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Each organism is in pursuit of—that is, values—its own proper life, which is all that the (nonhuman) individual organism either can or ought to pursue. It turns out, however, that values can be held intrinsically only as they are inclusively distributed.
I would like to present a point of view on the relation between science and religion, particularly the mystical aspect of religion. My scientific background is that of a physicist who has investigated the interpretation of the mathematics of quantum mechanics for three decades. To explain the point of view, suppose that each of us…
I am Mariano Artigas, doctor in physics and in philosophy, professor of philosophy of science at the University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain. I have entered the decade of the 60-agers two days ago, and was ordered as a Roman Catholic priest in 1964. Even though I am well acquainted with the Templeton Foundation, this is…
The emergence of cyberspace is undoubtedly creating a wave of religious enthusiasm. Partly, the infinity that cyberspace creates, functions as an ideal mechanism for the projection of our fondest hopes and deepest fears. It therefore generates an extraordinary amount of cultural energy, the fusion of techno-utopianism, the desire for the spiritual liberation from the constraints…
1. Is the triumph of Western science and technology mostly due to a tradition that emphasizes critical thinking, or rather an attitude of belligerence and conquest (Lynn White, among others)? (a) I believe one of the serious conceptual confusions of the past two centuries (though based on justifiable historical appearances) is that science is “Western.”…
The Seven Laws of Unnerving Uncertainty (Spelling “Mistake”) 1. Multiplicity: I never do anything for just one reason and it never has just one effect. Life is like playing piano with oven mitts on. 2. Infinity: Anything that has a cause, has multiple causes extending back in time infinitely. Anything that has an effect, has…
The Sacred Depths of Nature, by Ursula Goodenough. Oxford University Press, 1998. 218 pages. ISBN 0-19-512613-0 Table of Contents Personal IntroductionHow This Book Is Put Together I. Origins of the EarthII. Origins of LifeIII. How Life WorksIV. How An Organism WorksV. How Evolution WorksVI. The Evolution of BiodiversityVII. AwarenessVIII. Emotions and MeaningIX. SexX. SexualityXI. Multicellularity…
In October of 1996, Pope John Paul II issued a statement on Darwinian evolution.
In the context of exploring the existence or otherwise of a purpose to (or in) the universe, it may be useful to define certain terms. I shall therefore attempt to clarify some of the controversies in the framework of the definitions below: Mechanism: will refer to the modus operandi of a complex system which functions…
Open letter to those signing an open letter to the National Association of Biology Teachers, to the National Center for Science Education, and to the American Association for the Advancement of the Sciences Object: recent changes in the wording of the NABT’s definition of the word “evolution” To whom it may be concerned, It has…