imaginative entry into biblical narratives about individual and/or social transformation,
2. Journaling about the connections between meditation practices, self-knowledge, communication, and social action.

Sandra Costen Kunz is completing a dissertation in Practical Theology at Princeton Theological Seminary which involves interdisciplinary work between four streams of disciplined thought about the cognitive/affective aspects of creative problem-solving and spiritual discernment:

1. neuroscience research using neural mapping techniques,
2. Christian theological anthropology as articulated by practical theologians,
3. the Vietnamese Zen Buddhist tradition of meditation taught by Thich Nhat Hanh,
4. the Ignatian tradition of meditation taught by Jesuits.

Javier Leach
Director of the Chair: Science, Technology and Religion, Universidad Pontificia Comilllas and Associate Professor of Computer Science at Universidad Complutense
Local Society: Catedra Ciencia Tecnologia y Religion LSI
Madrid, Spain
Paper Title: Trans-Disciplinarity and the "Transcendifying" God
Monday, June 6 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm in Class of '49 Room

Experience and Language
The dialectic between the knowing subject and reality obtains a special emphasis with the birth of modern science. The relation between experience and language in science is not static. The dynamic character of this relation is something that has been progressively discovered.

Mathematical Rationality: A Plural World
Since the 19th century, diverse factors have affected the semantic unity of mathematics. The apparition of non-Euclidean geometries was one of them. Another factor was the development of Algebra and its connection with Logic. Towards the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries, the consistency, completeness, and decidability of mathematical systems were studied. The incompleteness and un-decidability theorems demythologized the aspiration to obtain complete and decidable systems. The base of mathematical rationality itself became plural.

Leibniz proposed to solve conflicts by defining well the concepts inside a formal system of calculation. The participants in a discussion have to sit down and calculate. Today the proposal of Leibniz is naive. We cannot avoid risk.

Plurality of Scientific Disciplines
In the course of the 20th century, the methodical and disciplinary discussion about the validity of scientific statements has moved progressively into the discussion about the ethical value of the results of scientific activity. This is a trans-disciplinary discussion.

Trans-Disciplinarity is Necessary
How do different particular scientific disciplines serve the society and its members? This is an open question that affects and impregnates all the disciplines. The answer goes beyond the respective frontiers of the disciplines. It is a trans-disciplinary question.

Selection
The diversity of autonomous systems provides the base for competition in the process of natural selection. The interesting conjecture is that we have two significantly different ways of carrying out thought: Selection and logic. Beyond natural selection, there is the selection of thought systems. Because it selects thought systems, the conscious human being has a non-logical capability, which goes beyond the computer's capability, of creating new thought systems.

The "Transcendifying" Relation with God as a Trans-Disciplinary Principle
The "transcendifying" Christian religious experience is not based on a formal interpretation of reality but on the loving and real presence of God in the multiplicity of things, and in particular, on his loving presence in the multiplicity of empirical data. And for being real, experience needs to be continuously interpreted anew in the different formal systems.

If the systems of thought are conceived from an evolutionary understanding, then, a final thought does not exist. There is neither a closed understanding nor a unique interpretation of said understanding. The presence of religious experiences and the religious formulations of those experiences are dynamic and interact with other experiences and systems of thought.

I have borrowed the word transcendificante from the philosopher Zubiri because I believe the use of new words is necessary in order to express the deep and real relation between the "transcendent" God and the "immanent" plurality of the world. The word transcendificante suggests at the same time the idea of "transcendence" and "active presence."

Fr. Javier Leach, SJ born in Valencia, Spain in 1942, obtained the Doctor degree in Mathematics at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid in 1977. He is Director of the Chair of Science, Technology, and Religion of the Universidad Pontificia Comillas, Madrid (Spain) and Associate Professor in the Faculty of Computer Science of the Universidad Complutense since 1987. His topics of research are in the fields of mathematical logic and computing science, such as, authomatic deduction, tableaux based systems, functional and logic programming, and hereditary Harrop formulas. He has published a number of papers in specialized journals on the foundations of functional mathematical uses, semantic tableaux for logic systems, and related subjects. He is a Jesuit priest and, at present, chairman of the European Jesuits in Science. He is also involved in pastoral work.

Andreas Losch
Minister of the Protestant Church of the Rhineland
Local Society: Science & Theology Discussion Group
Duisburg, Germany
Paper Title: Our World is More Than Physics – a Constructive-Critical Comment On the Current Science and Theology Debate
Tuesday, June 7 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm in Hall of Flags

"Critical realism" is one of the most important positions in the current science and theology debate. An analysis of its origin and meaning leads to the question if this position mostly propagated by physicist-theologians could miss an intrinsic feature of the personal dimension of reality. A deeper meaning of the personal dimension sets human science apart. Taking into account social science’s insight that persons responsible for their conclusions and actions drive the process of science, the moral dimension of science has to be emphasized. To integrate these aspects into a coherent position, a more differentiated epistemological model is needed. The solution proposed in this paper is to modify critical realism to constructive-critical realism. Theologically interpreted, constructive-critical realism remembers humankind’s purpose to shape nature in cooperation with God and with the means of culture toward increasing realization of freedom in relationship.

The argument is widely influenced by an analysis of the works of John Polkinghorne.

Andreas Losch:
1993-2001 Studies of Protestant Theology and Judaism in Bochum, Wuppertal, Jerusalem and Heidelberg
2001 Scientific collaborator at the Institute for Scientific Computing, Heidelberg
2001-2004 Pastoral training in Duisburg, Germany
2004+ Minister of the Church of the Rhineland
Doctoral studies on Science and Theology since 2001

Darren MacDougall
Northeastern Seminary and University of St. Michael's College
Rochester, New York, USA and Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Paper Title: The Role of Nature in Iroquois Spirituality

The role that nature plays in the spirituality of the Native American tribes stands out as having a profound connection with the world. Their worldviews place tremendous importance upon their bond with nature. The specific role that nature plays in their spiritual lives varies from tribe to tribe; although, many beliefs about nature are widely shared among Native Americans. This paper will focus on one such tribe, the Iroquois, or preferably Haudenosaunee ('People Building a Longhouse'). Many misunderstandings of their beliefs have resulted from incomplete observations that were often taken alone and out of context. To gain a proper understanding of their connection to nature, it is essential to appreciate how various aspects of their spirituality are interwoven.

We enjoy in today's technologically advanced world amazingly quick and easy access to a truly immense amount of information. The judgment of other cultures and religions based on mere snippets of information is not only poor research, but also a grave injustice that has often led to oppression and prejudice. In taking advantage of this ability we can perhaps gain a deeper and better understanding of other religions and worldviews.

Darren MacDougall, 35 years old, is a proud father and loving husband who has a passion for both theology and the environment. His education includes a BA in Psychology from Niagara University and a MA in Theology from Northeastern Seminary. He has just been accepted into a PhD Program at the University of St. Michael's College at the Toronto School of Theology. In addition to the PhD he will also be pursuing a certificate in Theology and Ecology from the Elliot Allen Institute of Theology and Ecology. He previously spent 15 years in the environmental testing laboratory business, including many years as both a technician and project manager. Mr. MacDougall is currently employed as a computer teacher at Stella Niagara Education Park, a private Catholic school, and as an adjunct professor of introductory Christian theology courses for those seeking certificates in ministry. This unique mixture of education and experience has fueled his passion to become a post-secondary educator of theology with a focus on Christian ethics and the environment. Darren is a great enthusiast of everything Scottish, as well as an avid fisher and golfer.

Farzad Mahootian
Director of Sponsored Research, Shepherd University
Local Society: The Nexus of Science and Spirit
Shepherdstown, West Virginia, USA
Paper Title: Self-Limitation in Science, Philosophy and Religion
Monday, June 6 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm in Class of '49 Room

Self-limitation in Science: The intent of the present work is to re-envision science in order to investigate the possibility of bringing self-reflection to scientific thought. To decipher and render intelligible the "mute language" of the history of scientific discovery and technological invention we must attend to the relationship between classical and quantum physics as a metaphor "mutely appealing for an imaginative leap" (Whitehead).

Beyond being an elegant example of a scientific revolution, the cognitive transition from classical to quantum mechanics is unique in the history of science. It is my contention that we can learn an important philosophical lesson from the development of quantum mechanics: that our necessary interaction with any object of investigation--a necessity meticulously defined and defended in terms of quantum theory itself--alters the metaethical aspect of science. Quantum theory has initiated a new phase in the phenomenology of scientific thought: a phase which provides the conditions for the arousal of normative consciousness from within science.

The Bohr-Einstein Debate: In considering the Bohr-Einstein debate we find their disagreements to be about a theory of knowledge and a theory of reality. The nature of the disagreement becomes especially clear in light of Plato’s epistemology, as represented in his "divided line" image. The idea of limit and of self-limitation holds an important place in Plato's thinking. In his discussion of the levels or modes of thinking the functional relationship between the levels, is the point of key importance.

Science, Myth, and Metaphor: We consider Bohr's reflection that there are moments in science when "language can be used only as in poetry." How does language function in poetry? If we are to take Bohr seriously we must investigate the role of metaphor in language, science and religion. Myth and metaphors have played important roles in the history of science and the history of religion. While examples of the latter are generally well known, examples of the former are less familiar. A popular belief states that the ultimate rejection of the extravagant claims of alchemy paved the way for progress in objective science. It is perhaps more accurate to say that the alchemical mythos was replaced by the modern mythos of the machine. The mechanistic materialism of the modern age is more powerful and efficient, but it is nevertheless equally mythical in scope and ambition. With the rise of 20th century physics many of the ideals and ambitions of modern science were realized, but with victory came renunciation. Bohr's Copenhagen interpretation of the atom placed fundamental epistemic limits on quantum physics.

Self-limitation in Religion: Choice necessarily brings limitation: making one choice precludes making some other choices--the very point of complementarity. The ultimate paradox, obvious to practitioners of yoga and other spiritual disciplines, is that self-limitation is an exercise of freedom and it brings about liberation. From this perspective it is ultimately self-limiting to not practice self-limitation.

Dr. Mahootian received his Ph.D. in Philosophy from Fordham University in 1990, and his Masters degree in Chemistry from Georgetown University in 1991.

He has taught philosophy and chemistry for over 20 years. During his stint as a high school science teacher in Washington, DC between 1990-98 he developed a research-oriented Earth system science course with support from NASA. As part of that venture, he designed some computer-based data visualization systems for use by students, teachers, and other non-specialists. Though seemingly divergent, his scientific and philosophical studies focus on the importance of systems as they occur both in nature and in our thinking about nature.

Farzad teaches "World Literature – Philosophy Concentration" at Shepherd University. He also started his new position as Director of Sponsored Research for Shepherd in February 2005.

Recently Farzad received a 3-year grant from the Metanexus Institute to host an ongoing series of public events and lectures at Shepherd on the intersection of science and religion.

Ashok Kumar Malhotra
Distinguished Teaching Professor, Department of Philosophy, SUNY
Local Society: Yoga and Meditation Society for the Scientific Study of Spirituality
Oneonta, New York, USA
Paper Title: Yoga and Healing: Scientific Connection
Tuesday, June 7 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm in Franklin Room

Until 1950, almost all the literature dealing with the healing and other beneficial effects of yoga, meditation and contemplative practice on the human personality was theological, philosophical or popular in nature. Scientists seemingly ignored this important realm of human experience. It was only during the past 50 years that students and teachers of yoga and meditation offered themselves for scientific study. Swami Rama, Zen Priests, Himalayan Yogis, and mediators trained in Transcendental Meditation and Vippasana allowed themselves to be tested under laboratory conditions to demonstrate the efficacy of their meditative techniques. Encouraged by positive findings, scientists, who at first had approached these investigations cautiously, began to regard meditation and contemplative practice as genuine subjects of study. A number of scientific studies indicated that the yoga and meditative experience induced positive changes in the individual and social behavior of the practitioner.

This paper is divided into three parts. Part I will cite some significant scientific studies done on the effects of yoga and meditation on the various aspects of the human personality. Part II will delve into the personal reports of undergraduate students who participated in a six-week course on the theory and experiential aspects of Yoga, Zen and Mantra Meditation. The reports of four individuals will be cited as showing the significant changes brought by these meditation practices. Part III will offer evaluative comments on the state of research on meditation and personality and how this could be a model for the interface between science and religion.

Dr. Ashok Kumar Malhotra is SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor and East West Center Distinguished Alumnus; winner of Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, United University Professions Excellence Award, Friends of Education Award; Bharat Excellence Award and Jewel of India Gold Award. He received his PhD in Philosophy from the University of Hawaii and has published eight books: Jean Paul Sartre’s Existentialism in Nausea; Jean Paul Sartre’s Existentialism in Literature and Philosophy; On Hindu Philosophies of Experience; Pathways to Philosophy (with Douglas Shrader); Guidebook for Pathways to Philosophy (with Douglas Schrader); Culture and Self (with Douglas Allen); Transcreation of the Bhagavad Gita; Instant Nirvana; and An Introduction to Yoga Philosophy. Other publications include more than 50 papers on Asian and Comparative Philosophy and ten poems. Dr. Malhotra is the founder of the Ninash Foundation, a charitable organization that helps build elementary schools for the impoverished children of India. He was a consultant for the Warner Brothers TV series "Kung Fu: The Legend Continues" and has made guest appearances on TV and radio shows in Australia, Holland, India, and the USA. He received the Metanexus LSI Grant to set up the "Yoga and Meditation Society for the Scientific Study of Spirituality" in 2004.

Robert Mann
Chair, Physics Department, University of Waterloo
Local Society: Canadian Scientific and Christian Affiliation National Lecture Series
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
Paper Title: Theory and Theology of Everything
Monday, June 5 11:00 am - 12:30 pm in Hall of Flags

The idea of unification - that of understanding disparate phenomena in terms of a small set of concepts - is a key theme in both religion and science. A prominent example is that of string theory, a theory of physics that purports to reduce our understanding of all of nature in terms of a few basic structures. I will explore the role that unified theories play in our understanding of science and religion. Would the confirmation of a "theory of everything" (such as string theory) undermine or buttress a religious understanding of the world? Or is the development of a unified theory a religiously motivated exercise?

Robert Mann is the chair of the Physics Department at the University of Waterloo, in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. He has published over 200 refereed articles in scientific journals, supervised more than 30 graduate students, and has given over 150 invited talks. He is an affiliate member of the newly-established Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, and has served on several academic and scientific advisory boards, including two grant selections committees of the Natural Sciences & Engineering Research Council of Canada, the Ontario College of Graduate Studies, and the Institute for Quantum Computing. His research interests are in black holes, quantum gravity, particle physics, quantum information, chaotic phenomena, and the relationship between science and religion. He is a Templeton Course Prize winner for his course on "Faith & Science Faith." As president of the Canadian Scientific & Christian Affiliation, he oversees the activities of Canada's only national organization concerned with science/faith issues. He is an active member of First Mennonite Church in Kitchener, Ontario, and lives in Waterloo, Ontario with his wife Nancy, daughter Heather and pets Frisky and Gracie.

James J. McCartney
Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy, Villanova University
Villanova, Pennsylvania, USA
Paper Title: God and the Problem of Evil in the Process Theology of W. Norman Pittenger and the Pastoral Theology of Rabbi Harold S. Kushner
Monday, June 6 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm in Franklin Room

W. Norman Pittenger and Rabbi Harold Kushner are strange bedfellows. The former is one of the greatest Christian process theologians of the twentieth century, and the latter is a Jewish Rabbi with a congregation in Natick, Massachusetts. What they both have in common is a profound insight into the problem of evil, derived by Pittenger through his processive understanding of the Divine, and reflected on by Kushner after the untimely death of his son Aaron from 'progeria' (rapid aging). In this study, I would like to compare and contrast the insights of these two authors as they try to deal with the issue of 'God and the problem of evil,' a problem that has vexed some of the greatest minds of history. Both Pittenger and Kushner have the advantage of having a contemporary understanding of science which greatly assists them in developing their thought, and, although Pittenger’s approach is sort of from the top down, and Kushner’s from the bottom up, they arrive at very similar understandings and conclusions.

W. Norman Pittenger's processive understanding of the Divine is primarily indebted to the philosophy of Alfred North Whitehead. For Pittenger, God is 'pure unbounded love,' 'Love-in-act,' which is disclosed in a threefold quality of the experience of the Divine activity in the world, a triunity. But if God is the 'lure of Love,' how can we account for tsunamis, hurricanes, tornadoes, children dying of cancer or other anomalies, or other planetary ills? If God is Love-in-act, why are there madness, disease, natural violence, and destructive natural force? It will be the task of the paper to provide Pittenger’s answer to these questions.

Rabbi Kushner states at the outset of his book that this is not an abstract book about God and theology. He says that it is a very personal book, written by someone who believes in God and in the goodness of the world, someone who has spent most of his life trying to help other people believe, and was compelled by a personal tragedy to rethink everything he had been taught about God and God’s ways. He then recounts the short life and death of his son Aaron, and says that he wanted to write a book that could be given to the person who has been hurt by life, and who knows in his heart that if there is any justice in the world, he deserved better. Thus Rabbi Kushner’s book is aptly titled, When Bad Things Happen to Good People, and it is here that he develops his insights into the problem of evil that are remarkably similar to those of Norman Pittenger and which I will unfold in this study.

The Rev. Dr. James J. McCartney is Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy of Villanova University near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He teaches courses in ethics, health care ethics, bioethics and the law, the philosophy of medicine, and the philosophy of law. He received a Ph.D. in philosophy from Georgetown University in 1981 and also has graduate degrees in cell and molecular biology (M.S., The Catholic University of America) and theology (M.A., Washington Theological Union). He has co-edited two books, Health, Disease and Illness: Concepts of Medicine (Georgetown University Press, 2004), and Concepts of Health and Disease, Interdisciplinary Perspectives (Addison-Wesley, 1981). He has authored numerous articles and a book, Unborn Persons: Pope John Paul II and the Abortion Debate, (Peter Lang, 1987). Two of his most recent articles deal with stem cell research: "Recent Ethical Controversies About Stem Cell Research" in Stem Cell Research, pp. 87-119, edited by James M. Humber and Robert F. Almeder (Humana Press, 2004) and "Embryonic Stem Cell Research and Respect for Human Life: Philosophical and Legal Reflections," Albany Law Review 65:3 (2002):597-624.

Jay McDaniel
Professor of Religion, Hendrix College and Steel Center at Hendrix College
Local Society: New Horizons: A Society for the Study of Science and World Religions
Conway, Arkansas, USA
Paper Title: Why It Matters - How a Dialogue between Science and Religion, with help from Higher Education, Can Help the World Religions Meet the Challenges of the Twenty-First Century
Tuesday, June 7 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm in Class of '49 Room

In light of contemporary global challenges as adumbrated in the Earth Charter, the people of the world’s religions face five serious challenges. They are: (1) To live compassionately: that is, to identify resources for respect and care for the community of life within our traditions and to live from them, thus helping to build multi-religious communities that are just, sustainable, participatory and non-violent, (2) To live self-critically: that is, to acknowledge tendencies within our traditions that lend themselves to arrogance, prejudice, violence, and ignorance, repenting from them, adding new chapters to our religion’s history, (3) To live simply: that is, to present a viable and joyful alternative to the dominant religion of our age, namely consumerism, by living simply and frugally, thereby avoiding the tragedies of poverty and the arrogance of affluence, (4) To live ecologically: that is, to recognize that we humans are creatures among creatures on a small but gorgeous planet with ethical responsibilities to other living beings and to the whole of life, and (5) To welcome religious diversity: that is, to promote peace between religions by befriending people of other religions, trustful that the truths are many and all make the whole richer. A sixth challenge is to engage in a meaningful dialogue with modern science. This essay shows how and why the sixth challenge is important, not only on its own terms, but also because it can help religious people meet the other five challenges. To provide a context for dialogue, the essay then offers three ideas concerning the nature of religion that can serve the interests of meaningful dialogue. They are (1) that world religions have four different ultimates: the Abyss, the All, the Divine, and the Present Moment; (2) that they variously emphasize three kinds of truth: truthful awareness, truthful living, and truthful belief; and (3) that they often emphasize one or both of two kinds of learning: learning from body to mind and from mind to body. Such ideas can help scientists and theologians avoid overgeneralizations concerning "religion," thereby recognizing that dialogues with different religions rightly have different dynamics. The essay then turns to ways in which science can help the many world religions meet the five challenges named above. It concludes with a discussion of how ongoing dialogue between science and religion, in service to the larger needs of the world, might occur, not only in particular courses on science and religion within higher education, but within the context of "engaged learning" within liberal arts colleges. The example of Hendrix College, with its requirement that students have three experiences in engaged learning, provides an opportunity for illustration. At Hendrix students are required to gain these experiences in one of six areas: artistic creativity, global awareness, leadership and professional training, undergraduate research, service to the world, and what is called "special projects" that integrate multiple forms of learning. Each area has its own unique opportunities for advancing science-religion dialogue. Inasmuch as higher education, including liberal arts education, trains leaders for the future, the engaged learning movement, of which Hendrix is illustrative, provides an important context for such training. An integration of science-religion dialogue into the engaged learning movement offers a ray of healthy hope in a time of global need.

Jay McDaniel is Professor of Religion and Director of the Steel Center for the Study of Religion and Philosophy at Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas. He is author of Of God and Pelicans: A Theology of Reverence for Life; Earth, Sky, Gods, and Mortals: Developing an Ecological Spirituality; With Roots and Wings: Christianity in an Age of Ecology and Dialogue; Living from the Center: Spirituality in an Age of Consumerism; and Gandhi’s Hope: Learning from Other Religions as a Path to Peace.

Hubert Meisinger
Protestant Campus Minister, Darmstadt University of Technology; Vice-President of the European Society for the Study of Science and Theology (ESSSAT)
Local Society: Science - Human Being - Religion
Darmstadt, Germany
Paper Title: The Phenomenon of "Love": The Significance of its Biblical Account and its Sociobiological Reconstruction
Monday, June 6 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm in Franklin Room

Science has a formative impact in our days. This seems to be true especially with respect to a genetically reductionistic view on human beings where the DNA seems to have as much dignity as the person had in former times. A formative power can be appointed especially towards a special stream of biological behavioral research which is well known as sociobiology.

This paper argues that there are three basic motives in sociobiological research on altruism which are also characteristic for the biblical account of love: (1) An Awareness of Expanding Inclusiveness which pertains to the recipient of love or altruistic behavior and the extension of this circle of recipients beyond the most immediate neighbour, (2) an Awareness of Excessive Demand that deals with the question of the capability of human beings to meet what seems to be an excessive demand for love or altruism, and (3) a Threshold Awareness which concerns the question of whether love or altruism constitutes a step on the way to a "new human being" and a "new world."

All three motives appear in characteristic ways in both research on altruism in sociobiology and investigations on the love command in the bible.

The biblical account: In Mark, love is intimately related to the coming kingdom of God which has begun in Jesus and which influences human beings that belong to the Christian community (3). Whether human beings are really able to love this way is how Matthew approaches this notion (2). He shows that forgiveness and excessive demand closely belong to each other. Luke stresses the idea that love without any former requirement necessarily has to be addressed to everyone, even to enemies (1).

With respect to sociobiology the following will be discussed: The fundamental problem of sociobiological altruism research is the extension of altruistic behaviour to genetically unrelated fellow human beings. The ability to explain altruistic behaviour toward genetically unrelated individuals is a kind of criterion for altruism models (1). In sociobiological altruism research the models that exist (theory of group-selection, theory of kin-selection, reciprocal altruism) show that, when human beings are viewed exclusively in biological terms, they are overtaxed by the demand to act altruistically beyond the circle of immediate kin (2). A pure biological consideration of human beings is incomplete, only by crossing the border between biological and cultural evolution can altruistic behaviour toward non-kin individuals be explained (3).

It will be argued that those basic motives are a kind of proximate expressions of basic, culturally formative, ultimate powers - at least in our Western-Christian tradition and world. This could also lead to a new attitude of science towards an evolutionary theory of religion in taking its expressions and outcomes even more seriously than it has done so far.

Hubert Meisinger, born 1966, studied theology at the Ruprecht-Karls-University Heidelberg and the Zygon Center for Religion and Science, Chicago. In 1989 he was awarded the Kleines Lutherstipendium. For his thesis on "Love Command and Research on Altruism: An Exegetical Approach towards the Dialogue between Theology and Science" he had been awarded the 1996 ESSSAT Prize for Studies in Science and Theology. He works as campus minister and part time lecturer for science and religion at Darmstadt University of Technology. He has received two awards in the Science and Religion Course Programme of CTNS, Berkeley (1999 and 2002). He is ESSSAT Vice-President for Publications, member of the International Society for Science and Religion (ISSR), and a participant at the John Templeton Oxford Seminars on Science and Christianity 2003-2005. He has lectured in the field of science and religion and has published articles and books on that theme, e.g. together with Uwe Gerber, Das Gen als Mass aller Menschen? Menschenbilder im Zeitalter der Gene (Genes as Measure of Humankind? Perspectives on Human Beings in the Era of Genes, 2004). He is trained as an organist and conductor of choirs. He and his wife Dorothea have three children.

Ted Metzler
Adjunct Professor in Philosophy and Religion, Oklahoma City University
Local Society: GOOD STAR (Growing Open Oklahoma Dialogue in Science, Technology, and Religion)
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA
Paper Title: Three Educational Experiments with Potential Application in a Global Network
Tuesday, June 7 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm in Class of '49 Room

Three educational experiments associated with our Local Societies Initiative program yield experience that should be useful to similar programs during the building of a global network to serve religion-and-science dialogue. This paper gives a summary report of opportunities and challenges that we have encountered in the experiments.

First, our GOOD STAR LSI program has continued its coordinated interaction with a computer software prototyping project that we described for this conference in a paper and presentation last year. Work in the Computer Science Department at Oklahoma City University (OCU) has now progressed to early stages of user experimentation with its prototype agent-based social simulation tool named "THAIST" (Theological Artificial Intelligence Simulation Tool). Association of this project with the GOOD STAR program is appropriate, for THAIST is intended to enable improved dialogue among the scientists and the members of religious communities who view altruistic behavior from notably different perspectives.

Educational opportunities that have emerged in our collaboration with the THAIST project are interesting at more than one level. Locally, the prototype is giving the OCU students in an altruism course some valuable "hands on" experience with social simulation. Global distribution potential for this tool also marks an area of educational opportunity represented by THAIST. Although costs of the software work have been borne by the OCU Computer Science Department, GOOD STAR’s website soon will furnish an appropriate vehicle for widespread freeware distribution of the THAIST package.

Our second educational experiment emerged as one of the derivative benefits of video-conferencing activity that had been enabled by the Supplemental Grant Prize we received last year. In the course of preparing our planned "initial intrastate" video-conferencing event, we noted opportunity to capture video and PowerPoint graphics from the presentations for later use. The video-conferencing link between Oklahoma City University and Phillips Theological Seminary (Tulsa) was intended principally to support distributed discussion of the presentations, but the event permitted us to produce a useful educational package on DVD, as well. Although technical difficulties with the video-conferencing link ultimately managed to frustrate its intent, they furnished some useful "lessons learned" that we shall discuss in this paper.

GOOD STAR’s third educational experiment has involved so-called "distance education" (DE). Also a derivative opportunity that we recognized in our initial video-conferencing event, this ongoing project capitalizes upon, and is funded by, resources already available at Oklahoma City University for producing instruction of this kind. An eight-week Internet-based course currently is being developed as an expansion from the presentations given at GOOD STAR's intrastate video-conferencing event. Inasmuch as the two speakers for the event represent universities in New Hampshire and Oklahoma, respectively, their subsequent collaboration in development and presentation of the DE course furnishes additional networking experience.

Ted Metzler’s B.A. degree in mathematics (with philosophy minor) was followed by an M.S. in computer science and an M.A. and Ph.D. in philosophy. The consistent motivation in this educational path was his fascination with relations between traditional notions of the human person and new alternatives introduced by artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics. Appropriately, most of Ted’s work experience in computer software development, between 1976 and the present, has involved AI applications. Several years ago--sensing a personal calling to help mediate dialogue between the communities of AI and religion--he returned to school and earned an additional M.A. degree in theology. Ted currently is an adjunct professor in philosophy and religion at Oklahoma City University, where he also serves as program coordinator for the LSI program named "GOOD STAR" (Growing Open Oklahoma Dialogue in Science, Technology, and Religion). GOOD STAR is hosted by the Wimberly School of Religion at OCU, and is chaired by Dean Mark Y. A. Davies.

Svetozar Minkov
Department of Philosophy, Roosevelt University
Chicago, Illinois, USA
Paper Title: Bacon’s Modernity: The Relation between Science, Religion, and Philosophy

This paper considers the thought of Francis Bacon, one of the greatest promoters of the project of modern science. The questions considered are the following:

1. What is Bacon's vision for modern science and is it hostile, friendly, or indifferent to Christianity?
2. What is the relation between Bacon’s promotion of technological science and his understanding of philosophy?

Svetozar Minkov has been a visiting assistant professor and a postdoctoral Bradley Fellow at Kenyon College (Gambier, OH). Beginning in the fall of 2005, he’ll be an assistant professor of philosophy at Roosevelt University in Chicago. He holds a Ph.D. from the Committee on Social Thought at the University of Chicago where his studies focused on the relation between faith and reason, above all in the thought of Maimonides, Marsilius of Padua, and Francis Bacon. He’s the co-editor of Enlightening Revolutions (forthcoming from Lexington Books).

Katalin Mund
Department of Sociology, Eötvös University
Local Society: 3 Cultures Group
Budapest, Hungary
Paper Title: How do biology students believe?
Tuesday, June 7 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm in Golkin Room

The relation between science and religion has been a question of interest since the 19th century. Reflecting international tendencies, in the past ten years the polemic about the theory of evolution has become more and more vehement in Hungary as well. The starting point of my research was that it is worth examining the views of those who have factual knowledge of the matter of evolution (e.g. who learned about it, examined it in laboratories, etc.), and whose attitudes are not formed solely by the general world view they devoted themselves to.

The questions I will talk about on the basis of our results are:

• In what manner are the students religious? As according to some views biology challenges the religious world view, the question arises whether the students majoring in biology are less religious then the average of the university students – or just the opposite?
• What is the relation between science and religion for a university student? Can religion encourage scientific thinking? Do insights of religion and insights of science complement each other or do they contradict?
• Do religion and science refer to the same reality?
• What is more determinative of the way a student thinks about evolution: is it his/her religious background or his/her university education?
• Do students of biology have any problem in reconciling the two theories: evolution and creation? Do they see any contradiction between them at all? If so, how do they think the two concepts are reconcilable?

Katalin Mund, one of the founders of the 3 Cultures Group, was born in Hungary in 1971. She is a Buddhist theologist, graduated in 1999 at the Gate of the Dharma Buddhist College, Budapest, Hungary. The title of her dissertation was " The religious message, the two fundamental interpretations of Buddhism." Mund is also a sociologist graduated in 2004 from Eötvös University, Budapest, Hungary. The title of her dissertation was"The Gods of East in the West." Now she is working on her PhD-dissertation on Sociology at Eötvös University. Her research fields are sociology of religion (especially New Religious Movements and Science and religion) and sociology of science (especially problems of interdisciplinarity). She is a two-time winner of the Hungarian National Scientific Student Conference on sociology. In 2002 she was awarded with the Mannheim Certificate as best student of the Department of Sociology at Eötvös University. She was twice honoured with the Student Science Fellowship Award, and the Scholarship of the Hungarian republic three times. In 2003 she won the Pro Scientia Gold Medal, Prize of the Hungarian Academy of Science for students and the Pro Renovanda Cultura Hungariae Student Science Foundation Fellowship Award.

Andrew Newberg
Director of Clinical Nuclear Medicine, Director of NeuroPET Research, and Assistant Professor in the Department of Radiology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Paper Title: Neurophysiology of Religious Experiences
Sunday, June 5 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm in Hall of Flags

Spiritual experiences are complex mental processes that involves changes in cognition, sensory perception, affect, hormones, and autonomic activity.   Until now, there has been limited understanding of the overall biological mechanism of these experie nces and the practices that help to bring them about. I have previously described a rudimentary neuropsychological model to explain the brain mechanisms underlying spiritual experiences.   This talk provides a substantial development by integrating neurotra nsmitter systems and the results of recent brain-imaging advances into the model.   I will review the current literature regarding the various neurophysiological mechanisms and neurochemical substrates that underlie spiritual practices and experiences.   I will propose specific mechanisms that can provide a basis for future empirical testing.

Dr. Andrew Newberg, MD is Director of Clinical Nuclear Medicine, Director of NeuroPET Research, and Assistant Professor in the Department of Radiology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Upon graduating from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in 1993, Dr. Newberg trained in Internal Medicine at the Graduate Hospital in Philadelphia, and subsequently completed a Fellowship in Nuclear Medicine in the Department of Radiology, at the University of Pennsylvania. He is Board-certified in Internal Medicine, Nuclear Medicine, and Nuclear Cardiology. His current research now largely focuses on how brain function is associated with various mental states-in particular, the relationship between brain function and mystical or religious experiences. Dr. Newberg's extensive teaching credentials include leading several stress-management programs for the University of Pennsylvania Health System and teaching the physiological basis of various alternative medicine techniques, the neurophysiology of religious experience and the importance of spirituality in medical practice. He is a co-founder of the Institute for the Scientific Study of Meditation. He has also received a Science and Religion Course Award from CTNS. Dr Newberg has published numerous articles and book chapters and is author, with the late Eugene D'Aquili, of The Mystical Mind (1999) and Why God Won't Go Away (2001). He was also an associate director of the Neuroscience Section for the recent consensus conference on Scientific Research on Spirituality and Health sponsored by the National Institute of Healthcare Research. He serves on the Board of Metanexus Institute.

Basarab Nicolescu
President, International Center for Transdisciplinary Research and Studies
Paris, France
Paper Title: Towards Transdisciplinary Education and Learning
Monday, June 6 9:00 am - 10:30 am in Hall of Flags

Abstract not available...

Basarab Nicolescu is the president of the International Center for Transdisciplinary Research and Studies in Paris. He was born in 1942 in Ploiesti, Romania and received his Ph.D. at Pierre et Marie Curie University, Paris in 1972. He is a specialist in the theory of elementary particle physics. He is the author of more than a hundred articles in leading international scientific journals and has made numerous contributions to science anthologies and several dozen French radio documentaries on science. For many years he has collaborated with G. F. Chew, former Dean of Physics at the University of California at Berkeley and founder of the Bootstrap Theory. They have jointly published several articles on the topological framework of Bootstrap Theory. Nicolescu is a major advocate of the transdisciplinary reconciliation between Science and the Humanities and is the author of The Manifesto of Transdisciplinarity, State University of New York Press. Professor Nicolescu is a member of the International Society of Science and Religion.

Marie Vejrup Nielsen
PhD-student, Department of Systematic Theology, Faculty of Theology, University of Aarhus
Local Society: The Danish Science-Theology Forum
Aarhus, Denmark
Paper Title: "Narrative Tone" in the Discussion of the Christian Doctrine of Sin in Dialogue with Evolutionary Science – Finding a Way Between Demonization and Trivialization
Monday, June 6 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm in Franklin Room

The Christian understanding of sin entails an anthropology, a certain understanding of human being. The Christian doctrine of sin is connected to the other central anthropological statements of Christian doctrine: creation and redemption. This lecture will be a discussion of the terminology of "narrative tone" in connection with the attempt to find a narrative tone between demonizing pessimism and trivializing optimism in the description of human nature in the Christian doctrine of sin. This will first of all make it possible to understand the basic elements of the Christian narrative of human nature, and secondly it will enable interdisciplinary dialogue with other narratives, which claim to present a complete framework for understanding human beings, their past, present and future. The parameters of demonization / pessimism and trivialization / optimism will enable the different disciplines to compare their general understanding of human nature.

The concept of narrative tone for this paper is inspired by the terminology found in Dan P. McAdams in his work The Stories We Live By – Personal Myths and the Making of the Self from 1993. McAdams's concept of "narrative tone" is interesting for theology for several reasons. First of all because of his choice of words such as: "faith in the possibilities of human intention," "hope," and "daring to believe that the world can be good," these are words, which are very much affiliated with theological language. Secondly, it is interesting, because the two alternatives, optimism and pessimism, have played a major role in the formulation of the Christian understanding of human nature within the doctrine of sin, albeit under other headlines, and thirdly because the doctrine of sin in itself has been criticised for contributing to a pessimistic narrative tone and thereby contributing to the destruction of healthy human self images.

The Christian notion of "sin" is very complex and what is meant by "sin" is in itself neither agreed upon among different Christian churches nor within the communities of the different churches. But in spite of these differences, there seems to be certain reappearing areas of discussion in the history of the doctrine of sin concerning the image of human nature and the narrative tone used when telling the story of humanity from a Christian perspective. Central theological thinkers, such as Augustine and Martin Luther, find themselves in the middle of a debate concerning the narrative tone in their views of human nature as they are presented within their formulation of the doctrine of sin. A Christian doctrine of sin is primarily a narrative, a story about humanity, from beginning to end. Every theological attempt to rethink the tradition on sin is a contribution to the narrative of Christian anthropology. Theologians are through the notion of sin presenting a narrative of human nature, and these narratives touch upon every aspect of human life, its origin, the powers which control human beings, and the possibilities of transformation.

Marie Vejrup Nielsen is currently a PhD student in the department of Systematic Theology at the Faculty of Theology at the Aarhus University, Denmark. She is on the board of the Danish Science-Theology Forum, which is a part of the Local Societies Initiative. In 2004 she received the ESSSAT Student Prize for the thesis "Aggression and Violence as themes for the Christian Understanding of Sin." She has a Master of Theology degree from Aarhus University, Denmark from 2003 and a Master of Arts degree from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago from 2000 with Phillip Hefner as academic advisor. She has co-edited the third book from the Danish Forum together with Professor Niels Henrik Gregersen: Preparing for the Future - The Role of Theology in the Science-Religion Dialogue. Her article "Tradition and Inspiration – The Doctrine of Sin in Dialogue" will appear in the forthcoming Studies in Science and Theology X from ESSSAT. The Danish Science-Theology Forum is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2005; Nielsen and the other members of the board of the Danish Forum are planning an international conference to take place in December 2005 to celebrate the anniversary.

David Nikkel
Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy and Religion, University of North Carolina at Pembroke
Local Society: Science and Religion Roundtable at St. Andrews Presbyterian College
Pembroke, North Carolina, USA
Paper Title: Humanity and Divinity as Radically Embodied
Tuesday, June 7 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm in Hall of Flags

Pursuant to the Philosophical and Theological Foundations of the Science and Religion Dialogue, this essay will develop an anthropological theory I call "radical embodiment," a biologically informed theory of human nature, rationality, and meaning. This theory also has ramifications for the divine-world relationship. I will draw upon a mentor, religionist William Poteat, who in turn drew upon philosophers who emphasized the bodily nature of human existence, as well as utilizing contemporary thinkers. I will argue that all human reason, meaning, and consciousness arise, not merely instrumentally but substantively, from our sensorimotor capabilities and the general feeling or orientational states of our bodies. With phenomenologist Maurice Merleau Ponty, radical embodiment maintains that human perception and bodily engagement correlatively define and are defined by the world. Radical embodiment thus overcomes Cartesian dualisms between mind and the physical world incompatible with modern science.

Cognitive scientists Varela, Thompson, and Rosch, with support from biologists Lewontin and Oyama, deftly extend the correlation of human sensorimotor capabilities and the environment to the evolutionary process itself: self-organizing and emergent biological systems and the environment mutually specify each other.

The evolutionary changes enabling symbolic communication and culture allow humankind to step back from our immediate environment to entertain both religious and scientific questions. Human language has thus exponentially expanded the complexity of human reason and meaning. Nevertheless, consonant with our evolutionary heritage and the self-organizing capabilities of organisms, radical embodiment argues with Poteat, philosopher of language Ludwig Wittgenstein, contemporary philosopher Mark Johnson, and linguist George Lakoff that the semantics of human language rely upon the images and meanings of our spatial orientation, movement, and perception. Even the syntax that permits the most abstract of mental gymnastics relies upon and extends from these bodily semantics.

Neurobiologists Damasio and Edelman have expounded how body-minded consciousness entailing intrinsic values has been adaptive. The perspective of radical embodiment avoids non-biological models that have reinscribed mind-body dualisms, either through discarnate computational models or physicalist reductionist models where consciousness is an epiphenomenon or illusion rather than integral to bodily engagement with our natural and social worlds.

Finally, epistemologist and philosopher of science Michael Polanyi's concept of tacit knowledge is crucial to understand how we indwell the bodily meaning of our perceptions and movement, of our language, and of our subconscious and unconscious brain processes even as we attend to our world--and thus how it is all too easy to forget this inalienable indwelling in favor of discarnate models of human nature, whether functionalist or linguistic constructivist or physicalist in a manner that denies our lived and lively phenomenal bodies.

Whether human meaning is here on purpose or ultimately by blind chance or brute fact goes beyond science per se to the realm of metaphysical intuition or religious faith. However, we can avoid those models of divinity incompatible with and instead opt for those that cohere or even resonate with scientific knowledge. Our emerging vision of human meaning as embodied resonates with a religious vision of the divine as also embodied: the bodily metaphors at the root of all our experience can be enlisted to interpret the natural world as the body of God.

Science was my first intellectual love. I majored in mathematics at Yale College. Subsequently I earned an M.Div. from the Methodist Theological School in Ohio and a Ph.D. in Religious Studies from Duke University.

At Hastings College I regularly team-taught a course on Religion and Culture/Philosophy of Culture, my main contribution consisting of analysis of Whitehead's take on Western intellectual and scientific history. I recently won a stipend from my present institution, the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, to team-teach with a biologist a course on Religion and Science.

I have published on the topic of panentheism, with a book entitled Panentheism in Hartshorne and Tillich with Peter Lang, and the "panentheism" entry for Macmillan Reference's Encyclopedia of Science and Religion. Also relevant to the science-religion dialogue, the University of Illinois Press solicited a book proposal, entitled Radical Embodiment, which is currently under review.

I am a member of the Metanexus Science and Religion Roundtable at St. Andrew's Presbyterian College. I presented "Consciousness--The Final Frontier: Religious Implications of Cognitive Science and Neuroscience," at their March 2005 meeting. In addition, I presented a paper entitled, "Minding God and the Body: An Embodied-Biological versus a Functionalist Model of Mind," to the Religion and Science Group of the American Academy of Religion, at the 2003 Annual Meeting.

Raymond Ogunade
Coordinator of Programmes, LSI and Department of Religions, University of Ilorin
Local Society: Exploring Contemporary Issues in Science, Religion and the Environment in an African Context
Ilorin, Nigeria
Paper Title: Environmental Issues in Yoruba Religion: Implications for Leadership and Society in Nigeria
Tuesday, June 7 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm in Class of '49 Room

The environment is people, and people are the environment in Yoruba religion. Yoruba religion is palpable in the Yoruba environment. Hence, religion pervades the Yoruba people in every aspect of life. The fact that the Yoruba beliefs and traditions evolved from observations and interaction with their environment makes caring for the earth a significant central issue in the Yoruba life. This paper attempts to examine the approach to environmental issues in Yoruba religion and the implications on leadership and society in Nigeria.

Nature--biosphere and the marine--plays a vital role in the community life of the Yoruba. Microscopic organisms, birds, trees, rocks, rivers, both the visible and the invisible are completely interwoven with the cycle of the religious, social, political, economic, and even moral segments of the typical Yoruba life. Deeply held within this tradition is the notion that Olodumare (God) placed human beings at the apex of nature to nurture, tend and manage for their use and enjoyment, without disrupting the beauty and order therein. Unbridled carelessness and unchecked passions for nature's generosity by individuals can make or mar the peaceful coexistence of the human society with the land that supports its growth and thriving. Leadership potentials and the potentials of traditional traits in the individual Nigerians must therefore be developed in order to manage the God-given natural resources for the benefit and the improvement of the society.

Raymond Ogunade serves as the Coordinator of Programmes of the Local Societies Initiatives at University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria. He recently concluded his Doctoral programme at the same university. In 2001, he was one of three Africans that received the John Templeton Foundation/Centre for Theology and the Natural Sciences' Science and Religion Course Programme award. His course "African Theological Ethics in Perspectives of Modern Science" is being taught for the third academic session in his university, to third year undergraduate students. He has participated in several Science and Religion Conferences in the USA and organized the first African Conference on Science and Religion in October 2001, sponsored by JTF and CTNS. He has published articles in various journals and he is actively involved in networking with other scholars on LSI activities in East Africa. He is happily married and has four children.

Thomas Jay Oord
Department of Philosophy and Theology, Northwest Nazarene University
Local Society: Treasure Valley Science-Religion Institute
Nampa, Idaho, USA
Paper Title: Social Science Contributions to the Love-and-Science Symbiosis
Monday, June 6 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm in Franklin Room

An increasing number of scholars are recognizing the importance of scientific research for understanding love. The biological sciences typically are cited in this cutting-edge research. Not much about love is typically heard from those sciences that explore data about which we theoretically know the most: human experience.

In this paper, I address major research pertaining to love by psychologists and sociologists. I examine Ellen Berscheid's summary essay in The Psychology of Love. Leaning upon Berscheid’s work, I find that psychologists use two major models in their research: what I call the Common Denominator and Classification models.

I explore the work on altruism of sociologist Daniel Batson. His emphasis upon altruism as one primary motivation to help another in need makes it possible for experiments that show the reality of altruism. I consider these experiments a powerful basis for overcoming the claim that some make that all creatures are inherently selfish.

I look at the work of sociologist Samuel Oliner, who interviewed hundreds of rescuers of Jews during the Nazi holocaust. I see these rescuers as poignant examples of humans who act for the good of others at great risk to their own well-being. In this risk, many express love.

Thomas Jay Oord, Ph.D., is Professor of Theology and Philosophy at Northwest Nazarene University, Nampa, Idaho. He serves as theologian for the Institute for Research on Unlimited Love, as well as co-director of the institute's Altruistic Love and Science Course Competition. He contributes frequently to Science and Theology News as its Academic Correspondent and Contributing Editor.

Dr. Oord has written and edited a number of books, the most recent being Science of Love: The Wisdom of Well-Being (Templeton, 2004) and Relational Holiness (Beacon Hill, 2005). His other books include Thy Nature and Thy Name is Love (Kingswood), Philosophy of Religion: Essays (Beacon Hill), and an edited volume on Generation X and religion. His essays have appeared in dozens of journals and books, and he is currently writing a volume that he titles, The Love-and-Science Symbiosis. He and his work have been featured in various magazines and newspapers.

Dr. Oord serves on the executive council of several scholarly societies, including the Open and Relational Theologies group (AAR), the Wesleyan Theological Society, and the Wesleyan Philosophical Society. He is president of the Treasure Valley Science-and-Religion Institute. As well as being a professor, writer, and researcher, Dr. Oord also serves his faith tradition as an ordained minister.

F. David Peat
Director, Pari Center for New Learning
Local Society: The Pari Dialogues on Religion and Science
Pari, Italy
Paper Title: Spiritual Capital and Globalization
Tuesday, June 7 9:00 am - 10:30 am in Class of '49 Room

The paper proposes that the introduction of the notion of spiritual capital involves a call for a paradigm shift involving everything we know about economics, business and governance. It is suggested that spiritual capital must play a vital role in the processes of globalization. The importance of trust and loyalty within the market place is emphasized as another factor involving spiritual capital. Above all it is the role of spirituality and ethics within the individual lives of leaders of business that is of the greatest importance, in that they can be of great influence in their corporations and those around them. The fostering of a network of ethical individuals is suggested. In the final part of the paper the argument is broadened to suggest that a radical re-envisioning of the modern world is required.

F. David Peat obtained his PhD from Liverpool University and carried out research in theoretical physics at Queens University, Canada and the National Research Council of Canada. He also acted as a consultant for the Science Council of Canada and taught at Carleton University, Ottawa. Peat is the author of some twenty books and for many years was associated with the late David Bohm. In 2000, he founded the Pari Center for New Learning (http://www.paricenter.com/) in the medieval village of Pari in Tuscany.

F. David Peat
Director, Pari Center for New Learning
Local Society: The Pari Dialogues on Religion and Science
Pari, Italy
Paper Title: A Global Academy?
Monday, June 6 9:00 am - 10:30 am in Hall of Flags

The paper discusses the current failure of the universities to live up to their promise and the need for alternative academies. One such alternative could be a distributed academy in the form academics and researchers who are connected electronically via an interpenetrating metric- and topologically- connected networks. Such an academy would be in the position to discuss a series of meta-topics involving research and education. These include issues of the dissemination of scholarly knowledge, copyright, more powerful citation indexes, a global system for the identification of scholars whose knowledge, skills and interests would benefit from networking, discussion of ethical issues related to research and assessing the value of the "orchid disciplines."

F. David Peat obtained his PhD from Liverpool University and carried out research in theoretical physics at Queens University, Canada and the National Research Council of Canada. He also acted as a consultant for the Science Council of Canada and taught at Carleton University, Ottawa. Peat is the author of some twenty books and for many years was associated with the late David Bohm. In 2000, he founded the Pari Center for New Learning (http://www.paricenter.com/) in the medieval village of Pari in Tuscany.

Natalia Pecherskaya and Alexei Chernyakov
St. Petersburg School of Religion and Philosophy
Local Society: The St. Petersburg Educational Center for Religion and Science, Russia
St. Petersburg, Russia
Paper Title: The Religious Basis of Contemporary Problems in the Natural Sciences and Humanities
Tuesday, June 7 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm in Golkin Room

The vision for this project is based on an integration of local and global viewpoints. We wish to acknowledge a holistic approach to the science and religion interface. By bringing together Eastern Orthodox theology with important developments in hermeneutical philosophy, science and social communication we hope to deliver a productive approach to the contemporary situation in the Russian context. Educational reform in Russia has reached a critical stage. Incorporating global perspectives on science and religion could open new doors to shared understanding, rather than missing the opportunity to offer mutual benefit and spiritual learning.

Dr. Natalia A. Pecherskaya is Rector of one of the first Russian non-state educational institutions in St. Petersburg, the School of Religion and Philosophy (SRPh) founded in 1990 under the aegis of St. Petersburg Association of Scholars and Scientists. She has coordinated projects on philosophical issues in cooperation with German, Italian, and Spanish scholars. She has also served as Administrator of CTNS, LSI/Metanexus projects and organized international conferences on the issues dealing with human beings in science and theology (Templeton), on inter-confessional relations among Christians, Jews and Muslims (ICCJ) and on religious higher education in Russia (IAPCHE).

This paper was prepared through discussion with some members of the SPECRS team: Drs. Alexei Oskolsky, Grigori Benevich, Alexei Chernyakov and Mr. Greg Sandstrom. Editing and help with the English language was given by Greg Sandstrom.

Rodney L. Petersen, Courtland S. Randall, Mugur Roz, and Frank Villa
Petersen: Executive Director, Boston Theological Institute;
Randall: Director of the William G. Pollard Project, University of the South, Sewanee;
Roz: Research Fellow in Health Sciences and Technology, Harvard University and MIT;
Villa: Director of InterFASE, and Science and Religion Program, Boston Theological Institute;
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Paper Title: A New Center for Science, Religion and Ethics in Boston

The Boston Theological Institute has facilitated discussions with scientists from local colleges and universities towards creating a Center for Science, Religion, and Ethics and to serve students, faculty, colleges, and church-goers in the northeast. The Center opens this fall with colloquia, research, and publications concerned with science and religion.

Central to the need for a Center for Science and Religion in Boston is an evolving recognition that despite courses on science in the divinity schools and seminaries, and wide-ranging religious studies in the colleges, the two communities seldom talk together regarding their primary missions, i.e. preparation for ministry on the one hand and scientific and technological research on the other hand. Yet, issues as disparate as cosmology and pastoral care are shaped by the possibilities of this dialogue.

Boston is blessed with world-renown leadership in both communities. Beginnings of collaboration occurred with the Center for Faith and Science Exchange (now InterFASE) started in the 90s by Rev. Barbara Smith-Moran. The mission of InterFASE has developed to promote the dialogue between science and religion to people of faith by conducting discussion groups at local churches. The strong and enthusiastic interest generated by these courses is a clear indication of the need to address the questions and concerns of people of faith and provide broader ministerial training to do so. Rev. James Miller, whose science and religion credentials include work with the AAAS DoSER group, agrees. He observes, "Most main line churches, in their ministerial practice, do not prepare churchgoers to understand scientific issues which touch upon theology." Furthermore he says, "None of the major science-religion centers deals with the issues where the rubber meets the road, namely, how such issues bear upon pew-sitters' lives." Miller insists, "The relevance of science to religion has to be infused, not just talked about in ministerial preparation." Owen Gingerich, Research Professor of Astronomy and History of Science Emeritus at Harvard University, has suggested to us that this is a niche which a Center such as we are proposing needs to fill.

In the colleges, many scientists and teachers have personal religious traditions. They have students who ask questions leading beyond the space-time continuum restraints of much science teaching. They wonder how others of some religious faith help their students address such questions.

Kirk Wegter-McNelly, Assistant Professor of Theology at Boston University School of Theology observes that, "Both science and religion are implicated in many of the most controversial social issues of our time, such as the manipulation of the human genome and the teaching of evolutionary theory. Those who are spearheading the establishment of a new 'science and religion' center in Boston rightly see the urgent need for sustained collaborative work on these issues. They are also keenly aware of the vast potential for such collaboration that lies within the resources of the member schools of the Boston Theological Institute (BTI)... the time is ripe for the establishment of such a center in Boston."

Rodney Petersen has been Executive Director of the Boston Theological Institute since moving to the Boston area from Switzerland in 1990. In addition to this work with the BTI, he teaches in both the member schools and overseas. He teaches in the areas of history and ethics, currently focusing on issues of religion and conflict. Together with BTI colleagues these courses have taken students to various regions of the world in order to understand and film ways in which faith communities are implicated in regional violence and how they can be avenues of reconciliation. He is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church, U.S.A., serving on several of their committees; he also served for seven years as the pastor of the Allston Congregational Church (U.C.C.). He is the author and editor of two books that have grown out of the science and religion dialogue, Consumption, Population, and Sustainability (2000, with Audrey Chapman and Barbara Smith-Moran) and Earth at Risk (2000, with Donald Conroy).

Prior work included teaching at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (Deerfield, Illinois), Webster University (Geneva, Switzerland), and with the Fédération des Institutions établies à Genève (FIIG). He also worked with churches in France and Eastern Europe, primarily Romania.

He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Council of Churches, the Massachusetts Commission on Christian Unity, the Lord’s Day Alliance of the USA, the Refugee Immigration Ministry, Sec/tres. American Society of Missiology (Eastern Fellowship), and numerous other academic and ecclesiastical organizations.

Courtland S. Randall is a Research Scholar at the University of the South, Sewanee. He directs the William G. Pollard Program, which is active there and elsewhere to extend the influence of that physicist, priest, and pioneering educator. Randall has long experience in the conduct and management of communications, public relations, marketing and training work involving scientific, technical, commercial, institutional, and governmental activities. He has developed and managed information, education and training centers in several technical fields, working as a senior scientist with Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), Oak Ridge Associated Universities, the Century 21 Exposition in Seattle, and MIT. He established two major science museums, directed one of them, and founded a national organization, (Association of Science-Technology Centers) which now works with more than one thousand institutional members. He is a writer and speaker with an educational background in mathematics, physics and government.

Dr. Mugur Alexandru Roz has a joint appointment as a Research Fellow in the Health Science and Technology division of Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is also a Lecturer Professor of Medical Informatics at the "Vasile Goldis" Western University - Arad, Romania.

His main area of research includes biomedical informatics, genetics and computer science, with a particular focus on artificial intelligence techniques applied to genomics data.

Dr. Roz holds a Medical Doctor’s degree and a PhD degree in Biomedical Informatics from Timisoara University, Romania. He is the author of five books and more than fifty articles on various biomedical informatics topics.

Frank Villa is the Administrator of the Certificate program in Science and Religion at the Boston Theological Institute. He works with students at the nine BTI schools who wish to enhance their pastoral education by developing special science and theology literacy through various courses of study leading to the Certificate. His duties include editing "The Shoreline," the BTI newsletter in Science and Religion. He will be developing several colloquia to foster the science/religion dialogue for the member schools and community at large.

Frank has a Masters degree from Andover Newton Theological School with a concentration in science and religion and a B.A from the University of Rochester. He is the recipient of a BTI Certificate in Science and Religion. A former teacher of high school earth science and physics and commercial pilot and flight instructor, he has spent the past twenty-five years in business management in the science industry, specializing in the design and construction of laboratory facilities. He has developed curricula and taught courses to lay members of many congregations directed at bringing the dialogue between science and religion to people of faith. Frank has concurrent duties as Director of InterFASE, The International Faith and Science Exchange, which broadens the scope of science/religion ministries in local churches.

Silvana Procacci and Lodovico Galleni
University of Perugia; University of Pisa
Local Society: Etruscan Local Group
Perugia, Italy
Paper Title: Science-&-Theology and the dialogue among cultures: Hans Jonas, Teilhard de Chardin, biology and environmental ethics
Monday, June 5 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm in Hall of Flags

We briefly compare two thinkers of the twentieth century, the Roman Catholic Jesuit and paleontologist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin and the German, Jewish philosopher Hans Jonas. From these two different viewpoints we obtain the same message: a new theology must develop the concepts of historicity, evolution, responsibility, and the engagement of human spirit for the safeguarding of Nature.

Silvana Procacci graduated with full marks and honours in philosophy in 1994 at University of Perugia presenting a thesis about the Anthropic Principle. In the same University she had a Ph.D. degree concerning the holism-reductionism debate around three areas of semantics: ontology, methodology and epistemology. Since 1997 she has served as the professor’s assistant of Philosophy of History at the University of Perugia. Currently she is professor at ITA (Theological Institute of Assisi) where she teaches a course concerning the relationship between Science and the Theology.

Her works concern the philosophical aspects of the evolution of the Universe and its connection with life and cosmic organization. The purpose of these works is to enrich the tendency to order, to self-organization and to increasing of complexity observed in the Universe. She has examined some philosophical-scientific problems to make a connection between complexity, consciousness and evolutionary laws of the Universe.

She has written about 30 articles and edited 5 books. Among her scientific publications:

Articles: "Teologia ed evoluzione. La proposta di Teilhard de Chardin," in Studium, 1998, pp. 475-490; "Il mondo e Dio nella concezione scientifica e teologica di Teilhard de Chardin", in R. Martinez; J. J. Sanguineti (a cura di), Dio e la natura, Armando, Roma 2002, pp. 171-185; "Holism: some historical aspects", in V. Benci, P. Cerrai, P. Freguglia et al. (a cura di), Determinism, Holism, and Complexity, Kluwer Academic Publishers, New York 2003, pp. 379-386; "An Historical Approach to Ontopoiesis of Life and Mind. The Philosophy of J. C. Smuts", in A.-T. Tymieniecka (ed.). Analecta Husserliana, vol. 79, Kluwer Academic Publishers , Derdrecht 2004, pp. 808-820;

Books: Al le radici dell’olismo. Filosofia della natura in J. C. Smuts, ESI, Napoli 2001; Comunicare la storia. La filosofia della storia nel pensiero occidentale, Ed. Morlacchi, Perugia 2005; First Italian edition of P. Teilhard de Chardin, La scienza di fronte a Cristo. Credere nel mondo e credere in Dio, Il Segno dei Gabrielli Ed., Verona 2002 and of ID., Verso la convergenza. L'attivazione dell'energia nell'umanità, Il Segno dei Gabrielli Ed., Verona 2004. The edition of Filosofia e teologia della storia di fronte alla sfida del nichilismo, Rubbettino, Catanzaro, 2002.

Professor Lodovico Galleni is Professor of General Zoology and of Environmental Ethics, University of Pisa, and of Science and Theology, Istituto Superiore di Scienze Religiose "N. Stenone" Pisa. He took his degree in natural science in Pisa in 1970. As a zoologist his main research field was chromosomal evolution in animals and the connections between karyotype rearrangements with speciation. At present his overall theoretical interests are devoted to the general problems of theories of evolution in order to explore the possibility of a Biospherocentric theory, a theory which takes into consideration the Biosphere as a whole evolving object. For these reasons he started a research project on the scientific papers of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, a forerunner of this theory. He is also looking for the different implications of this theory with the Science and Theology relationships and with environmental ethics. Professor Galleni is a member of the Council of the European Society for the Study of Science and Theology (ESSSAT), of the European Advisory Board of the Center of Theology and Natural Sciences of Berkeley (California) Science and Religion Course Program and he is co-ordinator of the section of Biology of the International Research Area on Foundations of Sciences (IRAFS) of the Pontifical University of Lateran). He was, in the academic year 1998/99, visiting professor at the Catholic University of Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.

Jeffrey C. Pugh
Professor of Religious Studies, Elon University
Local Society: Elon University Local Society Initiative
Elon, North Carolina, USA
Paper Title: The Space Between: Ancient Wisdom for a Scientific World
Monday, June 6 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm in Golkin Room

The worldview of a large part of Christianity, and perhaps western civilization, was formed in no small part by the narrative structuring bequeathed by Christianity and subsequent interpretations of that tradition. This narration defined the world and humankind’s place in it as one of alienation from a past perfection, seen in terms of a "fall" away from a state of grace. In this rendering of the Christian story humankind is fallen and nature is seen by many as inherently in a state of decay.

The gravity created by this narrative has made for some difficulty in the science-theology discussion, in no small part because of an inability to see the processes of life in the cosmos as inherently redemptive. The natural order is conceived of as an aimless meandering away from a primal state of perfection. How are we to understand the energies at play in the cosmos as the work of a benevolent Creator?

Other interpretations of existence found within the Christian tradition allow us wisdom to understand the world science is interpreting for us as one being shaped and formed by the God who is immersed within the created order, nourishing it with possibility and even hope. Specifically, the legacy of Irenaeus of Lyons who understands the primal beginnings of the natural world in far different ways than the dominant tradition of Christianity offers us fresh perspective.

In Against Heresies he argues that we were formed with the potential to become accustomed to God and God to become accustomed to us. This is why vast amounts of time are needed, so that God and the human can become accustomed to one another. This perspective offers us a different narrative than the familiar one given us by Augustine, but it is one that fits profoundly with both a scientific understanding of the world and Christian belief.

Jeffrey C. Pugh is Professor of Religious Studies at Elon University in Elon, North Carolina. His theological training was in the work of twentieth century theologians Karl Barth and Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Most recently he has been teaching and presenting in the intersection of theology and the sciences. His two most recent books are Entertaining the Triune Mystery: God, Science, and the Space Between, published by Trinity Press Intl. and Continuum Press, and The Matrix of Faith: Reclaiming a Christian Vision, published by Crossroad Publishing Company.

Varadaraja V. Raman
Emeritus Professor, Physics and Humanities, Rochester Institute of Technology
Rochester, New York, USA
Paper Title: Reductionism and Holism: Two sides of the perception of reality
Sunday, June 5 11:00 am - 12:30 pm in Hall of Flags

This paper will discuss the historical roots of reductionism and holism as philosophies. It will then consider emergentism as a bridge between the two. It will also propose that levels of information may be a key to unraveling the connections between reductionism and holism, which may be looked upon as two complementary worldviews on the nature of perceived reality.

Dr. Varadaraja V. Raman received his Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Physics and Mathematics from the University of Calcutta before doing his doctoral work on the foundations of quantum mechanics at the University of Paris where he worked under Louis de Broglie. He has taught in a number of institutions, including the Saha Institute for Nuclear Physics in Calcutta, the Universite d'Alger in Algiers and the Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY, from where, after serving as professor of Physics and Humanities, he has retired as Emeritus Professor. He was associated with the UNESCO as an educational expert. Dr. Raman has also devoted several years to the study and elucidation of Hindu culture and religion. He is an associate editor of the eighteen volume Encyclopedia of Hinduism project. Dr. Raman has authored scores of papers on the historical, social, and philosophical aspects of physics/science, as well as on India's heritage, and has authored eight books including Scientific Perspectives, Glimpses of Ancient Science and Scientists, Nuggets from the Gita, and Varieties of Science History. Dr. Raman serves on the board of the Metanexus Insitute and is a regular contributor to its online magazine.

K. Helmut Reich
School of Consciousness Studies and Sacred Traditions, Rutherford University
Richmond, British Columbia, Canada
Paper Title: Relating Science to Religion / Theology: Which Approach?
Tuesday, June 7 9:00 am - 10:30 am in Hall of Flags

The often used relations (i) conflict, (ii) independence, (iii) dialogue, and (iv) integration are based on binary logic. Excluding that one domain is a subset of the other, (i) to (iv) represent the only possibilities within that logical restriction.

But why should the use of binary logic be the guiding principle? It does not work for Christian doctrines (Holy Trinity, Two Natures of Christ...) nor for important life decisions (choice of a profession, a partner...). For one, binary logic only deals with "atomic," unchanging entities, not with entangled or changing ones.

This paper argues for the use of a context-sensitive trivalent logic as incorporated in relational and contextual reasoning (RCR – Reich, 1995a, 2002). Before discussing actual relations between science and religion / theology, the particular context has to be established. For instance, regarding Christianity, the relation was not the same in the Middle Ages (when religion was hardly in dispute), in the Renaissance (when human self-affirmation grew considerably), and in the Enlightenment era (when "rationality" was the reigning Goddess).

Furthermore, relating science to religion / theology per se is too general to be really helpful. For instance, inorganic chemistry and religion have markedly less to do with each other than evolutionary biology and religion. A more meaningful discussion deals with circumscribed themes to which both science and religion / theology can contribute. An example would be the origin and the becoming of our universe and humanity’s position and role within it.

Looking at the issue from a different perspective, namely that of anthropology, it is recalled that a human being can "simultaneously" be an object of scientific research, a sense-making subject, and a unique personality formed by his or her character and biography. Also, the complex pathways from gene to brain to cognition to spiritual activities and on to behaviour cannot be dealt with by simple two-valued relationships. Dealing with these givens as far as science and religion / theology are concerned, requires one to keep the different aspects apart yet study their entanglement and the mutually enabling, restricting, or whatever relations.

Finally, once more, binary logic cannot deal well with emergence-based becoming such as the arising of consciousness (e.g., Clayton, 2004).

The application of RCR is explicated for two cases, "Genesis" and "Anthropology."

K. Helmut Reich is Professor at Rutherford University. He retired as Senior Research Fellow from the School of Education of the University of Fribourg (Switzerland) in 2004. Reich holds doctoral degrees in Electrical Engineering (Technical University of Brunswick, Germany), Physics (University of Nottingham, England) and Theology (psychology of religion, University of Utrecht, the Netherlands). He teaches courses in psychology of religion and does research in cognitive and religious development. He also has an interest in science and religion. He has published numerous papers and several books (see http://www.helmutreich.ch/), prominently"Developing the Horizons of Mind." In 1997 Reich received the William James Award (USA) from APA Division 36 for his contributions to the psychology of religion; he was elected Academic Fellow of the Institute on Religion in an Age of Science in 2002.

Patricia Rife
Graduate Department of Technology and Management, University of Maryland
College Park, Maryland, USA
Paper Title: N/A
Monday, June 6 11:00 am - 12:30 pm in Hall of Flags

A majority of universities around the world have shifted their graduate curricula, and many, their undergraduate courses, "online" during the past five years. The implications for such an eLearning revolution are vast: students around the world can now discuss topics that they are researching, but is this actual "dialogue"? What are the promises and pitfalls of virtual online education? What ethical issues must be faced in instructional design for global online classrooms? Examples from actual university courses and international organizations will be highlighted, and the social, ethical and instructional issues which arise from teaching within as well as learning via online courses will be discussed.

Dr. Patricia Rife has developed marketing and communications curriculum/training programs for Sears Financial Services, Georgia Tech, Big Brothers & Sisters of metro Atlanta, hundreds of non-profit clients, and has taught for over 11 universities nationwide. She is currently a Professor in the Graduate Dept. of Technology & Management, University of Maryland, teaching 4 online courses per semester to students around the globe. She is author of three books in three different languages, and has been an invited speaker at the Carter Center's Peace Program; Morehouse College Martin Luther King Jr. Chapel; Women in Film, San Francisco; the University of Hawaii, Hilo, Manoa, Maui and Kauai; the American University-Cairo Communications Department; and business ethics programs worldwide. Her online course development includes courses in e-commerce, e-marketing, and marketing high-tech products and services globally.

Martin Rogers
Co-Director of the Templeton Science and Religion in Schools Project
Oxford, England, United Kingdom
Paper Title: Science and Religion in Schools World Wide
Monday, June 6 11:00 am - 12:30 pm in Hall of Flags

This talk will explore the reasons that science and religion should be taught in primary and secondary schools and the world’s first project working in this area—the Templeton Science and Religion in Schools. Although these schools differ from universities and subjects are taught differently in each case, there is an essential need for close cooperation between schools and universities on this matter. Science and religion are representatives of two sides of the human mind, the rational and the intuitive, emotional, spiritual. Balance and wholeness are very important in education. Open-minded d iscussion is needed to counteract the dangers of the closed minds of scientism and religious fundamentalism. Martin Rogers will d iscuss the guiding principles of the Templeton Science and Religion in Schools Project, its practices, topics taught, and critical issues. He will d iscuss the importance of science and religion in schools worldwide, how schools are much more culturally dependant than universities, why each country should have its own science and religion in schools project, linked with T.T. technology to other SRS projects round the world. The great importance of this project is its potential for leading young people towards greater understanding and a more balanced worldview.

Martin Rogers is the Co-Director of the Templeton Science and Religion in Schools Project, Oxford, which is the first major project of its kind. He was educated at Heidelberg and Cambridge (Science and History) Universities. After a short period in industry he taught chemistry with some religious studies at Westminster School. He was seconded as Nuffield Research Fellow, the Nuffield O-level Chemistry Project (1962-64) and Salter's Company Fellow, Imperial College London (1969). He was Headmaster of Malvern College (1971-82), Chief Master of King Edward's School, Birmingham (1982-91) and Chairman of the Headmasters Conference in 1987. From 1991-2001 he was Director of the Farmington Institute for Christian Studies at Harris Manchester College, Oxford University where he was an Associate Fellow. There he developed, for teachers of Religious Education, the Farmington Fellowships, the Farmington Millennium Awards and the Farmington Special Needs Awards. Among his publications are John Dalton and the Atomic Theory (1965), Chemistry and Energy (1968), Chemistry: facts, patterns and principles (co-author 1972) and a paper, "Francis Bacon and the Birth of Modern Science" (1976). He edited the Nuffield O-level Chemistry Sample Scheme (1965), the Foreground Chemistry Series (1968) and the Farmington Papers from 1993-2001. He has written and lectured widely on educational matters, particularly on science education and on issues concerning the claims of science and religions.

José M. Romero-Baró
Faculty of Philosophy, University of Barcelona
Local Society: STIC of Barcelona
Barcelona, Spain
Paper Title: God's Mark on Nature: A Trinitarian Approach
Monday, June 6 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm in Franklin Room

The objective of this communication is to reflect on Natural Sciences from the point of view of Trinitarian Theology, in which Nature is considered as a trace or vestige of a creative God. The paper begins with a discussion of some representative texts on this teaching (by saint Augustine, saint Thomas Aquinas and saint John of the Cross), providing a distinction between trace and image. The image of God in human beings is recognized in memory, intellect, and will, while mode, species, and order reflect the trace of God in the rest of Nature, since each appears to explain the way of being of each object, the form in which it appears or its complete movement. The Augustinian ordo amoris (the order or law of love) is developed as a theological and physical foundation that may give meaning to the ultimate purpose of every natural movement.

After presenting the main ideas and the immediate consequences of this theory, the paper revises some basic postulates of the Natural Sciences, such as gravity in Physics, electronic affinity in Chemistry and evolution in Biology, with the aim of attributing meaning to movement beyond mere mechanical causality, and thus to complement and reinforce the dialogue between Science and Theology.

Indeed, gravity is proposed as the first demonstration of Augustinian ordo amoris in inert bodies, in the same way that its fall to the center of the Earth is also considered the first movement. The paper then recalls that Isaac Newton did not determine any cause for gravity in his Principia, and that he left this important point unresolved in his Letters to Bentley.

In addition, a question is posed on the meaning of terms like "electronic affinity," which are used in Chemistry to explain electronic attraction or bond formation. The thesis of Empedocles about philía (or love) as the non-material but necessary principle for the union of the elements that constitute each thing, is presented as a valid interpretation that agrees very well with this second step in the universal order of love.

Finally, the proposal of love and intelligence in Nature is developed, considering life as the most complex movement, to say with other authors that evolution is a universal process in which divine activity (or creation) is still occurring, through the constant action of the Holy Spirit as "The Giver of Life." In conclusion, we can recover our wonder at the spectacle of Nature and thus avoid the dangerous "God-of-the-Gaps."

J.M. Romero-Baró is Master in Science (Chemistry) at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (1978), Master and Doctor in Philosophy at the University of Barcelona (1989), Professor of Philosophy (Metaphysics and Epistemology) in the University of Barcelona since 1989 and Vice-Chairman of the STIC Barcelona (an LSI of Metanexus Institute). He has written books and articles on the relationships between Science and Philosophy: The positivism and its appraisal in America; Science and Philosophy in Carlos Vaz Fereira; "The concept truth in modern Physics," "Science and Faith," "The concept of Science in Kant and Heidegger," "The Physics of Newton in the Metaphysics of Kant," "Interview with René Thom," "The learning of Physics among the founders of the Royal Academy of Science and Arts of Barcelona," "The Love order in Natural Sciences."

Matt J. Rossano
Professor, Department of Psychology, Southeastern Louisiana University
Local Society: SLU Interdisciplinary Science and Religion Study Group
Hammond, Louisiana, USA
Paper Title: The Religious Mind and the Evolution of Religious Forms
Tuesday, June 7 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm in Franklin Room

This paper attempts to unite recent work on both the evolution of religion and the human mental attributes that incline us toward religious belief and practice. Using both archeological and anthropological data, Hayden (2003) has recently proposed a three stage model for the evolution of religion. These stages include: (1) a generalized hunter-gatherer stage of "egalitarian" religion (roughly 1mya – 35,000 ya), (2) a complex hunter-gatherer stage that featured the emergence of "elite cults," "secret societies," and a more well-defined "priestly" class who assumed responsibility for religious ritual, practice, and conceptual analysis (35,000 ya – 8,000 ya), and (3) a Neolithic domestication stage, where a clearly defined "trinity" of religious forms were established including "elite" religion, elite sponsored "popular" religion, and familial cults (8,000 ya – 3,000 ya).

Advances in the evolution of religion have been complemented by an increasing understanding of the human mental attributes that incline us toward religion and the evolutionary origins of that inclination. Researchers such as Arglye (2000), Atran (2002), Batson, Schoenrade, and Ventis (1993), Boyer (2001), and Hinde (1999) have all written extensively on the origins and characteristics of the religious mind. Though they come from varied perspectives, this body of work has converged on four mental attributes that provide the cognitive foundation for religion: (1) causal attribution and agency detection, (2) social/emotional commitments, (3) narrative function and the emergence of existential anxieties, and (4) the ecstatic or mystical experience.

This paper explores the connections between these two areas of research arguing that the evolution of religion can be understood in terms of the emergence of different facets of the religious mind. Earliest evidence of religion reflects the emerging human sense of self, although it may not have represented a fully-evolved narrative function. The social/emotional elements of religion appear to have been paramount during the egalitarian stage of religion. Here, religion served primarily as a vehicle for establishing and maintaining community bonds. The complex hunter-gatherer stage is marked by the increasing importance of mystical experiences, their interpretation, and their connection to supernatural forms of agency. Understanding the supernatural and controlling access to it, formed an important component of "elite" social control over an expanding and more complicated social world. Finally, the Neolithic domestication stage established the foundation for separate religious forms which ultimately gave rise to classic paganism. These forms each appeal to different aspects of the religious mind. "Elite" religion focuses on the mystical experience and supernatural agency. "Popular" religion focuses on the social/emotion aspects of religion. "Familial cults" appeal primarily to narrative function and the relief of existential anxieties.

Matt Rossano earned his BA and MA degrees in Psychology from the University of Dayton in Dayton OH, in 1984 and 1986 respectively. He earned a Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology in 1991 from the University of California at Riverside. He is currently Professor of Psychology at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, Louisiana. Matt has broad scholarly interests having published articles on spatial cognition, artificial intelligence and ethics, the evolution of consciousness, and a textbook on Evolutionary Psychology(Wiley, 2002). He lives with his wife and many daughters in the small town of Independence, Louisiana and invites everyone down to the annual Italian Festival held there every year on the last weekend in April.

G. Parker Rossman
Independent Researcher
Columbia, Missouri, USA
Paper Title: Metanexus Courses Online for the World - Ethical Issues
Monday, June 6 11:00 am - 12:30 pm in Hall of Flags

A global electronic university system is coming into existence before our eyes. It is linking all online distance education courses as well as the virtual "open" universities that now reach tens of millions of learners and online library resources. At http://ecolecon.missouri.edu/globalresearch/index.html is my three volume online book about the future of global lifelong online education and research. J. F. Rischard of the World Bank in High Noon: 20 Global Crises and 20 Years to Solve Them shows how to use Internet networking to find solutions and build political support for projects to provide everyone on the planet with food, safe water, health care, essential education and economic justice. Science and religion can agree to deal with such basic human problems; for example, through offering online courses to individual learners, and also as a resource for faculty; with a free-to-the world electronic textbook with embedded tutoring and automatic language translation. Looking to forthcoming technology, one might consider using online music and other arts to empower essential vision, motivation, compassion and political action.

G. Parker Rossman is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma (education and communications), the University of Chicago (thesis on the sociology of the university), and Yale University (Ph.D. in higher education). Rossman's current research interest is "the nature and future of the university," and its design as a global learning system for all ages and cultures. He was executive consultant to and the founding vice-president of the Global University project--which conducts global classGolkin Roomemonstrations to test distance education technologies--of GLOSAS/USA (global systems analysis and simulation). In that capacity and as a member of the board of directors of the University of the World (which had councils in twenty-six countries to bring business, government and higher education together to plan for the future of electronic higher education), he pressed these organizations to focus more on research to solve fundamental human problems. He has been a member of the Columbia University faculty seminar on "computers and society" and is on the board of the journal Innovate, which deals with cutting-edge issues in education. He has taught at Yale, Central Philippines University, Balamand University in Lebanon, and University of Chicago, and has lectured at the Indian Institute of World Culture in Bangalore, University of Cambridge, and the Classical University of Lisbon. He has written a series of books to challenge education in several professions, including After Punishment What?; Hospice: New Models of Care for the Terminally Ill; Family Survival; and Computers: Bridges to the Future. He has presented papers at the World Brain Conference at the University of Calgary in 1997 and at the Global Brain Workshop at the Free University of Brussels in 2001. Rossman has an article on the management of all knowledge in the April/May 2004 issue of the Futurist and a sequel in the January 2005 issue, on how electronic textbooks can be cheaply provided to the world's poor.

Pauline Rudd
University Research Lecturer and Senior Research Fellow in the Glycobiology Institute, University of Oxford
Oxford, United Kingdom
Paper Title: Functional Complexity in Biology and Religion
Sunday, June 5 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm in Hall of Flags

Living organisms depend on the appropriate activation of complex biochemical pathways to survive. This includes the complex pathways which attach sugars to proteins. These glycosylation pathways are frequently altered in disease environments and can lead to changes in functions that are associated with pathogenesis. Factors which control the expression and fidelity of genetic information and therefore the levels of enzyme activity are complex and systems biology is attempting to rationalize the input and output of information at the cellular level. Religious experience is also a complex activity in which the same "input" or experience may be interpreted in different ways in different cultural environments, giving rise to alternative "outputs" or practice. In fact, the analogy between these two sets of processes sheds important light on the nature of religious experience and religious symbols. Mathematical or biochemical descriptions of a system constitute an attempt to find general statements that can apply to many singularities. In religion, symbolism may fulfill the same purpose and provide a unifying function in inter-religious dialogue. Neither determinism nor fundamentalism in either science or religion takes into account our need to select intelligently between the many choices that lie before. Nor do they support our conviction that, as mature individuals, we bear responsibility for protecting and enhancing life, perhaps even as co-creators with the Almighty.

Dr. Pauline Rudd is a University Research Lecturer and Senior Research Fellow in the Glycobiology Institute in the University of Oxford. With her colleagues, she has pioneered the development of novel technology for the rapid, sensitive analysis of sugars attached to glycoproteins. Dr. Rudd has worked in many different biological systems carrying out basic research into glycoproteins involved in heart disease, rheumatoid arthritis, hepatitis, prion diseases, and inflammation. Currently, her particular interest is in the role of glycosylation in antigen recognition in both the cellular and humoral immune systems. She has published over 70 scientific papers and spoken at numerous meetings in the United States, Israel, Japan, Hong Kong, China and Taiwan as well as throughout Eastern and Western Europe. She has recently been privileged to take a short Sabbatical at The Scripps Research Institute in San Diego, CA and is a visiting Professor at Shanghai Medical University. She has been committed to integrating the spiritual and scientific journeys for many years, becoming a lay member of the Community of St. Mary the Virgin, Wantage, Oxfordshire while reading Chemistry at London University. In 1997-8 she was a participant in the "Science and the Spiritual Quest" programme organised by the Centre for Theology and the Natural Sciences. In 1999/2000 her speaking engagements included the opening lecture at the Chautauqua Institution season, Buffalo, NY, as well as lectures at several colleges and universities in both the United States and England.

Giovanni Russo
Ordinary Professor of Bioethics, Institute of Theology "St. Thomas," Pontifical Salesian University and Director of The School of Specialization in Bioethics and Sexology
Local Society: The Biosciences and Religion Network (BNR)
Messina, Italy
Paper Title: Cloning and "Playing God": New elements in the science-religion dialogue
Monday, June 6 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm in Hall of Flags

Cloning, as well as bioethical problems, is one of the most distinctive themes in the confluence between science and religion. In fact, as is often asserted, cloning science plays a role that in many aspects recalls the ways of creation by God: man "plays God." Of course, cloning science becomes a transformative place of nature and man, "improving" on its way the bio- difference towards life whose parameters are not "given" by man with creation, but established by him through standards of "amelioration." But "who" does establish these standards of amelioration in order to say what kind of man is better? "Who" does establish the right human stature? It isn't to be neglected that the concept of amelioration is a matter of "subjective" opinion. Besides, the non-therapeutic amelioration opens the way to the building of the perfect man. The building of better men than others shatters the principle of equality among human beings.

Who can control the risks for future generations? Worries about the biological and social effects of cloning have been raised, especially in the field of evolution of the species and genetic differences between human beings and the ecosystem. Sexual reproduction, with its causal results guarantees a biological adaptability that little by little could be lost if many copies of a genome are cloned. There is a fear of unforeseeable effects in the biological table of the genes, especially in the context of nuclear transplantations where million copies could exist, theoretically, produced by only one person. Is that possible at the moment? It isn't, of course with the duplication by separation of the blastomere; it is, of course by nuclear transplantation, also if this kind of experiment on human beings hasn’t been made public yet. It isn’t to be neglected that mistakes in the laboratory are possible which could give rise to irreversible damage on human nature. Besides the damage on genetic human difference, damage to zoological ecosystems is also possible, so it’s likewise necessary to watch over animal cloning.

Some scholars talk about lawful ways of cloning both for scientific reasons and for religious ones. In fact, in the Christian view, man, who is created by God, has been assigned as a careful, creative and faithful administrator of the goods with which God has entrusted him. His duty in the world should be carrying on God’s work, through an evolution which goes on according to directions given by man through science. Man shares the prerogative of the Lord Creator, as co-creator and procreator. Christian anthropology indicates to these scholars a "dynamic" image of man and his duty in history.

Prof. Dr. Giovanni Russo Ph.D., S.T.D. (01/01/1963), has obtained a Ph.D. in the Sciences of Education- Psychology, at the State University of Messina and the S.T.D. at the Alfonsian Academy of Pontifical Lateran University in Rome. He is Ordinary Professor of Bioethics and is director of the School of Specialization in Bioethics and Sexology, Messina. He serves as Scholar in Residence and Visiting Professor (Bioethics) at the Catholic University, Washington DC (U.S.A.). He is Chairman of the Italian Society of Bioethics and Sexology and Chairman of the Committee of Animal Bioethics. He is also a member of the Ethical Committee at the Medical Center, School of Medicine, State University, Messina.

He has carried on research activity in Bioethics at the Kennedy Institute of Ethics, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, on Moral Philosophy at the Catholic University of Washington, DC, and on Clinical Bioethics at the Institute of Obstetrics and Gynaecology of the School of Medicine of the Catholic University of Rome.

His is author of over 360 scientific articles and 33 books.

Yasmin Hanani Mohd Safian
Faculty of Shariah and Law, Islamic University College of Malaysia
Paper Title: Islam and Biotechnology: With Special Reference to Genetically Modified Foods
Tuesday, June 7 11:00 am - 12:30 pm in Class of '49 Room

This paper attempts to highlight and discover Islamic principles in legitimizing current scientific research and innovations related to Biotechnology. For instance, genetically modified food issues ignite a firestorm of world debate especially in Western countries. GMF issues are debated globally as many claim that these foods have the potential for detrimental impacts on public health and the environment. Some biotech food producers have claimed intellectual property rights over their food products and seeds they are licensing to farmers. For some Muslims and other God-conscious people, tampering with nature by implanting genes from one organism into another, which nature has not sanctioned through natural processes, and then claiming legal ownership over such GM products is considered to be intolerable. The 'terminator gene' introduced by GM food companies may lead to the possibility of monopoly and encroachment of the world agro-economics by western seed producing conglomerates. This paper attempts to discover the Islamic perspectives regarding the said issue, the teaching of the Prophet and the Islamic guidelines with regards to biotechnology. The main source of hukm (legal rules) in Islam is al-Qur'an, al-hadith (tradition of the Prophet), consensus and analogy. However, if the problem is not covered textually, the principle of maslahah (public interest) may be applied onto the matter. This principle of maslahah is based on the principle of avoiding harm and promoting interest. However, there are many guidelines in applying this principle in order to prevent people from clinging on to it tenaciously in order to fulfill their own unlawful desire. Hence, this paper tries to highlight the Islamic constraints in pursuing biotechnology research based on the said Islamic Legal principles.

Yasmin Hanani Mohd Safian currently is a lecturer in The Faculty of Shariah and Law, Islamic University College of Malaysia. She holds a B.A (Hons.) in Shariah from El-Azhar University Egypt and M.A (in Islamic Studies) from the University of Birmingham. She teaches several courses in Shariah such as History of Islamic Law, Islamic Commercial Law and Islamic Criminal Law. She has published articles related to Usul Fiqh (The principles of Islamic jurisprudence) and Islamic Business Transactions. Her husband, Amir Shaharuddin is also a lecturer in the same institution teaching Islamic Banking and Total Quality Management.

Doumit Salameh
Chairperson, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Notre Dame University
Local Society: Notre Dame University, Lebanon Communio Study Circle
Zouk Mikael, Lebanon
Paper Title: Ghazali’s Doubt And The Redemption Of The Correlation Between Faith and Reason
Monday, June 6 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm in Golkin Room

Ghazali's doubt may have its roots in Greek thought, but it clearly has its cure in the Qur'an Itself. Accordingly, intellectual certainty and real existence - though Ghazali was led to believe that they were independent of one another - presented themselves to him in the Qur'an as relying one upon the other to express, each in its respective domain, divine signs of the unquestionable existence of God. After all, and throughout all his writings, Ghazali never overlooked the fact that he was a Muslim to whom the revelation of the Qur'an was an immutable and an unquestionable certainty, and that the same revelation constantly exhorted those who were intellectually competent to develop their rational faculties. At this level, it would be legitimate to speculate that Ghazali's intellectual doubt took place when he himself, in questioning the reliability of the physical world--the main stage for God's action and revelation--fell to what he would later consider to be the fallacy of separating intellectual certainty from revealed certainty, something against which he never failed to warn his students after his crisis. This can be understandable. The Greek philosophical heritage was brought into the Islamic tradition at a much faster pace than the Islamic mind could handle. Regarded as his Islamic society's microcosm, Ghazali's talent enabled him to authentically reflect his society's concerns, and to project them even beyond his own time and space. It was only due to his constant faith in God that Ghazali could recover from his intellectual doubt. Thus, the question whether Ghazali, by recovering his intellectual certainty, had been led--necessarily or not--to admit the existence of God or to regain his supposedly lost Islamic faith, becomes irrelevant; and reciprocally, had Ghazali lost his confidence in reason, it would also become irrelevant to conclude from this that he had doubts about the existence of God.

Reason for Ghazali was never an issue treated by and for itself. It was always studied in relation to or for the sake of an issue which was mostly of a religious nature. Thus, reason was considered not only "the source of certainty" but also the real guide toward faith in God. Ghazali praised reason and considered it to be the most honored human faculty. He not only saw in it the faculty that leads to knowledge with certainty, but also the one through which a person can become religious and consequently may have access to heaven. Humans are not rational because they are religious, argued Ghazali, but they are religious because they are endowed with a rational faculty. The depth of Divine revelation, as far as humans are concerned, depends on the level of maturity and of awareness reached by human reason.

Doumit Salameh is an associate professor in the Faculty of the Humanities at Notre Dame University (Lebanon) where he has taught philosophy and religion since 1991. He holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from St. Louis University (St. Louis, Missouri, USA). He attended St. Joseph University of Beirut where he received a BA in philosophy with a minor in theology, and an MA in Modern philosophy (his thesis was on Nietzsche – in French). His main areas of concentration are Islamic philosophy (Ghazali in particular), Qur'anic studies, comparative religions, and interreligious dialogue.

He started collegiate teaching in the US (St. Louis University, Webster University, and the University of Missouri in St. Louis). He was the coordinator for the committee that wrote the English version of the new philosophy textbook for the Lebanese Ministry of Education. He was the editor in Chief of the NDU Palma - Lebanon (a refereed Journal using French, Arabic, and English languages) for five years. He is the current Chairperson of the Social and Behavioral Sciences Department in the Faculty of the Humanities at Notre Dame University - Lebanon; he has held this position since 2000.

Gerald Schroeder
Instructor, Aish HaTorah College of Jewish Studies
Jerusalem, Israel
Paper Title: Evolution? Looking at the Bigger Picture of Life's Development
Monday, June 6 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm in Hall of Flags

The National Academy of Sciences recently referred to evolution as the best theory to explain how life developed. Since it is a theory, why is it taught as if it were a proven fact? The problems of its factuality burst forth the moment we look at the big picture of life’s development.

Let’s start at the beginning of the evolutionary process. The first question we might ponder from a secular stance is why is there existence? Why is there anything, why is there a universe within which life developed, rather than nothing? Why was there a big bang, a creation of the universe? Well we can’t really answer that, but it’s worth thinking about. So we can start our quest after the beginning. Just what did the big bang produce? We know science thinks it was the beginning of time and space. But what about matter? That is considerably more enlightening, literally. The big bang did not produce matter as we know it, not protons, neutrons or electrons. The only material product of the big bang was light beams, super powerful beams of energy. Electro magnetic radiation is the proper term, but that masks the wonder of it all. I mean who can visualize electro magnetic rays? But light beams we can wrap our minds about. And then over eons of time, thanks to a transition discovered by Albert Einstein (that famous equation E = mc²), those light beams changed form and became solid matter and finally life itself. Now that is a cause for wonder. It is science that discovered this reality. Light beams became alive.

In one hand I hold a block of ice and in the other a kettle out of which emerges a spray of white steam. Steam looks nothing like ice, but both are made of water. I’d say it was fantasy if I didn’t know the truth. Ice is low energy water. Steam is high energy water. We humans and all the matter we see about us may not look like light beams, but we are. We are medium energy light beams. It’s not new age flaky talk, or guru wishing. It’s established scientific reality. We are the condensed energy of the creation. We witnessed that creation and its genesis, first as light beams, then as parts of stars and the star dust of supernovae, then as the rocks and water on the surface of the earth, which in a geological blink of the eye became alive.

And tucked within that wonder of the first life was the ability to reproduce. Reproduction is purpose driven, the preservation of the species. The first forms of life had purpose within their genetic make-up.

The basic problem in teaching evolution is that we get so involved with the minutiae, that we neglect the really crucial questions. When you give all the facts, even those for which there are no facile answers, you come up with an answer that smacks of teleology.

Gerald Schroeder teaches topics related to the confluence of the discoveries of modern science with ancient biblical commentaries on the 'creation chapter' of Genesis. Schroeder earned his B.Sc., M.Sc., and Ph.D. all at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was on the staff of the M.I.T. physics department for seven years prior to moving to Israel where he joined the Weizmann Institute and then the Volcani Research Institute with laboratories also at the Hebrew University. He now teaches at Aish HaTorah College of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem. He has over 60 publications in leading scientific journals on topics as diverse as the metabolism of breast milk and the radon atmosphere of the moon; in arms control research he has witnessed the detonation of six atomic bombs. Schroeder has served as scientific advisor to countries around the world. He is the author of Genesis and the Big Bang, The Science of God, and The Hidden Face of God. The Science of God, in the first full year of its publication, was the largest selling book in the Amazon.com category of science and cosmology. He lives in Jerusalem with his wife, author Barbara Sofer, their five children, and grandchildren.

Adam Shapiro
Committee on Conceptual and Historical Studies of Science, University of Chicago
Chicago, Illinois, USA
Paper Title: A Plea for Greater Historicism in the Science and Religion Conversation
Monday, June 6 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm in Golkin Room

Questions about the relationship between "science" and "religion" have not been eternal, nor do they even span the bulk of human history. Indeed, speaking of such a relationship would have been impossible prior to the existence of something which could be called science. While historians of science extend their discipline much farther into the past than the separation of natural science from natural philosophy, and historians of religion often use a word which emerged in a specific Latin context to describe the bounds of a discipline they have extended even earlier, dialogues of science and religion should be attentive to the contingent and evolving nature of their subjects.

The history of science has been long-attentive to the difficulty of demarcation of its subject. When discussing ancient "scientists" such as Euclid, Ptolemy, or Aristotle, one is cautious to note that the prevailing metaphysical and epistemological assumptions are quite different from those of Kepler or Bacon, and again different from a Watson or Hawking. The question of whether there is something global in time--or in space (as in comparison among contemporary cultures)--which can be called science, is not easily answered. Mindfulness to historical developments serves as a guard against essentialism about science in the larger dialogue.

A similar trend may be observed in the history of religion. Scholarly approaches to religion self-consciously ask questions about the identity of their subject. Is religion defined as faith in a deity, a metaphysical worldview, a community or culture, a system of practices, an adherence to scripture or doctrine, or some admixture of all these? What enables one to speak of Catholicism, Sikhism, and the peyote religion as sharing a common label as "religions?" The history of individual religions often indicates that what is thought to be essential evolves historically. The Judaism of the second Temple is drastically different from the Judaism of twenty-first century America.

Increased historicism can help advance the science and religion dialogue by nuancing conceptions of specific sciences, religions and of science and religion more generally. This suggests that bringing history into the methods for exploring the relationship between science and religion can expand the scope of the dialogue. Not only does it bring a global perspective in space and geography, but also in history and time.

Adam R. Shapiro is completing his Ph.D. in the Committee on Conceptual and Historical Studies of Science at the University of Chicago. His dissertation research focuses on the history of biology pedagogy and textbook publishing in the Scopes trial period, and its relation to religious culture in the American South. He received his B.A. from Columbia University in Physics and Religion and a M.A. in Philosophy from the University of Chicago.

Avtar Singh
Independent Consultant, Research & Development
San Jose, California, USA
Paper Title: In Search of the Universal Reality and Purpose - A Scientific Investigation
Tuesday, June 7 11:00 am - 12:30 pm in Golkin Room

Science has struggled for centuries to understand the universe. Great scientific achievements in recent decades have enriched material life on Earth. However, mysterious and irresolvable paradoxes have plagued the otherwise successful theories of science. This paper attempts to explain these paradoxes and how they can be remedied. Most widely accepted and successful scientific theories are shown to be incomplete due to the missing physics of spontaneity in them. One of the most serious outcomes of this deficiency is the predicted meaninglessness of the universe and life in it, thus making science itself meaningless. The paper attempts to return the meaning to both science and the universe. The paradoxes and ensuing meaninglessness are shown to be artifacts of modern theories not taking into account the spontaneity or consciousness inherent in nature as observed in the wave-particle duality, spontaneous motion in the universe, the spontaneous decay of particles, and human consciousness.

This paper is an account of the search for a scientific approach for inclusion of the observed spontaneity in nature into the scientific theories, specifically the general theory of relativity, to resolve the paradoxes and questions that haunt modern science and cosmology. This approach resolves major shortcomings of the widely accepted Big Bang Model (BBM) and fills in the big gap in the fundamental understanding of the apparent duality that exists between the behaviors of the microscopic quantum particles and macroscopic classical objects. The proposed model reexamines the basis for Heisenberg uncertainty and concludes that the uncertainty is an artifact of the presumption of a fixed space and time and not a universal reality. The proposed scientific approach provides a seamless integration between the classical and quantum reality as well as a fresh perspective on scientific reality as it relates to the ultimate universal reality. A successful agreement between the predictions and observations of the universe demonstrates the validity and credibility of the proposed approach.

The presented approach also closes the gap between science and religion. It provides a physical basis and answers to many of the philosophical questions related to time and evolution. It also restores the once lost simplicity, beauty, purpose, and meaning not only to science, but also to the universe and life in it. It also demonstrates that the existing paradoxes of the modern science and cosmology leading to an apparent absence of purpose in the universe are artifacts, rather than universal realities, of the missing physics of spontaneity in the modern scientific theories. Spontaneity or consciousness in nature is shown not to be a "Ghost" but a "Host" in the atom. Its existence is a physical reality and not a metaphysical myth that can be excluded from a rigorous scientific theory. A critical review of the current scientific method and theories is undertaken with the objective to facilitate their integration with purpose and meaning.

The author, Avtar Singh, has Doctor of Science and Master of Science degrees in mechanical engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. Earlier, he obtained his Bachelor of Engineering (Honors) degree from Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, India. Professionally, he has been involved in state-of-the-art research and development in various fields related to science and engineering over the past 30 years. He has been a long-term member of key professional organizations including the American Society of Mechanical Engineering and American Nuclear Society. He has published more than fifty papers in professional journals and organized/chaired technical sessions at professional conferences. He has received the Best Paper Award from the American Nuclear Society as well as several technical excellence awards from reputed employer companies. He has recently authored and published a new book entitled, The Hidden Factor: An Approach for Resolving Paradoxes of Science, Cosmology and Universal Reality. The book describes a new innovative scientific approach to resolve the mysterious and irresolvable paradoxes that have plagued the otherwise successful theories of science. The book integrates science and religion by forwarding a common approach that resolves key issues dividing them.

T. D. Singh
Director, Bhaktivedanta Institute; President, Vedanta and Science Educational Research Foundation
Local Society: Bhaktivedanta Institute's Science and Religion Group of Kolkata
Kolkata, India
Paper Title: Hinduism and Science
Monday, June 6 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm in Golkin Room

In Hinduism there are five salient features: (1) God – isvara, (2) Soul – jiva, (3) Time – kala, (4) Matter – prakriti, and (5) Action – karma. Of these the first four principles are eternal whereas the last feature is temporary. The distinction between God and jiva, the living entity is that God is infinite and the living being is infinitesimal. God is the Supreme Spirit and the living entity is the fundamental spiritual particle--atman or spiriton. God exists in three eternal aspects--the impersonal aspect, Brahman; the Supersoul feature, Paramatma; and the Supreme Personality, Bhagavan. Consciousness is the fundamental quality of both God and the living entity. God’s consciousness pervades everywhere, whereas the consciousness of the living entity is localized. The paramatma feature of God guides all the living beings and non-living things. Paramatma is the source of inspiration in all human actions and the source of scientific discoveries, artistic ability, poetic works, etc. Time is the impersonal and eternal aspect of God and has no beginning or end. In modern science time begins with the Big-Bang. In Hindu cosmology and cosmogony, creation and dissolution go on in periodic cycles like the changes of seasons. According to Hinduism, the present universe began 15.5522 x 10¹³ years ago and will end in 15.5518 x 10¹³ years. Thus the Hindu model of the universe is 104 times older than that predicted by the Big Bang model. The visible universe is one of the innumerable universes and there are 8.4 x 10⁶ species of life in this universe. Biodiversity is due to different levels of consciousness and consciousness evolves which is known as the transmigration of the soul.

Vedanta, the scientific and theological doctrine of Hinduism, explains that in principle there is no conflict between science and religion. In fact, the two fields are complementary. This is because of the understanding that the domain of each realm is well-defined. In Hinduism there are two categories of knowledge – (i) para vidya - the spiritual knowledge and (ii) apara vidya - material knowledge. Scientifc knowledge is the realm of apara vidya. Spiritual knowledge - knowledge of God and life - belongs to para vidya. Hinduism points out that scientific knowledge can lead to spiritual knowledge.

God posseses three primary energies. These are (i) the internal, (ii) the marginal and (iii) the external energies. The manifestation of the internal energy of the Lord is the inconceivable variegated spiritual world, cit-jagat. The manifestation of the marginal energy of the Lord comprises the jivas, the living entities. And the manifestation of the external energy of the Lord is the Cosmos, the physical world. Science is concerned for the welfare of physical existence and religion is concerned for the wellbeing of the soul including morality and ethics of life. Karma is physical or psychological action perfomed by a living entity. If one does good action, that leads to happy life. If one does bad action, that leads to unhappy life. It is like Newton’s third law of motion.

T. D. Singh is an extraordinary combination of a scientist, a spiritualist, an active promoter of world peace, an interfaith leader, an educationist, a poet, a singer, and a cultural ambassador. He is well-known for his pioneering efforts for more than thirty years to interface between science and religion. He received his Ph.D. in Physical Organic Chemistry from the University of California, Irvine in 1974. He has organized three International conferences on science and religion (1986, 1990, and 1997) where a galaxy of prominent scientists and religious leaders including several Nobel Laureates participated. He also organized the "Second International Congress on Life and its Origin: Exploration from Science and Various Spiritual and Religious Traditions" in Rome, Italy from November 12-15, 2004. The conference was appreciated by the President of Italy and the Mayor of Rome. He has authored and edited several books related to science and religion like Seven Nobel Laureates on Science and Spirituality (2004). His most recent publication, Towards a Culture of Harmony and Peace (has a section dedicated to science and religion) has contributions from as many as nine Nobel Laureates in Peace and Science apart from that of the President, and the Prime Minister of India.

Glenn Statile
Assistant Professor, Philosophy Department, St. John's University
Local Society: The Rosalie Rendu Roundtable on Religion and Science
Jamaica, New York, USA
Paper Title: Sociobiology and Christian Virtue
Tuesday, June 7 9:00 am - 10:30 am in Franklin Room

Christian theology divides the virtues into two categories: a) Theological – (Faith, Hope, Charity); and b) Human – (e.g., Prudence, Justice, Fortitude, Temperance). These cardinal human virtues are spiritually nurtured and nourished by the theological virtues (2 Peter 1:4), the greatest of which is love, or charity, as we are told by Saint Paul (1 Corinthians 13:13). Sociobiology is the interdisciplinary life-based collection of sciences that purports to provide a scientific basis for the explanation of behavior in both humans and animals. Although it has a certain affinity with the Social Darwinism of the 19th century, and enjoyed a kind of limited existence in scholarly scientific journals with the onset of the revolution in genetics over a half century ago, it first comes into public prominence with the publication of Sociobiology: The New Synthesis by Harvard entomologist Edward Wilson in 1975.

In this paper I examine the major Christian virtues through the interpretive prism of sociobiology. Although the sociobiological literature focuses heavily upon the response of altruism to the pressures of Natural Selection, something can be said about each of the virtues. Charity or altruism reaches its apex in the moral superiority of self-sacrifice. Sociobiological reasoning credits such extreme gifts of self as biologically disadvantageous to the selfish goal of the genes to replicate and perpetuate themselves. Wilson accentuates this genetic theme with the colorfully worded reminder that fallen heroes do not bear children. Or as baseball great Leo Durocher once put it: Nice guys finish last!

I also consider the charge that sociobiology is unscientific. As embodied beings our human nature possesses a necessary biological correlate, yet we must resist the temptation to conflate necessary with sufficient conditions. Just because there is a biological component to our thought, word, and deed, it doesn’t follow that we are slaves to the hypothalamus or the limbic system of the brain. If we are indeed a mysterious union of body, soul, and spirit, then what God has joined together let no entomologist put asunder.

Glenn Statile is an Assistant Professor of philosophy at St. John’s University in New York City. He concentrates mostly in the areas of the History and Philosophy of Science and in Science and Religion. He graduated from Fordham University with a B.A. (1990), and received a doctorate from CUNY in 1998 with a dissertation on Cartesian science. He has published in The Philosophical Forum and has an article coming out this June in International Philosophical Quarterly. He is the coeditor of two books: The Tests of Time (Princeton University Press) and The Journey of Metaphysics (Pearson - imprint of Prentice Hall). He has lectured and presented papers in various locales, both nationally and internationally (Rome, 2000). Over the past four years he has lectured on the topic of faith and fiction at the Pastoral Institute in Queens, New York and has appeared on two television shows dealing with Christian art. In the summer of 2004 he was a tournament director for the U.S Women's Chess Championship, which was held at St. John's University.

Jean Staune
General Secretary, Université Interdiciplinare de Paris
Local Society: Project Nouveau Regard – New Outlook Project
Paris, France
Paper Title: Darwinism, Design, and Purpose: A European Perspective
Monday, June 6 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm in Hall of Flags

In the USA, "Issues in Biology and Religion" usually implies a debate between neo-Darwinists and Creationists or, more recently, Intelligent Design. In Europe, however the situation is somewhat different because no one really believes in creationism anymore and Intelligent Design is unheard of. Consequently the debate is completely different. It is a debate between evolutionists. The first debate is between "Classical Darwinians" and scientists like Christian de Duve (Belgian Nobel Prize laureate for medicine) or Simon Conway Morris (UK Palaeontologist based at Cambridge) and is about the reproducibility of evolution. Presenting an alternative view from Gould for whom contingence rules supreme in the processes of evolution, de Duve and Conway Morris postulate that if you "run" evolution again on a planet with more-or-less the same conditions as you find on Earth the result will be more-or-less the same. More specifically it will lead to intelligent beings that resembles us. They accept that there are no other forces that act on evolution than Darwinian selection (random mutations and natural selection) but they show evidence that chance is channeled by the laws of nature. If you play dice for a very long time you can be sure that a very special result will certainly occur.

The second debate is between classical neo-Darwinians and non-Darwinians i.e. scientists that claim that Darwinian mechanisms are not the main forces driving evolution. There are in France, Italy and England two main schools of thinking in this area. One believes that there is a goal in the process of evolution and so randomness is just apparent, not real, in the mechanism of evolution. At a much deeper level evolution is more or less predictable because is has a purpose. The other supports the idea of self-organisation, autopoesis and emergence. For them these concepts are just as important, even more important than Darwinian concepts to the understanding of evolution.

In our first part we will describe these debates and the main scientists who have different positions from the classical non-Darwinian one, but who are, without exception, evolutionists. It is of special interest for an American audience because it will show how the debate is much wider in this field than the narrow controversies between Darwinians on one hand and "crazy creationists" or Intelligent Design people on the other.

It could be very surprising and interesting for an American audience to discover that there are non-Darwinian scientists who claim they support evolution more strongly than Darwinians! The reason is epistemological: Teilhard supporters who form the majority of non-Darwinian scientists in Europe claim that the existence of purpose and directionality is a better evidence of the reality of evolution than any demonstration using Darwinian concepts.

To conclude we will ask a question of a scientific and epistemological nature, namely: is there a way of applying in evolutionary biology the concepts that have appeared in other areas or research and which show the limitations of our capacity to understand reality, e.g. Heisenberg's uncertainty principle or Godel's theory of incompleteness? And if the answer is yes, then what concept of evolution can this lead us to?

Jean Staune's affiliations include: Founder and General Secretary of the Interdisciplinary University of Paris; Assistant Professor in Philosophy of Sciences at the MBA of the Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales (HEC); Director of the collection 'The Time of Science' (Le Temps des Sciences) at Fayard Editions; Member of the John Templeton Foundation Board of Advisors; and member of ESSSAT.

His research is focused on the philosophical and social implications of new scientific discoveries, on the links between Science and Religion and on the way to synthesize and popularize the conceptual revolutions which have occured during this century. He has a degree from the Paris Institute of Political Sciences (Economic and Financial Sector), a DEA of Paleontology from the National Museum of Natural Sciences, and a DESS 'Capacity to Administrate a Company' (CAAE) from the Institut d'Administration des Entreprises at the Université Paris I. He is the editor of the collective publications: L'Homme face à la Science, with Ilya Prigogine, Hubert Reeves, Trinh Xuan Thuan and Bernard d'Espagnat, and Science et Quète de Sens, which included 15 co-authors, among them Charles Townes, Paul Davies, and Christian de Duve.

Esther M. Sternberg
National Institutes of Health
Bethesda, Maryland, USA
Paper Title: Brain Immune Connections: The Brain’s Stress Response in Health and Disease
Sunday, June 5 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm in Hall of Flags

The idea that the mind and negative states of mind, such as psychological stress or positive states of well-being can influence health and disease has been present in the popular culture for thousands of years. Recent scientific advances prove that there are many ways in which the brain and the immune system communicate, and modify each other's functions. The lecture will describe the scientific advances that allowed the elucidation of these communications between the brain and immune system: the scientific underpinning of the so-called “mind-body” interaction. The lecture will describe how the brain’s stress response tends to dampen immune system activity and how over-activity of the brain’s stress response during stress can lead to greater susceptibility to infection, prolonged wound healing and decreased vaccine take-rate. In contrast, interruptions of this interaction, through genetic, pharmacological or surgical means, leads to enhanced susceptibility to inflammatory diseases such as arthritis. During positive emotional states such as love or happiness, other brain pathways are activated that may contribute to improved health both by reducing stress responses and by activating hormones and nerve chemicals that enhance resilience. The lecture will also describe another way in which the brain and immune system interact, through the presence of immune cells and molecules in the brain. These immune factors play an important role in nerve cell death, and thus contribute to degenerative brain diseases including the dementia of Alzheimer's and AIDS. Immune molecules within the nervous system can also play a role in nerve repair and are therefore important in recovery from nerve trauma. On the basis of such findings, new drug treatments are currently being developed, such as the use of anti-inflammatory drugs in Alzheimer's and multiple sclerosis, immune treatments for spinal cord injury, anti-immune molecule drugs for stroke, anti-stress hormone drugs for arthritis and nerve chemical related drugs for improving immunity in aging. In addition scientists are beginning to understand more about how alternative and complementary therapies such as meditation or writing about a stressful event can reduce stress and improve health.

Dr. Sternberg received her M.D. degree and trained in Rheumatology at McGill University, Montreal, Canada, did post-doctoral training and was on the faculty at Washington University, St. Louis, MO, before joining the National Institutes of Health in 1986. Currently Chief of the Section on Neuroendocrine Immunology and Behavior at the National Institute of Mental Health, Dr. Sternberg is also Director of the Integrative Neural Immune Program, NIMH/NIH and Co-Chair of the NIH Intramural Program on Research in Women’s Health, both multi-Institute Intramural research programs designed to foster interdisciplinary research at NIH.

Dr. Sternberg is internationally recognized for her discoveries in central nervous system - immune system interactions and the brain's stress response in susceptibility to arthritis and other diseases, including depression, i.e. the science of the mind-body interaction. Her recent discovery that anthrax lethal toxin represses the glucocorticoid receptor extends these principles to treatment of bacterial shock and biodefense. Her numerous original scientific and review articles and textbook chapters are published in leading scientific journals including Nature, Medicine, Science, New England Journal of Medicine, Scientific American, J. of Clinical Investigation and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. She is a reviewer and editorial board member for many scientific journals; has edited several books, including Neuroimmunomodulation: Perspectives at the New Millennium and Neuroendocrine and Neural Regulation of Autoimmune and Inflammatory Disease: Molecular, Systems, and Clinical Insights. (New York Academy of Sciences, 2000 & 2003), and authored the popular book: The Balance Within: The Science Connecting Health and Emotions. (W.H. Freeman & Co., 2000, paperback 2001, H. Holt). In recognition of her work, she received the Public Health Service's Superior Service Award; Arthritis Foundation William R. Felts Award for Excellence in Rheumatology Research; United States Department of Health and Human Services Public Health Service Staff Recognition Award; FDA Commissioner’s Special Citation (pathogenesis of the L-tryptophan eosinophilia myalgia syndrome); NIMH Director’s Merit Award (leadership in developing interdisciplinary programs); was elected to the American Society for Clinical Investigation and to a Committee of the National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine; testified before Congress; been advisor to the World Health Organization; member of the National Library of Medicine’s (NLM) Literature Selection Technical Review (Medline) and Exhibition Program Advisory Committees. Dr. Sternberg is frequently invited to lecture nationally and internationally, including the Smithsonian Institution (Washington, D.C.), Nobel Forum (Karolinska Institute, Stockholm), Woman’s Heart Day (Madison Square Garden), NY; chaired many national and international scientific conferences; is immediate past-President of the International Society for Neuroimmunomodulation; co-directed a concurrent NLM Exhibition and video on "Emotions and Disease" (1996). Her work galvanized establishment of the field of neural immune interactions and collaborative networks in other interdisciplinary fields including women’s health. Dr. Sternberg is currently highlighted in the National Library of Medicine Exhibition on Women In Medicine: “Changing the Face of Medicine” (www.nlm.nih.gov/changingthefaceofmedicine/ click: Explore the Exhibition).

John M. Sweeney
Managing Director, Center for Process Studies, Claremont School of Theology
Local Society: Dialogues Concerning Science and Natural Religion
Claremont, California, USA
Paper Title: Transforming Foundations--Philosophical, Theological, and Scientific
Tuesday, June 7 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm in Hall of Flags

"You cannot shelter theology from science, or science from theology; nor can you shelter either of them from metaphysics, or metaphysics from either of them. There is no shortcut to truth." [A. N. Whitehead; Religion in the Making; New York: Fordham University Press, 1996; p. 79.]

Guided by Whitehead's observation, this paper attempts to demonstrate how the philosophical and theological foundations of the religion-science dialogue can be revised so as to promote that dialogue. Towards this goal, the paper is organized as follows: (1) the first section presents a general discussion of the three key terms--theology, science, and metaphysics (or speculative philosophy); (2) the second section focuses on process philosophy and process theology, presenting both a general introduction and a more specific discussion of a few notions that are especially pertinent to the science-religion dialogue; (3) the third section illustrates some of the ways in which philosophical and theological foundations might be changed, and the effects on the science and religion dialogue that such changes might have; for example, using a process perspective could nudge the science-religion dialogue in a more cooperative direction.

Taking both the spirit of Whitehead and Whitehead's suggested metaphysics seriously can change how the interactions among theology, science, and metaphysics occur, thereby transforming all three disciplines and enhancing the dialogue.

John M. Sweeney is the Managing Director of the Center for Process Studies, Claremont, California and an Adjunct Instructor at the Claremont School of Theology. Prior to working at the Center (January 2000), John taught introductory philosophy and religion courses at several California community colleges, including ten years at San Diego City College. Dr. Sweeney completed his Ph.D. (1993) at the Claremont School of Theology in process thought and religious education. John’s education includes an M.A. (Philosophy; Psychology) from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln; an M.Div. (Philosophy of Religion; Psychology and Religion) from Union Theological Seminary, New York City; and an A.B. (Religion-Philosophy & Mathematics) from Illinois College, Jacksonville, IL. Dr. Sweeney serves as the coordinator for the LSI supported program, "Dialogues Concerning Religion and Natural Science," of the Center for Process Studies.

Muzaffer M. Tabanli
Southeastern Illinois College
Harrisburg, Illinois, USA
Paper Title: Nursi's and Gulen's Method of Reflection Towards a God Conscious Science Education
Tuesday, June 7 11:00 am - 12:30 pm in Class of '49 Room

Developing a course that engages Science, Philosophy, and Religion (SPR) constructively is a challenge. There are several problems waiting to be overcome in order to make this course consistent, comprehensive, progressive and agreed upon. Some of the problems are essential such as the choice of a context. Until the SPR community is mature enough, we need to take either science, or philosophy, or religion as the starting point and extend to the other two within the context of the former. This is an essential problem since there are different scientific views, many philosophical schools of thought, and countless religions. Essential problems cause irremovable differences that categorize SPR works and they will lead to different courses eventually. A second type of problems are contingent, such as developing terminology, forming a language, constructing paradigms, compatibility to the educational standards, and openness to scientific progress. Since it is possible to overcome contingent problems through dialogue, we will present relevant works of Nursi and Gulen. Said Nursi, a Muslim scholar of early-mid 20th century, dedicated his life to supporting faith in every way possible. With the rise of communism and materialistic, positivist and naturalist philosophy, belief in God and the necessity of religion were questioned constantly. Nursi developed a method to teach about God within the context of modern science education for the first time in the Islamic community. He stated that all the sciences continuously speak of God and make known the Creator, each with its own tongue. Through reflection we can reach to the meaning of science behind the veil of formulas. It is possible to achieve a state where every piece of the Cosmos will be a window showing God's attributes, and a channel that connects us to the Creator. In his book Fruits of Belief he applied this method to chemistry, engineering, commerce, and literature. Later, Fethullah Gulen adopted this method and gave a series of talks, sermons, and conferences. In his book, Essentials of Islamic Faith, he used universal truths such as cooperation, conservation, cleanness, order, providence and similarities as mirrors reflecting Divine attributes and as signs pointing to the necessary existence of God.

Muzaffer Mustafa Tabanli is a full-time faculty member at Southeastern Illinois College, in Harrisburg, Illinois. He completed his Ph.D. in Physics at the University of Missouri-Rolla under the supervision of D. H. Madison. His research interest is in theoretical and computational Atomic Molecular and Optical Physics. He is a member of the American Physical Society (APS) and American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT). He is currently working with The Fountain magazine and the Niagara Educational Services in the area of Interfaith, Intercultural and Interdisciplinary dialogue. He is married with no children.

Giuseppe Tanzella-Nitti
Professor of Fundamental Theology, Department of Dogmatic Theology, Pontifical University of the Holy Cross
Local Society: DISF Working Group
Rome, Italy
Paper Title: In Search for the Unity of Knowledge: Building Unity inside the Subject
Monday, June 6 9:00 am - 10:30 am in Hall of Flags

The study of the relationship between scientific and humanistic knowledge, or between empirical knowledge and philosophical-religious experience, involves two different conceptual levels. The first concerns the integration between scientific and philosophical rationality. This involves gnoseology (the various levels of abstraction in our knowledge of reality), epistemology (the problems of the foundation and the truthfulness of scientific knowledge), and also anthropology (the answers to the "questions of meaning" experienced by the subject). The second level concerns the integration between natural reason and religious faith, between what I know and what I believe. This paper is aimed at showing that the unity of knowledge, that begins by asking for the unity of the object and for the interdisciplinarity of methods, ends up by involving the subject, who is, ultimately, he or she in whom that knowledge must be unified. I briefly investigate which anthropology is capable of inspiring a balanced foundation of such an intellectual synthesis, and I recognize three consecutive degrees in the search for a unification: a) the unity of knowledge as "listening to", b) as habitus (habit), and c) as an act of the person. I finally suggest that the act that grants unity to the intellectual experience of the subject, once he or she assents to ask for the ultimate questions on the origin, the ends, and the meaning of the whole of reality, has a religious nature, that is, it is prompted by the religious attitude of the subject, who learns from reality, remains open to the search for truth, and to the gift of God’s Revelation.

G. Tanzella-Nitti took his university degree in Astronomy at the University of Bologna (1977), and his doctorate in Dogmatic Theology at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, Rome, (1991). An Italian C.N.R. fellow (1978-1981), he has been appointed Astronomer of the Astronomical Observatory of Turin (1981-1985). He is now Full Professor of Fundamental Theology at the Pontificia Università della Santa Croce in Rome. His fields of interest and research includes Theology of Revelation, theological and philosophical image of God, the dialogue between scientific thought and Christian theology; the role of University and the Unity of Knowledge. General Editor of the Interdisciplinary Dictionary on Religion and Science, a two-volume Encyclopaedia published by Urbaniana University Press and Città Nuova, Roma 2002, he is now the director of the web site Documentazione Interdisciplinare di Scienza e Fede. In April 2002 he received the ESSSAT Communication Prize from the European Society for the Study of Science and Theology. He is the author of 7 books and more than one hundred articles.

John A. Teske
Professor of Psychology, Elizabethtown College
Local Society: Elizabethtown College Center for Science and Religion
Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania, USA
Paper Title: Neuromythology: Brains and Stories
Tuesday, June 7 11:00 am - 12:30 pm in Franklin Room

A sketch will be provided of a synthetic integration of a number of levels of explanation in addressing how myths, narratives, and stories engage human beings, produce their sense of identity and self-understanding, and shape their intellectual, emotional, and embodied lives. Ultimately it is our engagement with the metanarratives of religious imagination by which we address a set of existentially necessary but ontologically unanswerable metaphysical questions that ultimately form the basis of religious belief.

How might we form a more integrated sense of how a multi-leveled understanding of evolutionary biology, history, neuroscience, psychology, narrative, and mythology might actually form a coherent picture of the human spirit? Neuropsychological functions involved in constructing and responding to the narratives by which we form our identities and build meaningful lives include memory, attention, emotional marking, and temporal sequencing. It is the neural substrate, the emotional shaping, and the narrative structuring of higher cognitive function that provide the sine qua non for the construction of meaning, relationship, morality, and purpose that extend beyond our personal boundaries, both spatial and temporal. These provide a contingent solution to disunities of mind, the construction of self and identity, and the alienation and fragmentation of personhood, relationship and community, but a solution that is likely only accomplished with widely varying degrees of success, and may include a range of fictionalization and self-deception in all of us.

A neural affect system is shaped into emotional patterns by the social scripts laid down during our lengthy period of developmental dependency, including second-order emotions, the development of independence, autonomy, and relations of intimacy and power. Personal identity is made possible by the evolution of a human neuropsychology that requires social interdependency for its development. Our neuroplasticity requires shaping over a lifetime, socially scaffolding our neuroregulation, including emotional attachments and dynamics. The evolutionary hypertrophy of our prefrontal cortex leads to a colonization of brain function making possible the social construction of virtual realities, novel forms of socially constituted experience, and the transforming effects of mythic, ideological, and religious systems.

An understanding of Joan Didion’s claim that "We tell stories in order to live," can be obtained by looking carefully at the dynamic narratives of self development in the formation of identity. These mythic sagas include gods and goddesses, heroes, villains, and tales of love and power, stories of creation, demise, rise, fall, rebirth, and the adventures of the self. These are constructed and reconstructed over the lifespan, along with ego development, the choices and commitments of identity and intimacy, and the maturity and generativity that can come with age. There are cultural, social, and personal functions of myths, their role in understanding human crisis and transformation, in love, heroism, family life, and even the demonic. Our construction of ourselves via such mythic and storied forms, whether comedic, romantic, tragic, or even ironic, enables our participation in the historical moment, in epistemically objective, socioculturally constituted realities, our contribution to human history, and our attempts to apprehend the timeless and eternal. Finally, not only does narrative constitute our movement in moral space, but it may have the potential both for healing and for disruption, for us as individuals and as a species.

John A. Teske is Professor of Psychology, and Department Chair, at Elizabethtown College. Teske has an M.A and Ph.D. from Clark University and a B.A. from Indiana University. He has published empirical research on nonverbal behavior, environmental psychology, cognitive development, and close relationships. His scholarly interests over the last decade have shifted to evolutionary psychology, philosophical psychology, and the science-religion dialogue, particularly in the neuropsychology of spirit. He has published regularly in Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science, and in Studies in Science and Theology, and contributed several entries to the Encyclopedia of Religions and Science. He is a member of the Institute on Religion in an Age of Science and is serving a second term on its Council, of the European Society for the Study of Science and Theology, and is a founding member of the Elizabethtown College Center for Science and Religion. His teaching interests include social and personality psychology, the history of psychology, and interdisciplinary courses such as "Mind and Brain," "Narrative and Identity," "Brain, Mind, and Spirit," "Psychology through Shakespeare," "Psyche and Film," and a newly proposed course on "Neuromythology." He is a second-generation contributor to the science/religion dialogue.

Stefan Trausan-Matu
Computer Science Department, "Politehnica" University of Bucharest, and Math Forum at Drexel University
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Paper Title: Human Language and the Limits of Artificial Intelligence: A New Religion-Science Relation

The paper discusses some achievements and failures of artificial intelligence (AI) from the perspective of the relation between (Christian Orthodox) religion and science. A special emphasis will be given to automated language understanding in AI, and, in contrast to dialogism, in Mikhail Bakhtin’s conception, with direct link to the fundamental dimension of human being as it appears in Christian theology. The theological dimension of Bakhtin’s dialogism has been discussed previously by other authors but its relation with AI was not analyzed elsewhere.

Dr. Stefan Trausan-Matu, is a Fulbright Scholar at Drexel University, Philadelphia. He is Professor at the Computer Science Department of the "Politehnica" University of Bucharest, and senior researcher at the Romanian Academy Institute for Artificial Intelligence.

He has authored 9 books, 7 book chapters and more than 120 book papers and reports, plus, he has participated in 10 international and more than 15 national research projects on artificial intelligence and e-learning. He has been an invited professor in universities in the US, France, UK, Netherlands, etc., has organized conferences and workshops, is a committee program member and reviewer at international journals and conferences, and has had tutorials at national and international conferences. He is Vice-chair of the ACM Romanian Special Interest Group on Computer Human Interaction and a member of the Romanian Academy Committee for the History and Philosophy of Science and of the Commission of the Romanian Academy for Language Technology.

His special research interests are: human language understanding, dialogism, computer supported collaboration, knowledge-based systems, intelligent e-learning, philosophy, and the religion-science relation.

Ivan Tsekhmistro
Head of Theory of Culture and Philosophy of Science Department, V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University
Local Society: East Ukrainian Center of Science and Religion
Kharkiv, Ukraine
Paper Title: Scientific Picture of the Word in the Last 25 Years: Basic Change of Spiritual Prospect
Tuesday, June 7 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm in Golkin Room

The foundations of quantum mechanics raise two important questions: (1) why probabilities are primary in the description of a physical reality; (2) why these probabilities in a so-called pure quantum condition are perfectly correlated as were confirmed in the EPR-experiments.

Both can be solved in a testable way by the general relativistic approach in physics on the extremely common concepts of "element" and "set." Relativization of the concepts "element" and "set" means that finally the world exists as an indivisible whole. Its accuracy corresponds to a quantum picture of the world. As quantum systems in a so-called pure condition cannot be completely spread out on sets of elements, we are compelled to describe them in terms of potential possibilities of allocation of such elements and in terms of the corresponding probabilities representing their (i.e. quantum systems) current objective-real structure.

On the other hand, this quantum property of the world as indivisible whole appeared responsible for implicative-logic properties of structure as generated by it - potential possibilities of quantum systems that has found strict confirmation in the mentioned quantum-correlation experiments. The reduction of wave function and quantum-correlation effects are trivial consequences of the implicative-logic organization of potential possibilities in quantum systems. These effects have neither physical–causal, nor material, but a relational nature and are generated by changes (owing to measurement or physical interaction) in structure of relations of mutually supplementing sides of reality.

We conclude that:

1. The world actually is not mechanistic or just physical-causal (like a clockwork). Regarding the relation to the mechanistic-physical-casual side of the world, there is its remarkable additional logic-mental side submitted by a layer in its basis of quantum potential possibilities in which quantum-correlation implicative-logic by nature effects are developed. The natural basis of this additional world is the surprising side of the world as the indivisible unit, shown in the deepest basis of it - in a so-called subquantum level.
2. In this new picture of the world a person appears as the fundamental, ineradicable and essential phenomenon of life, more fundamental, more ineradicable and more essential even in comparison with the religious doctrine about his occurrence in the world at divine will.
3. The quantum picture of the world always assumes and always keeps in itself an opportunity of the person by virtue of presence in a fundamental basis of the world of mental implicative-logic structures of potential possibilities (and representing them in quantum mechanics of probabilities), which are completely identical to implicative-logic structures of thinking and consciousness of a person and regarding which we are the real similarity ("And God created man by his image and similarity").

Prof. Ivan Z. Tsekhmistro:

Education
Kharkiv National Karazin’s University,Ukraine – Doctor of Philosophy Science, 1977.
Kharkiv National Karazin’s University,Ukraine - Candidate’s degree of Philosophy Science, 1966.
Kharkiv National Karazin’s University,Ukraine - Engineering, 1959.

Professional Employment
Head of Theory of Culture and Philosophy of Science Department, Kharkiv National Karazin’s University, 1990 - present.
Professor of Philosopy Chair, Kharkiv National Karazin’s University, 1980-1990; Assistant Professor, 1966-1980.
Post-graduate of Philosopy Chair, Kharkiv National Karazin’s University, 1962-1965.
Engineer, senior engineer in Sibgiprotrans, Novosibirsk, 1959-1962.

Grants and Awards
Honored Scientist of Ukraine, 2002 (assigned by the President of Ukraine).
Honorary Karasin’s Grant of Kharkiv District State Administration, 1999.
Participant of the International Seminars on the Study of Western Philosophy and Education, 1992-1997. (Grants from the International Soros Foundations in Ukraine).

Professional Service
Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Kharkiv National Universityseries: "Theory of Culture and Philosophy of Science," 1990 - present.
Member of editorial board of scientific journal Philosophical Thought of Ukrainian Academy of Sciences, 1998 - present.
Academician of Academy of Informatics of Ukraine, 1992 - present.
C hairman of the scientific council awarding the degree of the doctor of philosophical sciences, 1992 – present.

Nikolaos A. Tsiopinis
Research Associate, Heyendaal Institute Nijmegen, Interdisciplinary institute for theology, sciences and culture; and Candidate, Radboud University Nijmegen
Local Society: The Heyendaal Open Circle on Science and Religion
Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Paper Title: Definitions of Truth as Cultural Paradigms and a Rubric to Foster Communication within the Science and Religion Dialogue
Monday, June 6 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm in Class of '49 Room

In fostering communication within the Sciences and Religion as a global perspective on Dialogue, we first need to understand how people define truth (e.g. scientific / experimental, expert-testimony, universal standard, experiential, spiritual) and secondly, but equally important, why they are in need of truth for their lives. It is shown that truth is a value that validates their claims to live in a community. People desire the validation of being part of a common understanding and see the agreement of others as validation that they have discovered "Truth." Because people understand themselves and their world by being participants of communities, communities become the natural habitat within which truths are defined and explicated and formulated into overarching cultural paradigms.

Cultural paradigms are all-embracing "ways of life" whereby communities are given shape. At the same time, these paradigms remain fluid enough to allow for diffusion and penetration of the "other" and even pollination by the other; what we also call affinity to relate. Thus, individuals can experience the collective validation of living and thinking within a paradigm that is also embraced as truth by others, while contributing to the evolution and expansion of this description of truth.

Once one understands how the "other" defines truth, and why the other defines it that way (e.g. what are the underlying cultural values that are important to them) then one can communicate in a way that is understood by the other as well as understand the communication of the other, so that the communication loop is completed. At this point true crossdisciplinary communication between diverse paradigms of defining truth (e.g. scientific and religious) can be initiated. Then we can dialogue from a place of building bridges rather than walls and grow in a mutually interactive expansion of our understanding of truth.

This paper will explicate this process both conceptually and through two examples of specific truth definitions (cultural paradigms). The one was embedded in a theological culture of 7th century Byzantium and was exemplified by the theory of the logoi of beings; the other is embedded in the modern scientific culture and is called information theory. Both present holistic ways of apprehending the real by defining truth relationally. The notion of what is "within us" and what comes "from without" are crucial for both understandings of the conception of the real as being true. These perspectives differ in the relative value each places upon certain aspects of experiencing truth relative to other aspects of the truth experience.

Nikos Tsiopinis is currently completing an interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Mathematics and Theology at the Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands. Previously, he completed more clear-cut projects earning a Master of Science degree in Solid State Physics at the University of Thessalonica in his home country of Greece and a Master of Science degree in Polymer Physics at the State University of Groningen in the Netherlands. Nikos has publications in the fields of physics and literature, as well as in the interdisciplinary field of science and religion. While completing his doctorate, he has held a research position at the Heyendaal Institute Nijmegen, an interdisciplinary research institute for theology, sciences, and culture. Through this position, he has participated in the Science and Religion dialogue in Europe. Nikos' understanding of both religion and science as integral to one’s apprehension of the Real was birthed in Greece within the cradle of the Greek Orthodox Church and fostered during his education in the Netherlands. Eager to expand his horizons (and cultural paradigms), Nikos is currently in the process of moving to New York City.

Amelia J. Uelmen and Judith M. Povilus
Uelman: Director, Institute on Religion, Law & Lawyer's Work, Fordham U. Law
Povilus: Associate Director, Focolare Movement's Association for Cultural Studies & the Sophia Summer School for a Culture of Unity (Rome, Italy);
Local Society: "Sophia" Association for Cultural Studies
Rome, Italy and New York, New York, USA
Paper Title: Seeds of a Global University: The "Sophia Summer School for a Culture of Unity"
Tuesday, June 7 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm in Class of '49 Room

In a "globalized" world, the idea of a global university is evocative and timely: global in outreach, but also in content, offering a "global education." The very term "university" emerged from a perspective of universality, implying the capacity to “comprehend” the multiform riches of the cultural heritage of the world. But in a culture where fragmentation prevails, where can we find academics with the openness of vision and the wide-ranging competence needed to transmit a sense of inter-connectedness?

As Dr. Eric Weislogel has pointed out, what is needed is "a network of open and exploratory international and interdisciplinary collaboration," and certainly Metanexus has given a significant contribution in this direction. Dr. Weislogel also noted that by its very trans-disciplinary methodology the science-religion dialogue has begun to restore that "feel for the wholeness of wisdom to which knowledge was always meant to contribute."

This is an important start. Wisdom, however, is not only the desired end but also the common root from which all the sciences were born. We would add that the ideal environment for imparting and receiving integral knowledge should also be imbued with practical wisdom, such as the decision to treat others as we would have them treat us, a tenet common to all the great world religions.

To offer a model which may contain initial seeds of a "global university," this paper describes some aspects of the pilot experience of the "Sophia Summer School for a Culture of Unity," which in the past four years has welcomed 200 university students of various faculties and of cultures from around the world.

Emerging from the cultural humus of the Focolare Movement's spirituality of unity, the project began with the desire to extend to youth the unique experience of a group of 30 academics of various nations and fields of study ranging from theology and philosophy to science, economy, sociology, etc., who meet regularly to share how the light of wisdom illuminates their various disciplines. The summer school is a fruit of this common experience. Each lecturer strives to transmit, in the few hours at his or her disposal and in a language accessible to all, the key ideas of one's subject matter put into focus against the background of wisdom.

In their turn, the students bring their own thirst for an integral form of knowledge, knowing that what will be asked of them in these two weeks each summer is extremely demanding. They are asked to live in total and continuous intellectual and spiritual communion with one another and with all of the teachers, opening their minds without reservation to what each lecturer has to share. They are also asked to reciprocate by expressing the thoughts, questions and inspirations that the lessons provoke in them. The result is an intense learning experience for lecturers and students alike. It is, perhaps, an initial seed for the blossoming of a truly global university.

Amelia J. Uelmen is the Director of the Institute on Religion, Law & Lawyer's Work at Fordham University School of Law where she has also taught Legal Ethics and a seminar in Catholic Social Thought and the Law. Her scholarship focuses on how religious values and Catholic spirituality may be integrated into legal practice. She is a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Law & Religion, and an associate member of the Association for Cultural Studies. She holds a JD from Georgetown University Law School.

Judith M. Povilus is the Associate Director of the Focolare Movement's Association for Cultural Studies and the Sophia Summer School for a Culture of Unity, both based in Rome, Italy. She is the author of numerous articles in dogmatic theology and the math-theology interface. She holds an MS in Mathematics from the University of Illinois and a PhD in dogmatic theology from the Pontifical Lateran University of Rome.

Allen R. Utke
Emeritus Professor of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh
Local Society: Synodical Task Force of Science and Religion
Oshkosh, Wisconsin, USA
Paper Title: Science And Religion Through A Cloudy Crystal Ball
Monday, June 6 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm in Golkin Room

Since about 1960, primarily through the funding programs of the John M. Templeton Foundation, growing numbers of formerly-autonomous, diverse calls and efforts to (re)integrate scientific and religious thought have been "quietly coalescing" into a modern, global science/religion movement. To date, that early, still-evolving movement has been centered on two "understood," and thus usually-unstated, fundamental sub-goals. Those two sub-goals are to; 1.) advance science/religion knowledge and understanding, largely through scholarly research and dialogue, and 2.) disseminate that knowledge and understanding as widely as possible.

The author has long lauded, and actively supported, the aforementioned two, contemporary, scholarly sub-goals of "the movement." However, in the paper, he contends that the time has come to significantly temper them with some visionary pragmatism. In support of that contention, he begins by pointing to the "obvious" fact that, while the global science/religion movement has been "quietly" unfolding in history, many complex, foreseeable and unforeseeable, unprecedented, cross-cultural, global, pragmatic questions, problems, dilemmas, and crises have been explosively emerging as well! The author contends that the "pragmatic explosion" is so overwhelming that, ironically, it has all-too-often not only generated a disorientated, "head-in-the-sand" response in society-at-large, but until recently, in the science/religion movement as well!

In an effort to extrapolate the possible future, global impact of the "pragmatic explosion," the author peers into "a cloudy crystal ball" containing such recent, major projections and scenarios as those of the United Nations, the World 3-03 Limits To Growth Study, Sir Martin Rees, and others. Succinctly focusing and summarizing such global prognoses, he then contends that; 1.) we now live in the most abnormal, unpredictable, and dangerous age in history, and 2.) the 21st century carries the perilous potential of societal and even global terminality, possibly before 2050!

Drawing on the thoughts of Carl Sagan and others, the author then argues that a cross-cultural, global, pragmatic, "physical revolution" is now needed in the way humankind operates in nature in order to save the future! However, he further argues that, since our actions are ultimately driven by our paradigms, humankind will also need a pre-requisite, motivational, complementary, "mental revolution" in the way we think! And, since science and religion remain the two most powerful influences in human history, he argues the science/religion movement not only has an opportunity, but an historical responsibility and mandate as well, to play a key role in forging and promoting both complementary, paradigmatic "revolutions"!

The author next outlines his own educational proposal, and the roadblocks in its way, for producing the overarching, scholarly/pragmatic, science/religion paradigm he argues is now needed to save the future. His own proposed paradigm begins in "cosmic holism" and humility, and ends in increased terrestrial responsibility. He then concludes the paper by calling for a future Metanexus Conference centered on the "crucial" questions of what the “stated” goals of the science/religion movement should now be, and what should happen if those goals are met.

Dr. Allen R. Utke is Emeritus Professor of Chemistry at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh. However, over the last 40 years or so, beyond his accomplishments in chemistry, he has extensively centered his professional activities, whenever and wherever possible, on using an interdisciplinary (re)unification of scientific, religious, philosophical, and futuristic thought to help mold and even save the future. Overall, Dr. Utke’s accomplishments as an interdisciplinary scholar have included authoring three international books; 23 articles; 42 papers; 14 new interdisciplinary courses; receiving two distinguished teaching awards; being the 1999-2000 President of the International Society for the Study of Human Ideas on Ultimate Reality and Meaning; receiving three Templeton Foundation Awards for course development and a speakers series at his university, and authoring a best, recently-published science/religion article on Michael Faraday; making 80 radio and television appearances; and giving more than 600 professional and public presentations.

James A. Van Slyke
Ph.D. candidate, Fuller Theological Seminary
Pasadena, California, USA
Paper Title: Religion and Cognitive Science: Cognitive Constraints and Top-down Causation

The field of cognitive science has virtually exploded in the last two decades, as scientists study the mechanisms of the brain and specific areas of cognition such as language, concept formation, and emotion. Due to the empirical success of cognitive science, many philosophers, scientists, and anthropologists have begun to apply the insights of cognitive science to how religious concepts and experiences are developed and transmitted to others. In fact, many scientists are now arguing that the development and transmission of religious beliefs is a natural process dependent upon implicit cognitive systems which are the product of evolution. Thus, understanding religion through research in cognitive science allows for a detailed empirical investigation of religious phenomena.

The goal of this paper is to provide a critique of the reductionistic aspects of current studies in the cognitive science of religion and to argue in favor of the addition of 'top-down' causation to the 'bottom-up' accounts provided by cognitive science. The cognitive science of religion, though helpful in its description of cognitive and neurological systems involved in religion, gives these implicit systems priority over the explicit cognitive systems which also have a role to play in religious cognition. This framework assumes causal reductionism in that the 'cause' of religious concepts and experiences is the constituent parts of cognition (i.e. universal cognitive architecture and evolutionary selection). Though understanding the role of cognitive systems in religion is an important goal, it is not necessary to reduce religion to cognitive terms.

What is missing in these accounts is the notion of 'downward’'or 'top-down' causation, where other explicit cognitive systems also can effect religious beliefs in a particular way. Higher level cognitive processes are shown to possess certain causal powers in that they select from the lower-level possible states. From this point of view, the mind is a contextualized brain state involving a person in action feedback loops with the culture and environment. Religious beliefs can have a top-down causative effect on religious behavior and thought. The development of religious beliefs is both constrained by certain aspects of our evolved cognitive systems, but is also shaped by the religious traditions in which those particular beliefs are embodied. Religion as a social process is constrained by certain cognitive functions, but it also helps to select and instantiate particular types of cognitive religious thoughts. The development of religious beliefs is not an exclusively cultural or cognitive process, but involves both systems working together to form religious beliefs. The addition of top-down causal factors to the study of religion will allow for a more complete and accurate view of religion, noting all the important factors, including the possibility of the involvement of God.

My name is James Van Slyke and I am currently a doctoral student at Fuller Theological Seminary working on an interdisciplinary degree in theology and psychology. The primary focus of my studies has been the relationship between theology and science, particularly in the areas of cognitive science, philosophy of mind, and Christian theology. I have been working with Nancey Murphy (professor of Christian philosophy) and Warren Brown (professor of psychology) in these different areas. My dissertation looks at theories in the cognitive science of religion and their focus on cognitive modules which unconsciously influence how religious beliefs are developed and transmitted. Although understanding cognition is helpful in the study of religion, I use the concepts of emergence and top-down causation to show how a religious belief can consciously direct behavior. I am an adjunct professor at Azusa Pacific University and teach classes in several areas including: cognition, physiological psychology, and abnormal psychology. I also lead a research group with students at Azusa looking at how cognitive theories affect religious beliefs. We will be attempting to begin a new research project in the fall. I am also an adjunct instructor at Fuller Theological Seminary and will be teaching a class in Christian Apologetics in the spring.

Michael Ventimiglia
Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Sacred Heart University
Fairfield, Connecticut, USA
Paper Title: The Science and Religion Dialogue: Are Philosophical Foundations Necessary?
Monday, June 6 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm in Franklin Room

William James is well-known for arguing that different words which describe the same practical state of affairs are, in fact, equivalent in meaning. This theory of meaning is one important strain of American pragmatism, the movement which remains America's primary philosophical contribution to intellectual history, and it invites us to consider a unique perspective on the contemporary dialogue between science and religion. Specifically, it raises the question of the necessity of philosophical foundations when there is practical agreement.

This paper argues that when practical agreement can be reached there are certain purposes for which philosophical foundations can be strategically ignored. For certain purposes, our concern should be to explore whether an imperative to other-regarding behavior can be grounded on both naturalistic and metaphysical premises. It is therefore at times prudent to abstract from divisive questions of philosophical foundations and focus on the practical consensus that can potentially be forged regarding the desirability of other-regarding behavior. Put bluntly, if a case for traditionally ethical, other-regarding, behavior can be made with or without traditional metaphysical underpinnings, then there are contexts in which it is best to make do without addressing the metaphysical question.

As a deliberately challenging "test case" the paper examines the work of biologist David Sloan Wilson and philosopher Eliot Sober in juxtaposition with a traditional account of Christian love. This paper attempts to provide a realistic assessment of the extent to which these two perspectives on altruism can provide similar accounts of desirable behavior, arguing finally that much practical agreement exists. To the extent that practical agreement can be negotiated, in this case and others, the paper argues that the divisive issue of philosophical foundations should be de-emphasized.

Michael Ventimiglia received his doctorate in philosophy from the Pennsylvania State University in December of 2001. His dissertation, "Evolutionary Love in Theory and Practice" applies Charles Peirce's ideas on cosmic love and growth to the problem of how and why love tends to foster spiritual growth in the self. His primary current interest is in exploring whatever practical consensus exists between naturalistic and metaphysical accounts of other-regarding behavior. Related articles include "Science and Sentiment: Peirce, Lamarck and Evolutionary Love," published by the Metanexus Institute on Metanexus.net (January, 2002) and "Peircean Agape as a Philosophy of Education," forthcoming in Studies in Philosophy and Education. Related presentations include "Agape and Spiritual Growth," presented at the 2003 Metanexus Institute yearly conference and participation in Works of Love, a summer seminar sponsored by the Seminars in Christian Scholarship at Calvin College. He is currently Assistant Professor of Philosophy and co-Director of the Hersher Institute for Applied Ethics at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut, USA.

Cassandra Vieten, Tina Amorok, and Marilyn Schlitz
Institute of Noetic Sciences
Local Society: Science and Spiritual Transformation Working Group
Petaluma, California, USA
Paper Title: Many Paths, One Mountain: A Cross-Traditional Model of Spiritual Transformation
Tuesday, June 7 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm in Franklin Room

Religious and spiritual traditions for millennia have advised engaging in practices involving attention to breath, awareness of sensations, intentional alteration of consciousness, prayer and other devotional practices, and physical movements designed to balance and redirect energy, based on the belief that these practices promote insight, improve health, increase longevity, and cultivate emotional balance. The U. S. General Social Survey in 1998 found that 32.7% of those surveyed reported meditating once a week or more, 57.2% of Americans reported feeling God’s presence in their lives on most days, every day, or many times a day, and 39.1% of people reported having had a spiritual or religious experience that changed their lives. There is a wealth of anecdotal evidence indicating that engaging in spiritual practice can lead to a transformation that is not only spiritual, but results in overall improved well-being. A growing body of scientific literature is providing objective evidence for the beneficial effects of spiritual practices as well. As science begins to increasingly direct its attention to studying spiritual transformation and the effects of spiritual practices on health and well-being, there is a need for empirically supported models of the transformative process.

In this study we conducted in-depth structured interviews with forty teachers and scholars from a variety of religious, spiritual, and modern transformative traditions, asking each to respond to 20 questions about the transformative process, from their own experience, their observations of students, and the teachings in their traditions. Questions focused on what initiates or triggers transformative experiences, what practices or activities cultivate transformation, how these experiences are translated into lasting shifts in worldview, what the milestones or stages along the path of transformation are, what factors facilitate or inhibit integration of transformative experiences into everyday life, and what the observable outcomes are of these experiences and practices. Responses to interview questions were coded qualitatively by trained research assistants using a standard coding scheme. Two raters coded each interview, and the conservative analysis used only data agreed upon by both coders. The resulting data were sorted into categories and then further reduced into themes, which were assessed for commonality by examining the breadth and frequency of responses reflecting each theme across the interviews.

Analysis of this dataset suggests several themes that are common across both individual experiences of transformation, and across widely varying religious, spiritual and modern transformative traditions. Through this process we are identifying predictors, mediators, outcomes, and developmental milestones that appear to be common to the process of spiritual transformation. Conjoining qualitative and quantitative methods gives us the capacity to find commonalities while not losing sight of the profound depth and variety of spiritual experience that exists. As results of this study emerge, they are being translated into a cross-traditional empirically-derived model of spiritual transformation on which formulation of hypotheses, measures and methods for future studies can be based.

Cassandra Vieten, PhD is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and Associate Scientist at the Institute of Noetic Sciences and California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute. Her research has focused on how biology, psychology, and emotion interact in addiction and recovery; how mind-body factors, compassionate intent, and belief are involved in healing; development of mindfulness-based approaches to cultivating emotional well-being; and factors involved in the process of psychospiritual transformation.

Tina Amorok, MA Psy.D.(cand.), is a Research Associate at the Institute of Noetic Sciences. Currently she is completing her doctorate in clinical psychology, and is studying how integrating ecological living systems theory with clinical psychology can lead to healing strategies for our current state of alienation from nature that results in destructive behaviors.

Marilyn Schlitz, Ph.D. is Vice President for Research and Education at the Institute of Noetic Sciences, and Senior Scientist at California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute. She has published over 200 articles in the area of consciousness studies, has conducted research at Stanford University, Science Applications International Corporation, the Institute for Parapsychology, and the Mind Science Foundation, has taught at Trinity University, Stanford University and Harvard Medical School, and has lectured widely at sites including the United Nations and the Smithsonian Institution.

Hardev Singh Virk
Professor Emeritus, Indian Institute of Science and Religion
Pune, India
Paper Title: Concept of Sünya (Sünn) in Aad Guru Granth Sahib (AGGS)

The holy scripture of the Sikh faith, called Aad Guru Granth Sahib (AGGS), consists of hymns of devotion to God, inspired reflections on the cosmic order, the vision of the higher life and exhortation to man towards lifting himself to the state of spiritual peace and the attainment of liberation. The sacred volume was completed in 1604 when it was installed in Harimandir Sahib (Golden Temple) for the first time on 1st of September.

Sünyam and Sünyata are two terms of major importance in Buddhism and have been used to denote "emptiness," "nothingness," "non-substantiality," and "the inexhaustible." During the second century BC, Buddhist teachers in India emphasized the "emptiness" as a basic description of the nature of existing things. They were known as "teachers of emptiness" or sunyavadins. The emptiness of all things is a significant part of the Bodhisattva path to enlightenment in Mahayana Buddhism. Nagarjuna, the greatest Buddhist philosopher, interprets Sunyata in his treatise, Madhymika sutras. He established the theory of Sunyata and accepted it as the fundamental principle underlying creation. In Siddh-Nath-Yogi tradition, the term sunya has been used frequently. It is said that sunya is so transcendental that it is neither in the body nor is it out of the body. Sunya has been linked with the sabda or nada.

Various interpretations of Sünya doctrine exist in AGGS. We have an echo of Buddhist philosophy in the Sikh scripture. Sünya is not equated with void or emptiness in AGGS. Rather, it represents the state of equipoise where Absolute Lord exists in primordial trance called sünya samaadhi.. The most original contribution of Sikh scripture is in the field of cosmology. Before the creation of the universe, Absolute Reality or God existed in the Sünya phase, called adi sach by Guru Nanak. When the creation starts, both time and space are also created and this phase corresponds to jugadi sach. In Maru Solhe composition in AGGS, the process of creation is explained in a scientific manner corresponding to Big Bang cosmology. The primordial state of existence of God or adi sach is synonymous with the Sünya phase as epitomised in AGGS (M.1, p.1035):

Billions of years ago,
There was nothing but utter darkness,
There was neither earth nor sky,
And the will of God prevailed.
There was neither day nor night, nor moon nor Sun;
God sat in primal, profound trance (in Sunya).

Professor H.S. Virk retired as Head of the Physics Department and Director of the Earthquake Research Center at Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar (India) in 2002. At present, he is working as Professor Emeritus at the Indian Institute of Science and Religion in Pune.

He received his Doctorate in High Energy Nuclear Physics from Marie Curie University, Paris in 1972, taught B.Sc. and M.Sc courses for 39 years, guided 18 Ph.D. scholars and published 310 research papers in the field of radiation physics, seismology and ion track technology. He has authored 15 books on scientific topics mostly in the Punjabi medium for the popularization of science.

Professor Virk has completed 16 Research Projects and his work is highly cited in earthquake prediction research and radiation physics. He has been a globe trotter and visited more than two dozen universities in Europe and America attending international conferences, as visiting/guest professor and guiding research. He was a Senior Associate of ICTP, Trieste, Italy from 1985-1990.

Professor Virk has been a member of various academic forums and professional societies in India and abroad. He is President of the Indian Association of Physics Teachers. He is currently working on a project entitled: "Science and Religion in Dialogue with special reference to the Sikh Religion." His project "Global Perspectives in Science and Spirituality" received an Honorable Mention Award from the John Templeton Foundation.

Peter Volek and Pavol Labuda
Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Philosophy, Catholic University in Ruzomberok
Local Society: Science-Religion Dialog and Critical Thinking
Ruzomberok, Slovak Republic
Paper Title: Philosophical and Theological Fundamentals of the Dialogue between Science and Religious Belief

The paper applies to an elementary, but key problem of the fundamentals of the science-religion dialogue. The article is concerned with an approach to the nature of the dialogue in the form of the question – what exactly is the dialogue? Through an uncovering of the semantic sense of the term "dialogue," the article uncovers its purpose and mentions a way of overcoming the problems within the interdisciplinary dialogue (science-religion dialogue).

The way of processing the dialogue’s fundamental problem consists of analyzing and following the classification and typology of the constitutive elements of the dialogue. It concerns the context of the constitutive elements on the basis of and within which the dialogue is realized.

The dialogue between science and faith has common features and differences. Science and faith express themselves in language. Language has some features that are common for both science and faith and some that are different. The differences are as follows.

Scientific arguments strive for intersubjectivism and external reasoning. Religious arguments lean on subjective experience and internal reasoning, derived from experience or from the jointly adopted teaching of the given faith. The sentences of science are supported by empirical confirmation. The sentences of faith are supported by the whole experience of a person. Empirical science deals with only a certain part of human nature, for example the physical, chemical, or biological. Religion deals with all spheres of human being. The statements of empirical sciences play the role of a prediction of how something would behave in the future in accordance with natural laws. Religion plays an integrated function, putting together, into one unit, all spheres of a human's being. The apparent contradictions result when their role and goals are interchanged, eventually the incorrect deduction is a result of the truths of faith or from the sacramental readings of the given faith. The role of science is to explain one field; the role of religion is to explain the whole. Their dialogue can consist in the ability of science to enrich faith with detailed knowledge of particular fields. On the other hand, faith can interrelate with scientific arguments by providing a sense of life and by providing moral values for scientific research resulting from the position of science within the whole of human knowledge and behavior.

The expected conclusion of the paper finds language as a basic constitutive element of the dialogue and uncovers the variety of specific terminologies of particular scientific branches as one of the main reasons for the limited ability of these branches to communicate (e.g. science and theology relations).

Peter Volek graduated from the University of Innsbruck (Austria) with an M.A. and PhD. in Philosophy and from Comenius University in Bratislava (Slovakia) with an M.A. in Catholic Theology. He is currently the head of the Department of Philosophy at the Catholic University in Ruzomberok, Faculty of Philosophy (Slovakia) where he has taught courses in epistemology, metaphysics, bioethics, philosophy of mind and medieval philosophy. His research focuses on the interface of science and religion in bioethics and inter-religious dialogue. He has participated in many conferences and published five books, edited two books, and published a number of papers in the area of metaphysics, medieval philosophy, epistemology and bioethics. He is a chair of the LSI Science-Religion Dialog and Critical Thinking at the Catholic University in Ruzomberok (Slovakia).

Pavol Labuda graduated from Matej Bel University in Banska Bystrica with an M.A. in Philosophy and History. He currently lectures at the Catholic University in Ruzomberok, Faculty of Philosophy (Department of Philosophy) where he has taught courses in medieval philosophy and metaphysics. His research focuses on the interface of science and religion and onto-theology. Currently, he is completing his PhD thesis entitled "Onto-theology as a structure of philosophical concepts." He has participated in many conferences and published a number of papers in the area of metaphysics. He has also been a contact person of the LSI Polylogos - Slovakia since July 2002.

Gerd Weckwerth
Institute of Mineralogy and Geology of the University of Cologne
Local Society: Naturwissenschaft und Glaube e.V.
Köln, Germany
Paper Title: The Religion Principle of our Cosmos – The Theory of Evolution and the Divine Action
Monday, June 6 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm in Class of '49 Room

When physicists use the anthropic principle, it is usually the weak version they accept. The strong version, formulated in 1973 by Brandon Carter states "...that an intelligent observer in the cosmic evolution has to arise" and is mostly regarded as too speculative. Certainly, the strong version would be more credible, if a second independently formed type of life or intelligence in our cosmic neighborhood could be proved.

For an evolutionary based belief in creation, we propose that the strong version of a religious principle for our universe is sufficient. It assumes that religious potentials are involved in the natural laws and cosmic parameters from the beginning and therefore, it demands the occurrence of religious creatures after a sufficient time of evolution, although the development is based on chaotic and random processes.

Teilhard de Chardin, who died 50 years ago, shortly before the anthropic principle was proposed, already prophesied that intelligent and religious creatures are populating other galaxies. He based his prophecy on a radial energy in the evolution process, analogous to physicists of his time, who needed radial energy to explain the contradiction of the increasing order in evolution and the increasing disorder elsewhere, following the law of entropy. Nowadays, this can be explained from the excess of energy from the sun. A much better explanation for the evolutionary power Teilhard looked for is our current understanding of the anthropic principle and the detected fine-tuning in the laws of nature.

Evolutionary progress can be shown at least as the transfer between earlier stages of the evolutionary process, when parts of the material pass through a kind of bottle-neck and follow afterwards new characteristic laws (e.g. nuclear, chemical, geochemical, biochemical, genetic and cultural laws). The stages represent higher types of information processing up to our present potential, on which the principles of the cosmic development and its origin can be investigated.

One can realize even structural limitations of the available information. Faith in god motivates us to learn more about the divine creator, but would end, if god were to become totally known. Also hope would end if the future were exactly known, and love would lose its typical excitement, when partners could look into the other’s brain and determine their true feelings. With faith, hope and love as the highest values of the Christian religion, their structural limitations are also essential for the realization of a religion principle.

With the installation of this principle, the creator also gave the impulse to an automatic cosmic system. At a minimum, when religious creatures appear in evolution, the creator gets a potential and free partner, who can help to fulfill divine wishes, without directly violating natural laws and without god sacrificing his transcendence. The prophets of the Old Testament and Jesus Christ have shown us how to get connected to god and how this connection through prayer and religious belief can change the world.

Dr. Gerd C. Weckwerth received his diploma and PhD in Physics from the University of Mainz with feasibility studies of β- and β-γ-coincidence neutron activation analysis at the Cosmochemistry Division of the Max-Planck-Institute of Chemistry.

From 1990-93 he was co-author of the biggest German technology assessment study in manned space travel at the German Aerospace Establishment in Köln-Porz. Since 1995 he has been a scientific co-worker and, since 2000, university lecturer at the institute of mineralogy and geochemistry (University of Cologne) with research projects in cosmo-, geo-, and environmental chemistry.

Since 1985 he has been a leader of a working group on "Natural Science and Religious Belief" in an academic Catholic society (KMF-ND) and since 2000 leader of the new society of public utility "Natural Science and Religious Believe e.V." In this function he gives lectures mainly at Catholic institutions of education throughout Germany.

Jonathan Weidenbaum
Adjunct Professor, Berkeley College (New York City)
New York, New York, USA
Paper Title: From Heidegger to Whitehead: Theology, Ontology, and the Critics of Totalization.

One of the longstanding goals of the Process metaphysical tradition is to overcome the old chasm between naturalism and theology, to integrate the scientific worldview with the insights deriving from the world’s great religions. This has been a special preoccupation of Western intellectual history, a history essentially founded upon a collision of the synoptic vision of the Greeks on the one hand and the spiritual legacy of Abraham on the other. From Scholasticism to liberal theology, innumerable philosophical systems have been proposed to achieve the final synthesis of these two worldviews.

On the other hand, there has been an alternate tendency running throughout the history of the West stressing their fundamental irreconcilability. Religious thinkers like Tertullion, Luther, and Pascal have centered upon truths which, in principle, elude all rational and intellectual categories. With the ascendancy of existentialist, neo-orthodox, and, more recently, post-modern religious philosophies, it seems that the systematic aims of natural theology have breathed their last. At least in the minds of many, the polemics of thinkers like Kierkegaard and Levinas have sounded the death knoll for the ancient and venerable goal of a lasting and final unity between religion and science, theology and philosophy.

The purpose of this essay is to argue that the thought of Whitehead can not only withstand the attack of thinkers like Kierkegaard and Levinas, but can integrate and support their deepest insights as well. Focusing particularly on Whitehead’s concept of prehension, I propose that the reconciliation between these dual tendencies of the West have been achieved. I argue that Heidegger has achieved a similar reconciliation within the context of Continental thought, but ultimately betrayed this delicate synthesis with the anti-humanistic and anti-scientific thrust of his later philosophy. Thus, I argue that it is the metaphysical vision of Whitehead which has set the dialogue between religion, science, and philosophy upon a new course.

I am a recent Ph.D. in philosophy (May of 2003 at the University at Buffalo), and possess a B.A. in philosophy and religious studies. My dissertation is in the field of Continental thought, and roughly falls under the sub-categories of phenomenology and existentialism. As of late however, I have become an apostate. A number of years ago, I perused the works of a few classic American thinkers and discovered practically all of the same ideas and methods I enjoyed in Continental philosophy. I have always had a special interest in the topics of ontology, comparative religions, and the philosophy of perception- all of which I discovered to be seamlessly integrated in the process metaphysical tradition. I have a number of papers published in the area of phenomenology and media, but the interface between philosophy and religion remains central to my interests.

Eric Weislogel
Director, Local Societies Initiative, Metanexus Institute
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Paper Title: On the Idea of “University” in the Virtual Global University
Monday, June 6 9:00 am - 12:30 pm in Hall of Flags

For this year’s conference I have raised the question of the idea of a “ Virtual Global University.”  Every element of that title is open to question, and the whole concept rests on a wide variety of other notions:  networks, disciplinarity, interdisciplinarity, transdisciplinarity, complexity, chaos, emergence, science and religion dialogue, distance learning, universal education, globalization, integral methodological pluralism, chaordic systems, deconstruction, convergence, infrastructure and information technology, unity of knowledge, sociologies of philosophies, religion, spirituality, elementary and secondary education, universal reason, analysis vs. synthesis (“dividing” and “collecting”), teaching, learning, developmental psychology, metaphysics, acceleration, purpose, meshworks, system theory, systems biology, integral wisdom, synoptic view.  There may be others that will come to mind.  In my contribution, I examine in a preliminary and provisional way the very idea of the university itself and raise for us questions that I think go to the heart of our pursuit of what we call a science and religion dialogue.

Eric Weislogel, Ph.D., is the Director of the Local Societies Initiative, a $5.1 million grant program designed to foster the science and religion dialogue by building dynamic associations of scholars, clergy, and interested laypeople around the globe. Prior to joining the Metanexus Institute, Weislogel was the manager of business process consulting for UEC Technologies, a unit of United States Steel. Before that, he was assistant professor of philosophy at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and he also taught at St. Francis College (PA) and the Pennsylvania State University. He has published a number of philosophical essays and reviews in such journals as Philosophy Today, Idealistic Studies, Philosophy in Review, and the Journal of the American Academy of Religion. Additionally, his articles have appeared in the online journal Metapsychology, as well as in steel and technology industry trade journals. Weislogel's main philosophical interest consists in the interplay of postmodernism, religion, science, and politics. He and his wife, Kellie Given, who live in Reading, PA, have two children: Elisa, a junior at La Salle University, Philadelphia, and Lucas, a recent graduate of St. Vincent College, Latrobe, PA, majoring in physics education.

Joyce M. Wilding
Co-chair, ENTREAT LSI, University of the South (Sewanee)
Local Society: ENTREAT
Sewanee, Tennessee, USA
Paper Title: Collaborative Science & Religion Programs in the Southeast United States: Beyond the Scopes Trial

Collaborative works led by science and religious leaders in nine southern states are described in this paper. Some of the work is connected to the Metanexus Local Societies Initiative (LSI) at the University of the South. Most of the leaders are Christian, primarily Episcopalian; however, many leaders are active in multidisciplinary, multi-faith and interfaith networks.

Much attention has been give to Creationism, the Scopes Trial and the Scopes Trial Revisited and some attention to Intelligent Design (ID). The issues within and surrounding these themes are of interest to science and religion leaders in the Southeast; however, this has not been a primary focus of science and religion networks. The Metanexus media articles have helped leaders learn that these questions about the origin of humans and the conflict surrounding evolution are not unique to the Southeast United States.

A 2004 performance of the American classic Inherit the Wind, based on the real-life drama that unfolded when Darwin's Theory of Evolution was being taught in a small Tennessee school in 1925, inspired public forums about the issues in this play. Science, religion and legal justice professionals from several colleges and universities discussed why Tennessee's "Monkey Trial" still speaks to us about Creation and evolution.

Episcopal science and religion leaders in the southern states are eager to study A Catechism of Creation, an Episcopal understanding prepared by the Committee on Science, Technology and Faith. This catechism provides a foundation for extensive study of the theology of creation, the relationship of modern science to Christian faith, and challenges posed by creationism and Intelligent Design.

Appalachia, a region with a legacy of serious environmental problems and a strong Christian religious tradition, is a fertile ground for ongoing religion and science programs. Key research from Faith-Based Initiatives and Environmental Sustainability: Reform Efforts In Appalachia, (conducted at University of Tennessee) provides an excellent foundation for expanding religion and science programs in the Southeast.

Joyce Wilding is the ENTREAT Local Society Initiative (LSI) Co–chair at the University of the South at Sewanee, responsible for planning, hosting and/or facilitating the public "Science & Religion: Renewal of Reverence" series. She is a member of the Institute on Religion in an Age of Science; the Episcopal Ecological Network (EpEN) National Steering Committee and the EpEN liaison to the Episcopal Science, Technology & Faith Committee; and responsible for Province IV Environmental Ministry programs for twenty Episcopal dioceses in nine southern states. Joyce is a Third Order Franciscan Novice, Volunteer Staff at Penuel Ridge Retreat Center and the Ecology Group Leader of Christ Church Cathedral in Nashville, Tennessee.

Joyce has been a management consultant liaison to the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Green Energy Marketing Team, the Cumberland River Compact, the Coalition of Environmentally Responsible Economies (CERES) and the Southface Energy Institute (a non-profit organization, dedicated to the advocacy of energy efficient and sustainable design). She has extensive experience in the behavioral sciences and more than twenty-five years of professional development experience, specializing in conflict resolution, culture diversity training and team building. Joyce designed and facilitated a five-year Leadership Communication Training program at IBM’s Watson Research Division.

Patricia A. Williams
Philosopher and Author
Covesville, Virginia, USA
Paper Title: Transformations: A Proposal for a Global Religion that Integrates the Great Religions through Science

The project of integrating science and religion is a theological and philosophical stew, especially if we toss non-Christian religions into the pot. In general, the great world religions offer world-views, ethics, and practices (e.g. fasting, rituals, meditation). This paper proposes a united religion that adopts science for its world-view, human salvation through transformation as its aim, and religious practice as its method.

Science’s contribution is to provide the epic of evolution, the story of origins beginning with the big bang and reaching (currently as far as we know) to the evolution of human beings. This is a story of transformation as the materials from the big bang transform into hydrogen and helium, hydrogen in stars transforms into the heavier elements, and these eventually (on Earth at least) transform into organic beings that become increasingly complex (on the whole), culminating (for now) in the human brain, the most complex organ known, and human society, the most complex entity known. Broadly, the purpose of the universe (if it has a purpose) seems to be to increase complexity through constant transformation (and therefore destruction as well as creation) of existing material into more complex material.

This epic allows for a creator and designer, even suggests one, but does not logically require one. Thus, this world religion allows theism, but also nontheism, including religious naturalism.

People may join in the universe's purpose through their creativity, but also through human transformation from creatures following their evolutionary dispositions (see below) to beings leading ethical/spiritual lives.

Science retains its universal narrative and methodological naturalism, but must reject philosophical naturalism and attacks on religion.

Religion’s contribution is to provide the transformation of people from superficial and egocentric creatures who chase after the 4Rs evolution inculcates as dominant dispositions--resources, reproduction, relatives, and reciprocity--often pursued inordinately in destructive ways, to people who care for others, the ecology, and God (if they believe in God). Such personal transformation assures salvation after death (if there is an after-life).

The method derives from the existing great religions, retaining their traditions of meditation, ritual, exhortation, literature, etc. Religions retain their traditions and their ethics of compassion, but give up religious narratives and beliefs that contradict the epic of evolution and cease their attacks on science.

Therefore, science and religion unite at the basics. Science supplies the narrative of origins and world-view. Human transformation, if achieved, fulfills the moral injunctions of the great religions and provides or leads toward salvation. Religious practices furnish the methodology for that transformation and for worshiping God (if the religion has a God).

This religion retains the traditional God of theism for those who wish, yet the epic of evolution allows nontheists to worship nature or humanity, instead, if they wish.

This proposal encompasses all the characteristics of religion listed in the Encyclopedia of Philosophy under "Religion" (vol. 7, p. 141-2) without demanding that any person’s or group’s religion possess all of them.

Patricia A. Williams is a philosopher of science and philosophical theologian. She has published in various refereeed journals, collections, and encyclopedias. She is the author of two books, Doing without Adam and Eve: Sociobiology and Original Sin, named "Outstanding Academic Title" by Choice magazine, and Where Christianity Went Wrong, When, and What You Can Do About It, based on historical Jesus scholarship. She is currently writing a trilogy on Quaker theology. More information is at her website, http://www.theologyauthor.com/.

Mark D. Wood and J. Brian Cassel
Virginia Commonwealth University
Local Society: Life Sciences and Religion Community Forum of Central Virginia
Richmond, Virginia, USA
Paper Title: The Science and Religion Dialogue: At the Heart of Humanistic Education and Global Development
Tuesday, June 7 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm in Class of '49 Room

The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom.
- Isaac Asimov

We have learned to fly the air like birds and swim the sea like fish, but we have not learned the simple art of living together as brothers.
- Martin Luther King, Jr.

Our paper responds to the question, "is the science and religion dialogue a particular and idiosyncratic academic sidelight or does it cut to the heart of liberal, humanistic education?" with a resounding yes to the latter. We contend that the science and religion dialogue not only provides energizing lifeblood to liberal, humanistic education, it recovers and revitalizes the classical humanist understanding of the university as the principal institution in which humanity’s most challenging scientific and technological developments, social and political questions, and spiritual and ethical concerns may be systematically investigated, creatively reflected upon, and publicly discussed. In light of contemporary global social, political, scientific, ecological, and religious realities, the value of recovering and revitalizing this understanding is vital.

We share the view articulated in the epigraphs from Isaac Asimov and Martin Luther King, Jr. that our spiritual and moral development lags tragically behind our scientific and technological development. While science and technology allow us to accomplish things that were until only recently the stuff of science fiction, we have as yet to learn to live as a global community in peace and justice.

In no small measure our ability to learn this lesson requires diverse religious traditions to overcome polarizing discourses and social balkanization by finding and forging common moral, ethical, and spiritual ground. In an age characterized by increasing global interdependence, continuing religious conflict, and revolutionary developments in science and technology, we are challenged to construct a global culture that affirms religious diversity, encourages peaceful relations among persons and nations, and possesses the scientific literacy and ethical wisdom essential to ensuring that science and technology are utilized to enhance our shared conditions of life.

We argue that the science and religion dialogue makes a fundamental contribution to achieving these goals. This dialogue not only enriches our definition of what it means to be educated by preparing individuals to respond wisely to the varied challenges we face as global citizens, it also provides a local forum in and global network through which scientific researchers from around the world and representatives of the world's religious traditions may share their ideas in a spirit of openness, generosity, and appreciation.

Drawing from our successful experience teaching a cross-disciplinary course entitled "Faith and Life Science" at Virginia Commonwealth University, coordinating a Local Society Initiative forum series on science and religion, and integrating our respective areas of expertise as a social psychologist and scholar of religion, we will elaborate on the claims we make regarding the importance of the science and religion dialogue and describe some of the pedagogical strategies we use to ensure this dialogue fosters creative ways of responding to religious difference, scientific and technological innovations, and the social and ecological challenges we share as citizens of the world.

Mark Wood, Ph.D. is an associate professor and coordinator of religious studies at VCU. Professor Wood teaches courses on religion, ethics, and society. He has published articles on religious studies, education, and democracy. His book on social philosopher Cornel West explores these issues in the context of the movement for democratic globalization. He has taken students to Cuba and Italy on summer study abroad programs. Dr. Wood is an advocate for VCU's community engaged learning program and education for social responsibility.

J. Brian Cassel, PhD is a systems analyst at the Massey Cancer Center, and an adjunct professor in religious studies. With colleagues Wood and John Quillin, he created the "Faith and Life Sciences" course at VCU in 2002. His doctorate is in social-personality psychology, and he wrote his dissertation on altruism and AIDS volunteers. He has also worked as an analyst and program evaluator in HIV/AIDS, and has taught social and health psychology, research design, clinical outcomes evaluation, and a new Honors Program course on "the social psychology of morality and justice." His research interests include bioinformatics, altruism, the death penalty, and the social construction of sin.

Ismail Yahya
Lecturer, Sekolah Tinggi Agama Islam Negeri Surakarta (Surakarta State Islamic College)
Local Society: Indonesian Society for Religion and Civilization
Jawa Tengah, Indonesia
Paper Title: Integration of Religion and Science in the Indonesian State Islamic Universities
Tuesday, June 7 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm in Golkin Room

It is said, as commonly accepted until now, that religion and science are two entities that cannot be integrated. Simply understood, religion produces "religious sciences" on the one hand, while science produces "secular sciences" on the other. Hence, religion and science are regarded as independent – they each have their own sphere in terms of what matters they approach, research methods, and truth criteria – until an institution integrates the two. For the latter, in the case of education in Indonesia, the Ministry of National Education is responsible for teaching the "secular sciences" such as physics, mathematics, biology, and so forth that produce skillful graduates without including any religious teachings, whereas the Ministry of Religious Affairs is responsible for teaching the “religious sciences” that produce "religious" graduates without mastery in science and modern technology. The dichotomy of this education system in Indonesia dates back, if we were to name a scapegoat, to over three centuries of colonization that happened in Muslim countries, including Indonesia. In line with this dichotomy, it can be understood that the establishment and the rise of "Islamic Studies" in universities cannot be separated from the impact of colonialism. Generally speaking, the Islamic Studies deal traditionally with the science of Qur'anic exegesis (tafsir), the science of traditions ('ilm al-hadith), jurisprudence (fiqh), falsafah, and metaphysical theology (kalam), and exclude the natural sciences like astronomy, physics, and chemistry. In the classical period of Islamic civilization, there was no separation in mastering both religion and science. To be a religious man was to be a scientist at the same time, as Ibnu Sina, al-Farabi, and many Muslim scholars of the golden age of Islam proved. More recently, some Muslim scholars have tried to introduce projects like Ismail al-Faruqi’s "Islamization of Knowledge," Hossein Nasr's "Islamic Science," and Sardar’s "Islamic Science." Following the ideas that were introduced by the Muslim scholars as mentioned above, the Indonesian Islamic scholars nowadays seek and formulate an ideal format to integrate science and religion in the university’s curricula. Three state Islamic universities in Jakarta, Yogyakarta and Malang have existed to make this dream comes true. Besides seeking an ideal format for an Islamic university, there are also pragmatic reasons for integrating science and religion by establishing Islamic universities. The question is, will this transformation reconstitute in this age what was lost in the golden age of Islamic civilization?

Ismail Yahya is chairperson of the Indonesian Society for Religion and Civilization (ISRAC) STAIN Surakarta, one of the LSI groups in the Indonesian network. He received a B.A. (1997) in Islamic Studies from the State Institute of Islamic Studies (IAIN) Semarang, and an M.A (2003) in Comparative Religion from the graduate program of Religious and Cross Cultural Studies, Gadjah Mada University. His wife, Fajar Sri Handayani, B. Sc, is a lecturer of Civil Engineering, Sebelas Maret University, Solo, Indonesia.

Kin-Tung Yit
Center for the Study of Science and Religion, Fu Jen Catholic University
Local Society: Center for the Study of Science and Religion
Hsinchuang, Taipei, Taiwan
Paper Title: Buddhist meditation experiences and the consciousness
Tuesday, June 7 11:00 am - 12:30 pm in Franklin Room

This paper attempts a dialogue between science and religion. On the science side, I choose the science of the mind, which is represented by scientific studies of consciousness and constantly examined in the philosophy of mind. On the religion side, I select Buddhism, which has a rich tradition of meditative and contemplative practices. The main subject of discussion for both disciplines is focused on some aspects of the nature of the mind and consciousness. Some scientists and philosophers believe that neurobiological processes in the brain are really the basis for the mental phenomena and consciousness. This relation is referred to as a ‘bottom up’ form of causation. (i.e. physical -> mental) I would like to suggest from Buddhist meditation experiences that the mind has certain powers to change mental states as well as influence the physical body. (i.e. mental -> mental and physical) This suggests a strong possibility of causative power coming from the ‘top’ to the ‘bottom’. Several accounts from Buddhist meditation texts will be provided to illustrate this and a model for this relationship is then proposed.

Kin-Tung Yit is currently the post-doctoral research fellow of the Center for the Study of Science and Religion (CSSR) at Fu Jen Catholic University in Taiwan. He earned his BSc in Physics from National Taiwan Normal University (1993), MA in Buddhist Studies from Chung-Hwa Institute of Buddhist Studies (1997, Taiwan) and University of Bristol (1999, U.K.). He completed his Ph.D. at the University of Bristol in 2004, with a thesis exploring the Buddhist meditation formulas and the path to liberation in early Buddhism. His scholarly interests include the Buddhist meditative experiences, religious experiences and consciousness studies.