Advanced Seminar in
Religion and Science 2010
Science Explores the Inner Self
Chaired by Philip Hefner and Lea
F. Schweitz
Monday Evenings 6:30 PM -
9:30 PM, February 1 through May 3, 2010
Common Room 350, Lutheran School
of Theology at Chicago, 1100 East 55th Street, Chicago, IL 60615
Scientific research is moving decisively into the area of
the “inner self”—including emotions, morality, love,
sociality, and the workings of the mind.
This domain has traditionally been at the heart of religion, spirituality,
and psychological counseling. Now
the sciences enter as collaborators in exploring the inner self—cognitive
science, neuroscience, genetics, and others. What are we to make of this new
partnership? The seminar will
examine this development and its significance, particularly for religion and
theology, from the following perspectives:
Offered by the Zygon Center for Religion and Science (ZCRS), the
Advanced Seminar in Religion and Science is designed as a research seminar for
faculty, students, and other professionals. It will include guest lecturers from the fields of
science, ethics, philosophy, and theology as well as presentations and
responses by seminar participants.
The seminar is open to students in all degree programs; the requirements
will be adjusted upwards for the most advanced students. Course credit is available via
registration through the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago (LSTC) or
cross-registration through member schools of the Association of Chicago
Theological Schools (ACTS); the course number is LSTC T-672. For more information about ZCRS, please
visit www.zygoncenter.org, email [email protected], or call 773-256-0670.
February 1 (6:30 PM) Issues and Questions in the Exploration of
the Inner Self
Philip
Hefner and Lea F. Schweitz, theology,
Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago
February 8 (6:30 PM) Human Nature and the Need for Social Connection
John
Cacioppo, cognitive neuroscience, University
of Chicago
February 15 (6:30 PM) What We Can Learn from Infants: Perspectives from
Developmental Psychology
Susan
Hespos, developmental psychology,
Northwestern University
February 22 (6:30 PM) A Role for Genetics in Behavior?
Gayle
Woloschak, molecular biology,
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
March 1 No Seminar (Reading Week at LSTC)
March 8 (6:30 PM) Moral Inwardness Reconsidered
William
Schweiker, theology/ethics, University of
Chicago
March 15
(6:30 PM) Causes in a World of Reasons: Or, What Can
fMRI Scans Tell Us About How to Live?
Benjamin Callard, philosophy,
University of Chicago
March 22 (6:30
PM) Embedded Religiosity: The Extended Mind and
Religious Behaviors
Mladen Turk, theology,
Elmhurst College
March 29 No Seminar (Holy Week at LSTC)
April 5 (6:30 PM) Donna
Haraway: When Species Meet, Self is Re-defined
Ann
Pederson, theology, Augustana College,
Sioux Falls
April 12 (6:30 PM) Emotions, Ethics, and Transcendent Values
Gregory
Peterson, theology/philosophy, South Dakota
State University
April 19 (6:30 PM) Neurophenomenology Considers Religious Ways
of Knowing
Anne Benvenuti, theology/psychology,
University of Chicago/Georgetown University Medical School
Barbara
Stafford, art history/neuroesthetics,
University of Chicago
April 26 (6:30 PM) Religion, the New Moral Psychology, and the
Inner Self
Don Browning,
religious studies/psychology, University of Chicago
May 3 (6:30 PM) Conclusions and Reflections
Philip
Hefner and Lea F. Schweitz, theology,
Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago