Humble Approach Initiative

How is free will possible in light of the physical and chemical underpinnings of brain activity and recent neurobiological experiments? How can the emergence of complexity in hierarchical systems such as the brain, based at the lower levels in physical interactions, lead to something like genuine free will? A key tool in understanding how free will may arise in this context is the idea of downward causation in complex systems, happening coterminously with bottom up causation, to form an integral whole.

Twelve renowned scientists, philosophers, and theologians examine the phenomenon of convergence in biology, exemplified by the very similar construction of the camera-eye of cephalopods and vertebrates, and discuss the metaphysical implications that emerge if it is determined that the processes of evolution are more ordered and predicable that we had thought heretofore. The Purpose in Evolution symposium was chaired by Simon Conway Morris, professor of evolutionary palaeobiology at the University of Cambridge.

Recent developments in cosmology and particle physics have led to the remarkable realization that our universe - rather than being unique - could be just one of many universes. In this volume, a number of active and eminent researchers in the field - mainly cosmologists and particle physicists but also some philosophers describe these recent developments and assess their implications, thus providing, for the first time, a broad and insightful overview of the subject. The Universe or Multiverse Symposium was chaired by Paul Davies.

Ever since the sensational Azuza Street Revival in 1906, the global Pentecostal church has continued to explode numerically, pushing theological debates on the Holy Spirit to the forefront. This insightful collection draws together theologians, scientists, and Pentecostal scholars to make connections between the study and experience of the Holy Spirit. The Pneumatology Symposium was chaired by Michael Welker.

Scientists have begun to shed light on gratitude and its role in social life, as well as for the health and well-being of individuals and relationships. This book brings together prominent scientists from various disciplines to examine what has become known as the most neglected emotion. The Kindling the Science of Gratitude Symposium was chaired by Robert Emmons.

Martin Seligman introduces the revolutionary, scientific idea of "positive psychology," which focuses on strengths rather than weaknesses, asserting that happiness is not the result of good genes or luck. The Evolution Purpose and Meaning Symposium was chaired by Robert Wright.

This compilation of essays offers speculations on various scenarios for the future, from the perspectives of cosmology, physics, biology, humanity and theology. The Far-Future Universe Symposium was held at the Pontifical Academy of Science and chaired by Martin Rees.

The development of kenotic ideas was one of the most important advances in theological thinking in the late twentieth century. In this book, eleven foremost theologians and scientists discuss the kenotic view of creation, exploring the implications of this controversial perspective for Christine doctrine and the scientific enterprise generally. The Love & the Ultimate Nature of Reality Symposium was held at Queens' College, Cambridge, and chaired by John Polkinghorne.

This book highlights the exploration of how panentheistic philosophies may encourage open-minded research about the myriad aspects of divinity. The Panentheism symposium was held in December 2001 at St. George's House in Windsor Castle, England and Chaired by Philip Clayton and Arthur Peacocke.

This book takes an interdisciplinary look at the intersection of religion and science, exploring what new scientific knowledge does and does not say about religious views on personhood. The Mind, Brain and Personhood Symposium was chaired by Malcolm Jeeves.

The Upper Paleolithic era of Europe has left an abundance of evidence for symbolic activities, such as direct representations of animals and other features of the natural world, personal adornments, and elaborate burials. These behaviors are also exhibited by populations throughout the world, from the prehistoric period to the present day. What do these activities tell us about the beliefs and priorities of the people who carried them out? How do these behaviors relate to ideologies, cosmology, and understanding of the world?

Twentieth-century science discovered that the physical world is profoundly relational. Thanks to the phenomenon of quantum entanglement, there is a holistic connectivity at the deepest level of physical reality. This new way of comprehending the universe, which brings to mind the mystery at the heart of Trinitarian theology, has inspired thirteen distinguished scholars from physics and theology to explore the role of relationality in both science and religion.

This volume is aimed at readers who wish to move beyond debates about the existence of free will and the efficacy of consciousness and closer to appreciating how free will and consciousness might operate. It draws from philosophy and psychology, the two fields that have grappled most fundamentally with these issues.

Many scientists regard mass and energy as the primary currency of nature. In recent years, however, the concept of information has gained importance. Why? In this book, eminent scientists, philosophers and theologians chart various aspects of information, from quantum information to biological and digital information, in order to understand how nature works. Beginning with an historical treatment of the topic, the book also examines physical and biological approaches to information, and its philosophical, theological, and ethical implications.

In this volume renowned scientists and theologians discuss the concept of light as understood by modern physics and employed by biblical and patristic writers. Light from Light deepens readers' understanding of light as posited by recent cosmological and physical theories, drawing connections with "light" as a theological metaphor. Striking glimpses into new scientific developments offer additional insight and interest.
 

How do the many exciting recent scientific discoveries in neuroscience, psychology, evolutionary biology, genetics, and paleoanthropology challenge and complicate—but also enrich and illuminate—the traditional Christian portrait of human nature? In Rethinking Human Nature an international team of scientists, historians, philosophers, and theologians presents both the wisdom of the past and the cutting edge of present and developing scientific research to explore answers to this vital question.

This issue of the journal is focused on ‘"top-down causation." The words in this title, however, already raise or beg many questions. Causation can be of many kinds. They form our ways of ordering our scientific understanding of the world, all the way from the reductive concept of cause as elementary objects exerting forces on each other, through to the more holistic concept of attractors towards which whole systems move, and to adaptive selection taking place in the context of an ecosystem.

Faith and Philosophy is published quarterly by the Society of Christian Philosophers. The journal encourages discussions among philosophers representing a wide variety of theological perspectives and philosophical orientations that fall largely within the philosophy of religion. This issue emerged from a symposium at the University of Cambridge in 2010 titled “Faith, Rationality and the Passions,” sponsored by the John Templeton Foundation as part of its Humble Approach Initiative.

There has been considerable progress in understanding many of the stages and facets of exceptional creativity and innovation. In Exceptional Creativity in Science and Technology, editor Andrew Robinson gathers together a diverse group of contributors to explore this progress. This new collection arises from a symposium with the same title held at the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) in Princeton.