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A Critical Appraisal 150 Years After On The Origin of Species Pontifical Gregorian University March 3-7, 2009
Misunderstandings about the relation of the Church to evolutionary theory have been widespread in the public media, and have been generated by confusions about Catholic thought and reflection on such issues as creation, natural theology, causation, and more generally on the relation of theology and philosophy to natural science. The Rome conference is one of a series of major conferences that will be dedicated to developing a new kind of dialogue between Christianity and evolutionary biology. It will give prominence to the developments within contemporary evolutionary biology and their relations to Catholic theology and philosophy. The aim of the conference is to assist modern culture in developing the kind of "interpenetrating dialogue" between Catholic theology and contemporary natural science called for by Pope John Paul II. The public debate tends to feature two ideologies in opposition: anti-religious evolutionism against fundamentalist creationism, including the "Intelligent Design" school of thought. Many voices challenge Church teaching about evolution without knowing exactly what that teaching is. There is an urgent need for clarity. In October 1996, Pope John Paul II addressed the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and pointed to earlier Church writing on evolution. "In his encyclical Humani Generis (1950), my predecessor Pius XII has already affirmed that there is no conflict between evolution and the doctrine of the faith regarding man and his vocation, provided that we do not lose sight of certain fixed points." In November 2006, Pope Benedict XVI addressed the same Academy and highlighted the particular role of philosophy and theology in union with scientific study. "Science...while giving generously, gives only what it is meant to give. Man cannot place in science and technology so radical and unconditional a trust as to believe that scientific and technological progress can explain everything and completely fulfill all his existential and spiritual needs." STOQ members at the Pontifical Council for Culture, the
Tuesday March 3, 2009 First Session: The Facts that we Know 09:00 am Addresses of the Authorities10:00 am Paleontological Evidences (Conway Morris) 10:45 am Bio-Molecular Evidences (Werner Arber) 11:25 am Coffee Break 11:55 am Taxonomic Issues (Douglas J. Futuyma) 12:35 pm Discussion 01:30 pm End of the Session and Lunch Second Session: Evolutionary Mechanisms I 03:30 pm History of the Evolution Theories (Jean Gayon)04:15 pm The Standard Theory (Francisco Ayala) 05:00 pm Tea Time 05:30 pm Symbiosis (Lynn Margulis) 06:15 pm The Speciation Problem (Jeffrey L. Feder) 07:00 pm Discussion 07:30 pm End of the Session and Dinner Wednesday March 4, 2009 Third Session: Evolutionary Mechanisms II 09:00 am Evo-Devo (Scott Gilbert)09:45 am Complexity and Evolution (Stuart Kauffman) 10:25 am Coffee Break 10:55 am Evolution and Environment (Bob Ulanowicz) 11:35 am (Stuart A. Newman) 12:15 pm Discussion 01.00 pm End of the Session and Lunch Fourth Session: The Origin of Man 03:00 pm History of the Research (Giorgio Manzi)03:45 pm Molecular Approach (Olga Rickards, Gianfranco Biondi) 04:30 pm Tea Time 05:00 pm Palaeontological Approach (Yves Coppens) 05:45 pm Palaeontological Data (Fiorenzo Facchini) 06:30 pm Primatological Approach (Robin Dunbar) 07.15 pm Discussion 07.30 pm End of the Session and Dinner Thursday March 5, 2009 Fifth Session: Some Anthropological Questions About Evolution 09:00 am Some Palaeontological Attempts at Defining Humanity (Anne d'Ambricourt)09:45 am The Concept of Evolution as applied to the Development of Human Cultures (Lord Renfrew) 10:30 am Coffee Break 11:00 am Moving Towards Humankind? (Ludovico Galleni) 11:45 am Some Philosophical Considerations on Human Emergence and En-Culturation (David S. Wilson) 12:30 pm Discussion 01:30 pm End of the Session and Lunch Sixth Session: Philosophical Aspects of Evolution I 03:00 pm Philosophical Introduction (Juergen Mittelstrass)03:45 pm Epistemological Problems of Evolution Theories (Dominique Lambert) 04:30 pm Tea Time 05:00 pm Philosophy and Biology (Elliott Sober) 05:45 pm Why Do We Not Get Rid of Teleological Principles? (Vittorio Hösle) 06:30 pm Discussion 07.30 pm End of the Session and Dinner Friday March 6, 2009 Seventh Session: Philosophical Aspects of Evolution II 09:00 am Metaphysical Sense of Creation and Evolution (Card. Georges Cottier)09:45 am The Concept of Species (Philip Sloan) 10:30 am Coffee Break 11:00 am Philosophical Issues of Evolution Theory (Massimo Stanzione) 11:45 am Historical Background of "Intelligent Design" (Ronald Numbers) 12:30 pm Discussion 01:00 pm End of the Session and Lunch Eighth Session: Theological Aspects of Evolution I 03:00 pm The Theme of Creation in the Old Testament (André Wénin)03:45 pm Theology and Evolution Theories (Jean-Michel Maldamé) 04:30 pm Tea Time 05:00 pm Creationism, "Intelligent Design" and Evolution (Jacques Arnauld) 05:45 pm Theological Vision of Evolution by Teilhard de Chardin (Georges Chantraine) 06:30 pm Discussion 07:30 pm End of the Session and Dinner Saturday March 7, 2009 Ninth Session: Theological Aspects of Evolution II 03:00 pm Emergence and Finalism (Bill Stoeger)03:45 pm The Church's Receptivity of Evolutionary Theories (Rafael Martinez) 04:30 pm Tea Time 05:00 pm Theological Debate around Evolution (Robert Russell) 05:45 pm General Conclusions 07:30 pm End of the Conference
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