The Science of Being Human

The Big Questions at the Nexus of Science and Religion

• When does life begin? (abortion, stem cells)• Who or what created life? How did human

beings get here? (evolution, big bang, cloning, protocells)

• Do we have a nonphysical soul? Do we have free will or are we determined by our physical composition? (neuroscience, physics)

• Are human beings exceptional? (animal, extraterrestrial, and artificial intelligence)

When does life begin?

According to the NIH, “The embryos from which human embryonic stem cells are derived are typically four or five days old and are a hollow microscopic ball of cells called the blastocyst. The blastocyst includes three structures: the trophoblast, which is the layer of cells that surrounds the blastocyst; the blastocoel, which is the hollow cavity inside the blastocyst; and the inner cell mass, which is a group of approximately 30 cells at one end of the blastocoel.”

In 2001, Bush issued an executive order restricting government funding of embryonic stem cell research to those lines already in existence.

Recent Developments

•2007: Researchers in Japan and the U.S. produce Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPS cells) by reprogramming adult cells.

•January 2009: The FDA approves first trial of embryonic stem cell therapy for individuals paralyzed by spinal cord injuries.

•February 15, 2009: Reuter’s Headline “Obama to Lift Ban on Stem Cell Research Soon”

Who or what created life? How did human beings get here?

Creating Life from Scratch

Darwin at 200On the Origin of Species at 150

Wax figure of 18 year old Darwin on display at museum in Portugal.

The Historic Debate

Thomas Henry Huxley, aka “Darwin’s Bulldog”

Bishop Samuel Wilberforce

Huxley: “If then, said I, the question is put to me would I rather have a miserable ape for a grandfather or a man highly endowed by nature and possessed of great means and influence and yet who employs those faculties for the mere purpose of introducing ridicule into a grave scientific discussion—I unhesitantly affirm my preference for the ape.”

The Modern Debate

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQLKDd1PH2o

• Traditional Concept of God:– Omnipotent– Omnibenevolent– Omniscient

Problems to traditional God posed by Darwinism:

1) Refuted argument from design

2) Refuted chronology of Genesis

3) Refuted humans’ special status

4) Refuted God’s omnibenevolence (problem of evil/theodicy)

Recent Headlines

Do we have a nonphysical soul? Do we have free will or are we determined by our physical composition? (Neuroscience, Biology, Philosophy)

Are human beings exceptional with respect to other forms of life (animal and extraterrestrial) and artificial intelligence? (Biology, Engineering, Physics, Neuroscience)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkpWCu1k0ZI

Some Final Thoughts on Science and Religion

God of the Gaps

Einsteinian God

• “Much unfortunate confusion is caused by failure to distinguish what can be called Einsteinian religion from supernatural religion. Einstein sometimes invoked the name of God (and he is not the only atheistic scientist to do so), inviting misunderstanding by supernaturalists eager to misunderstand and claim so illustrious a thinker as their own.”

- Dawkins, The God Delusion

Ian Barbour’s Typologies of the Relationship Between Science and Religion