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Paul Davies on ‘What’s Eating the Universe?’
Paul Davies, a theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and best-selling author is Regents’ Professor of Physics and director of the Beyond Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science at Arizona State University. His research has explored quantum gravity, black holes, early-universe cosmology, and astrobiology as it relates to the origin of life. In 1995 he became the third physicist to be awarded the Templeton Prize, both for his groundbreaking research and his work engaging philosophers, religious leaders and the public around questions of the universe’s origin and nature. Nate Barksdale, lead writer for the John Templeton Foundation’s “Possibilities” newsletter, recently spoke with Davies…
Q&A: Five Questions with Betül Kaçar
Betül Kaçar is an assistant professor at the University of Arizona in the departments of Cell Biology and Astronomy. Her research investigates molecular mechanisms of evolution, the origins of life, and the distribution of life throughout the universe. Her research team uses a new approach that infers ancient DNA sequences using phylogenetics, engineers these reconstructed DNA inside microbial genomes, and reanimates them in order to study ancient enzymes in modern organisms. Kaçar’s work at the University of Arizona and previously at Harvard University has been supported by multiple grants from the John Templeton Foundation, including the latest $357,843 grant “Molecular…
High school debate turns to the Big Questions
Does science leave room for free will? High school debaters have some ideas. More than 9,000 students, coaches, and parents converged in Birmingham, Ala., the last week of June for the National Speech and Debate Association’s national tournament. On Friday afternoon, in one of the tournament’s climactic events, high school students from South Dakota and Missouri faced off in the 1,000-seat BJCC Theatre to debate whether science leaves room for free will. It was a profound enough topic on its own, but the event was also noteworthy as the national championship debut of a new kind of high school debate,…
Into the Unknown: Foundation Reports from the Edge of Physics
Four new scientific reviews tackle the origins of space, time, and the universe—and the mystery of why the cosmos seems ideally suited for human life. What happened before the Big Bang? Is our cosmos precisely tuned to foster life? Is time an illusion? What are the building blocks of reality? On Friday, November 12, science think-tank the Foundational Questions Institute (FQXi) will publish the first in a new series of reports that unravel these and other perplexing questions. “These reports cover some of humanity’s deepest and oldest questions about where we come from, who we are, the fate of the…
Strategic Priority Q&A: Health, Religion, & Spirituality
Please note: The information in this article reflects our strategic priorities at the time of writing and may change over time. To confirm our current funding interests, please view our Funding Areas. This conversation is the fourth in a series of conversations about the Strategic Priorities that the John Templeton Foundation will be funding over the next five years. This interview with Kimon Sargeant, Vice President, Programs, was conducted and edited by Christina Van Riper, Executive Associate, Programs. To get started, why don’t you share a little about your story – what brought you to the Foundation? What made…
Strategic Priority Q&A: Intellectual Humility
This conversation is the first in a series of conversations about the Strategic Priorities that the John Templeton Foundation will be funding over the next five years. This interview with Richard Bollinger, program officer in Character Virtue Development, was conducted and edited by Benjamin Carlson, director of strategic communication. What is intellectual humility? Many people agree that the core definition has to do with recognizing and owning one’s own limitations and recognizing that one’s perspective is incomplete and at times even incorrect. Where there’s some disagreement is how much more you add to that concept. For example, some people include…
Strategic Priority Q&A: Programs in Latin America
Please note: The information in this article reflects our strategic priorities at the time of writing and may change over time. To confirm our current funding interests, please view our Funding Areas. This conversation is the second in a series of conversations about the Strategic Priorities that the John Templeton Foundation will be funding over the next five years. This interview with Alexander Arnold, senior program officer in Philosophy & Theology, was conducted and edited by Alyssa Settefrati, Communications Specialist. What are the ideas and goals behind Programs in Latin America? It helps to understand what the general idea…
How to Think Better: Five Questions with Nathan Ballantyne
Nathan Ballantyne is a philosopher at Fordham University in New York City who focuses on questions about improving human judgment and inquiry. His 2019 book Knowing Our Limits offers a multidisciplinary approach for thinking about controversial topics. In 2018 he received an Academic Cross-Training fellowship from the John Templeton Foundation to build interdisciplinary experience in social psychology and cognitive science. Ballantyne spoke recently with Nate Barksdale, lead writer for the John Templeton Foundation’s “Possibilities” newsletter, about his epistemological journey and his recent work. How did you get interested in your field? As an undergraduate student, I commuted from my parents’…
Q&A: Five Questions with Jeffrey Rosen
Journalist and legal commentator Jeffrey Rosen is President and CEO of the National Constitution Center (NCC) in Philadelphia and led the development of the John Templeton Foundation-funded Interactive Constitution. Rosen is also a professor at The George Washington University Law School and a contributing writer for The Atlantic. He spoke recently with Nate Barksdale, lead writer for the John Templeton Foundation’s Possibilities newsletter, about how the NCC has responded and adapted to the COVID-19 era, as well as the big questions being raised by the personal and collective challenges of the pandemic. How is the COVID-19 crisis affecting the National Constitution…
Foundational Questions In Cosmology
Why is the universe the way it is? Ancient societies over told creation stories to answer that question, which seems to be as old as human civilization itself. Cosmology seeks new answers. Millennia later, the urge to understand the integrated whole of reality, and humans’ place in it, remains undiminished. Indeed, in some respects the universe turns out to be far more vast and astonishing than our ancestors imagined — making questions of its origins and structure even more compelling areas for investigation. Exploring these kinds of big questions is a central aim of the John Templeton Foundation, so we support a number of projects…
