Science meets Faith
SCIENCE meets FAITH, 2011 - 2012
Meetings are held at Wesley Methodist Church, Cambridge,
on the evening of the second Monday of the month, from October to June inclusive. The meeting starts at 7.45pm. Refreshments will be served from 7.15 pm and the meeting will close by 9.15 pm.
The next meeting of Science meets Faith,
Monday 12 December 2011
Dr Simon Mitton,
St Edmund’s College, and Department of History and Philosophy of Science,
Five books that changed our view on the Universe
This talk uses five case studies to illustrate the impact of books on changing our perception of the Universe. The talk commences with the Almagest of Ptolemy, which was the standard textbook on positional planetary astronomy for nearly one and a half millennia. Nicolaus Copernicus was a diligent student of Ptolemaic astronomy, which he overthrew in his great work De Revolutionibus published in 1543. Galileo, a pioneer of mechanics and dynamics, was greatly influenced by Copernican thinking. In 1610 he published Sidereus Nuncius (The Starry Message), a popular showcase for his discoveries in the solar system. Then in 1632 he promoted his Dialogo sopra i due massimi sistemi
The talk is based on one given earlier in 2011 at the Hay-on-Wye Book Festival, but it has been developed for Science meets Faith by paying greater attention to the tension between science and religion that we find in the characters of Copernicus, Galileo and
Simon Mitton has been a Fellow of St Edmund’s College since 1973. He studied for his Ph D at the Cavendish Laboratory, on the topic of radio galaxies. He remained in the subject for a few years, and then became a science publisher at Cambridge University Press, where he greatly expanded the publishing programme of academic books in the physical sciences. But the poacher (publisher) turned into a gamekeeper (author) ten years ago, and he now works in the history of science, specializing in astronomy and cosmology. He currently has two academic books in press, with Princeton and Springer, and is actively writing further tomes for
Meetings in the series Science meets Faith are held on the evening of the second Monday of the month, from October to June inclusive. With refreshments being available from 7.15 p.m., the talk - at a general interest level - starts at 7.45. There is ample time for discussion and questions afterwards; the meeting closes by 9.15 p.m.
Please see below for information on past speakers and their subjects.
9 May 2011
Out of the Sky: Tales of Human Evolution
Carolin Vegvari
This talk is going to give a broad overview on human evolution, with focus on recent human evolution (past 200,000 since the first appearance of Homo sapiens) and the environmental conditions in which modern humans evolved. The following questions will be addressed:How does evolution work? How did modern humans come to be? What distinguishes modern humans from other now extinct hominin species? Was human evolution inevitable? Where does human culture come from? Are we still adapted to Stone Age conditions? Are humans still evolving? What does this all mean for our view of God and the world?Carolin Vegvari is currently a PhD student at the Leverhulme Centre for Human Evolutionary Studies at the University of Cambridge. She studied Biology and Medicine in Heidelberg and Oxford, and has an MPhil in Human Evolutionary Studies from the University of Cambridge. Her current research interests focus on the evolution of modern human cultures.
11 April 2011
Soul dust: the magic of consciousness
Prof Nicholas Humphrey
Formerly London School of Economics
How is consciousness possible? What biological purpose does it serve?
This talk, and a book recently published by Princeton University Press with the same title, asks these questions and many others. The speaker proposes a radical new theory. He argues that consciousness is nothing less than a magical mystery show that we stage in our own heads. This paves the way for spirituality and allows us, as human beings, to reap the rewards – and anxieties – of living in the “soul niche”. The foundations of this theory are based firmly on neuroscience and evolutionary theory.
Nicholas Humphrey studied psychology and physiology at the University of Cambridge and stayed on for a Ph.D. in psychology, studying the brain mechanisms involved in visual perception in monkeys. Then he worked, both in Oxford and Cambridge, on clinical studies of human patients with brain damage. He has also held several academic positions in the USA. He has made several major television documentaries and radio programmes. Now retired, he is Emeritus Professor of psychology at The London School of Economics. His many books include A History of the Mind, Leaps of Faith and, most recently, Soul Dust: the Magic of Consciousness.
14 March 2011
Why does the Universe have structure?
Dr Simon A Mitton
St Edmund’s College, Cambridge
The German existentialist philosopher Martin Heidegger rated the question “Why is there something rather than nothing?” as the most fundamental issue in philosophy. There is a cosmological variant of this question of existence: “Why is there structure in the Universe and from what does it arise?” This conundrum is central to our history of cosmology, and the search for the answer has been a prime mover in leading us successively to the discovery of the Big Bang, hidden dark matter and mysterious dark energy. This non-technical presentation reviews the history of attempts to understand the mechanics and structure of the Universe from antiquity to the present. The talk will recount the astonishing progress made in our understanding of the origin, evolution, and architecture of the Universe.
Dr Simon Mitton is a Fellow of St Edmund's College who has written widely on astronomy and cosmology. He is the biographer of the famous Cambridge cosmologist Sir Fred Hoyle. He has recently completed a book on the history of attempts to understand why the Universe has structure, and this will be published by Princeton University Press in the autumn of 2011.
14 February 2011
Stewardship of the Earth
Dr Derek Nicholls formerly University of Cambridge
We shall discuss the role of land tenure systems in influencing patterns of use and development of land resources, and explore the effects of attitudes to land ownership and investment in different cultures.
What does it mean to ‘own land’? Should land be capable of being owned by private individuals or should such a basic resource be held in common by all? What do some of the major faiths have to say on the subject, and what are some practical implications of those views? What rights are conferred by ownership and what obligations are imposed by ownership? What does stewardship of natural resources mean in the modern world?
Derek Nicholls graduated from Cambridge University (St John’s College) in 1961 with a degree in Rural Estate Management and then a PhD in Land Economy (Forestry Policy) in 1966. After nearly ten years on the staff of Glasgow University, he has taught in Cambridge University’s Department of Land Economy since 1974. Derek is a former head of the department and was Director of Cambridge International Land Institute for ten years from 1995. He was a Fellow of Wolfson College for many years, becoming Senior Tutor and then Vice-President. Later he became a Fellow of Fitzwilliam College, retiring in 2006. He has served on many university committees, including the Finance Committee and the Buildings Committee, and was a member of Cambridgeshire County Council from 1984 to 1993. His academic work has taken him to many countries in Africa and the Asia-Pacific region as a lecturer and an examiner, and he has held Visiting Professorships in a number of universities in Africa, Asia and the United States.
10 January 2011
Bioethics: not just a matter of personal taste?
Revd Dr Colin Honey
St Edmund’s College, Cambridge
Euthanasia, human cloning, surrogacy, cash for organs, and adoption by gay couples are debated in the public media. But are there any principles or values that can guide us in making responsible decisions? Is every opinion equally valid? And if there's more to it than personal taste what principles, values or rules can we appeal to in a secular, multi-cultural society?
Colin Honey is an applied ethicist who says his aim is to clarify issues so that people can make up their own minds about them. An Australian Methodist, he was trained at Wesley House Cambridge and has ministered in circuits and colleges in Australia. He has taught, researched and broadcast on a wide range of issues and served on government committees and boards. In Cambridge he is attached to the Von Hugel Institute at St Edmund's College and to Wesley House. He spends part of the Australian summer here every year. Currently, he is minister at Pilgrim Uniting Church, Yarraville, in Melbourne.
13 December 2010
The brain at the boundaries of consciousness
Dr Martin Monti
Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge
What is consciousness? What does it mean to be conscious? These difficult questions may seem to fall within the domain of philosophy, but in fact they have very concrete implications, often raising not only medical, but also legal and ethical issues. Indeed, sometimes, in the clinic, we are called to understand whether patients that survive severe brain injuries retain consciousness, or not. But without knowing what consciousness is, and without having a means to measure its presence, how can we ever tell whether someone – other than ourselves – is conscious? Yet, the presence of consciousness is what distinguishes a Minimally Conscious patient, from a (non-conscious) Vegetative Patient. In Cambridge, we use novel brain imaging techniques (fMRI) to better understand what are the Vegetative State and the Minimally Conscious State. In particular, we use brain imaging to better recognize the presence of consciousness, characterize how much mental life is possible after catastrophic brain injury, and attempt to ameliorate the quality of life of these patients.
Beyond stem cells – playing God?
Prof Sir Brian Heap, FRS, St Edmund’s College, Cambridge
‘Playing God’ was a phrase used by the Ancient Greeks ‘because of worries about human arrogance trespassing on divine territory’. In the nineteenth century there were worries about the first anaesthetics. In the last century it was about artificial insemination, and even today modern medical help is refused by certain sects for similar reasons. Stem cells have raised related questions and, more recently, synthetic biology has entered an ever-shifting battlefield of vested interests and squabbles over political and ethical issues. While science and religion have been seen to be in conflict for some time does this need to be the case? Is there a more constructive conversation to be had?
11 October 2010
The neurology of religion
Revd Dr Alasdair Coles, School of Medicine, Cambridge University
Professor Sir Brian Heap is President-elect, European Academies Science Advisory Council, and Honorary Fellow, St Edmund’s College, Cambridge. Formerly Vice-President and Foreign Secretary of the Royal Society, he served on the Nuffield Council on Bioethics, the UK Government’s Expert Group on Cloning, and advised the EU President’s Advisory Group on Biotechnology.
Monday 14th November 2011
Revd Dr Michael Wilson
Formerly Superintendent Minister
The Methodist Church
Cambridge Circuit
The realities of evil
In his talk, Michael Wilson will pose fundamental questions, such as “Is evil an empirical reality in our world?” And, if so, “What do we experience when we experience evil?” And “Dare we say that evil is no more than a grand eloquent way of saying that I don’t like this?”
Michael Wilson took his BA degree in Mathematics at Edinburgh University, and worked for four years as a statistician. He then obtained an MA in Theology from Cambridge University and a PhD from Bradford University in Philosophy. He has worked in several universities, most recently at Cardiff, after which he joined the Cambridge Circuit as Superintendent Minister.
Meetings in the series Science meets Faith are held on the evening of the second Monday of the month, from October to June inclusive.
Monday 9th January 2011
Professor Roger Barker
Department of Neurology and Brain Repair Centre
University of Cambridge
Working with stem cells for Brain Repair- what are the issues?
There is an increasing concern that, as the population ages, the incidence of neurodegenerative conditions of the brain will increase and overwhelm our limited health care resources. Therefore there is an urgent need to better understand what causes these diseases, such as Parkinson’s Disease, so that we can develop more effective therapies to treat them. One area of great potential in this field is stem cells, both in terms of using them to study disease and to provide novel, disease modifying therapies. However, the use of such cells has brought with it a number of issues including ones to do with their derivation, their usefulness and their commercialization. In this talk I shall discuss the extent to which cell therapies, and more specifically stem cells, have been able to help inform our understanding of these diseases of the brain and what this will mean in the future for patients developing chronic neurodegenerative disorders of the brain.
Roger A. Barker is the Professor of Clinical Neuroscience and Honorary Consultant in Neurology at the University of Cambridge and at Addenbrooke’s Hospital. He trained at Oxford and London and has been in his current position for over ten years, having completed an MRC Clinician Scientist Fellowship just prior to this. His main interests are in the neurodegenerative disorders of the nervous system, in particular Parkinson’s disease and Huntington’s disease. He combines basic research looking at cell therapies to treat these conditions with clinically based work on defining the natural history and heterogeneity of both Huntington’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. He is the coordinator of an EU funded research project looking at fetal cell grafting in patients with early PD [TRANSEURO].
