Here is the schedule for the conference that Paul Arveson mentioned earlier.
Keith
_______________________________________________________________________
>Below is a conference announcement from Jim Miller at the AAAS Dialogue Between
>Science and Religion. This three day conference on contemporary cosmology and
>religion will be held at the Smithonian Museum of Natural History in
>Washington, D.C. This looks like a very exciting conference.
>
>-- Billy Grassie
>
>
>=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
>From: JMILLER@aaas.org (JMILLER)
>Subject: AAAS Cosmic Questions Conference Update
>
>Here is an update of information about the "Cosmic Questions Conference" for
>posting on the Meta Listserv. I have provided the current schedule for the
>conference. If you have any questions, let me know.
>
>Jim Miller
>
>*************************
>
>COSMIC QUESTIONS
>
>A Conference on Contemporary Cosmology and Religion April 14-16, 1999 The Baird
>Auditorium The Smithonian, National Museum of Natural History Washington DC
>
>Organized by The Program of Dialogue Between Science and Religion of the
>American Association for the Advancement of Science
>
> From the dawn of culture, human beings have sought to understand their place
>in the universe. In ancient times it was by means of religious story and
>philosophical speculation. Beginning in the 16th and 17th centuries
>mathematical analysis was combined with empirical observations to discover laws
>of nature that extended from the Earth to the Heavens. Today cosmology, the
>study of the origin and structure of the universe, is a science in its own
>right bringing together relativity theory, quantum physics, and observational
>astronomy. Current astronomical discoveries are making possible new
>understandings of the origin and evolution of the universe and of life within
>it. These discoveries and the theoretical developments associated with them
>raise important questions that have religious significance.
>
>What was the universe like before the Big Bang? Is the cosmos eternal or did
>time itself have a beginning?
>
>The cosmos is structured in such a way that the evolution of intelligent life
>is possible. Is this so-called "fine-tuning" of universe evidence that it is
>designed?
>
>What is the probability that life -- particularly intelligent life -- exists
>elsewhere in the cosmos? What would be the religious implications if such life
>was discovered?
>
>In this conference eminent astronomers, cosmologists, philosophers, and
>religious scholars will review recent developments in astronomy and theoretical
>cosmology and discuss their significance for religious perspectives on the
>cosmos.
>
>Cosmic Questions is made possible by support from the John Templeton
>Foundation, the Smithsonian Institution, the North American Montessori Teachers
>Association, Science & Spirit Magazine and individual donors.
>
>The following is the current working schedule for the conference:
>
>
>Day 1 (Wednesday, April 14) - Did the Universe Have a Beginning?
>------------------------------------------------------------
>
>Morning -
>
>8:00 - Coffee/Registration
>
>9:00 - Welcome
>
>9:10 - Introduction to the Conference - Joel Primack
>
>Session I - The Cultural and Scientific Background
>
>9:45 - "Athens and/or Jerusalem: Cosmology and/or Creation" - Jaraslav Pelikan,
>Sterling Professor Emeritus of History, Yale University
>
>10:20 - "Scientific Cosmology Meets Western Theology: A Historical Perspective"
>- Owen Gingerich, Professor of Astronomy and the History of Science,
>Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
>
>10:55 - "Standard Big Bang Cosmology: The Big Bang Really Happened" - Sandra
>Faber, University Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of
>California-Santa Cruz
>
>11:30 - Audience Questions and Answers
>
>12:00 - Lunch
>
>Afternoon -
>
>Session II - Before the Beginning
>
>Did Time Begin?
>
>1:30 - Eternal inflation - Alan Guth, Victor F. Weisskopf Professor of Physics,
>Massachusetts Institute of Technology
>
>2:05 - "Inflation and the Beginning of the Universe" - Neil Turok, Department
>of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, Cambridge University
>
>2:40 - Speaker discussion
>
>3:00 - Break
>
>Does it matter religiously?
>
>3:15 - "The Idea of a `Beginningless' World-process: Hindu Perspectives" -
>Anindita Balslev, Department of Philosophy, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
>
>3:50 - Robert John Russell, Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences,
>Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley
>
>4:25 - Panel discussion on "Beginnings" with morning and afternoon speakers.
>
>5:20 - Recess
>
>Day 1 (Wednesday) Evening Program
>
>7:00 - Rocky Kolb, Fermi National Laboratory, "A Recipe for Primordial Soup."
>
>7:30 - Showing of the I-Max film, "Cosmic Voyage"
>
>8:00 - Reception
>
>9:00 - Recess
>
>
>Day 2 (Thursday, April 15) - Was the Universe Designed?
>------------------------------------------------------
>
>(Moderator: Owen Gingerich)
>
>Morning -
>
>8:30 - Coffee
>
>Session III - Cosmic Evolution and Design
>
>9:00 - "The Meaning of Design" - John Leslie, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy,
>University of Guelph
>
>9:35 - "Cosmology, Life and the Anthropic Principle" - John D. Barrow,
>Director, Millennium Mathematics Project, Cambridge University
>
>10:10 - "The Argument from Design: What is at Stake Theologically?" - Anna
>Case-Winters, Professor of Theology, McCormick Theological Seminary
>
>10:45 - Audience Questions and Answers
>
>11:45 - Lunch
>
>Afternoon -
>
>Session IV - Is the Universe Designed?
>
>Debate on Design:
>
>1:15 - "No" - Steven Weinberg, Jack S. Josey-Welch Foundation Chair in Science
>and Regental Professor of Physics, University of Texas-Austin
>
>1:50 - "Understanding the Universe" - John Polkinghorne, former President,
>Queens College, Cambridge, England
>
>2:25 - Speaker discussion
>
>2:45 - Break
>
>Religious Reflections -
>
>3:00 - "Is the Universe Designed? Yes and No" - David Griffin, Director, Center
>for Process Studies, Claremont, California
>
>3:35 - "Cosmic Design from a Buddhist Perspective" - Trinh Xuan Thuan,
>Professor of Astronomy, University of Virginia
>
>4:10 - "What Did the Mystic Say to the Hotdog Vendor? or Nothing by Design: A
>Neo-Kabbalistic Perspective" - Rabbi Laurence Kushner, Congregation Beth El,
>Sudbury, Massachusetts
>
>4:45 - Panel discussion on "Design" by morning and afternoon speakers.
>
>5:50 - Recess
>
>
>
>Day 3 (Friday, April 16) - Are we alone?
>----------------------------------------------
>
>(Moderator: Audrey Chapman, Director, AAAS Program of Dialogue Between Science
>and Religion)
>
>Morning -
>
>8:30 - Coffee
>
>Session V - Life in the Universe
>
>9:00 - The origin and evolution of life on Earth - Speaker to be announced
>
>9:35 - Exotic life on Earth - Kenneth Nealson, Professor, California Institute
>of Technology, and Senior Researcher in Astrobiology, Jet Propulsion Laboratory
>
>10:10 - Homes for life? - David Latham, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for
>Astrophysics
>
>10:45 - Audience Questions and Answers
>
>11:45 - Lunch
>
>Afternoon -
>
>Session VI - Intelligent Life in the Universe
>
>1:15 - What is SETI? - Jill C. Tartar, Senior Program Scientist and Director,
>Project Phoenix, The SETI Institute
>
>Debate on the possibility of extraterrestrial intelligent life -
>
>1:50 - Not likely - Irven DeVore, Ruth Moore Professor of Biological
>Anthropology in the Departments of Anthropology and Organismic and Evolutionary
>Biology, Harvard University
>
>2:25 - "The Outlook for Cosmic Company" - Seth Shostak, Public Programs
>Scientist, The SETI Institute
>
>3:00 - Speaker discussion
>
>3:20 - Break
>
>3:35 - Theological Reflection - John Haught, Professor of Theology, Georgetown
>University
>
>4:10 - Closing Reflection -
>
>4:55 - Final Words
>
>5:00 - Adjournment
>
>The deadline for registrations is March 31, 1999. There is limited seating for
>this Conference so early registration is encouraged.
>
>Regular registration: $150 (for AAAS members: $135) Student registration: $90
>(for AAAS members: $80)*
>
>*a limited number of student scholarships are available. Contact Aaron
>Goldenberg at (202) 326-6733 for more information.
>
>You may register by phone (credit card registrations only) by calling: (202)
>326-7098.
>or, you can acquire a registration form by visiting the Conference web site at:
>www.aaas.org/spp/dspp/dbsr/events/cosmo
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
>Footer information below last updated: 2/25/1999.
>
>Meta is an edited and moderated listserver and news service dedicated to
>promoting the constructive engagement of science and religion.
>Subscriptions are free. For more information, including subscriptions,
>archives and submission guidelines, go to <http://www.meta-list.org>.
>
>If you would like to unsubscribe to Meta at any time, simply "Reply" to
>this message with the word "Unsubscribe" in the subject line. We will
>promptly disable your subscription. Thanks.
>
>Please feel free to forward all Meta postings in their entirety including
>this notice. It is the intention of the editor that each posting be
>protected by copyright as a compilation. Permission is granted only for
>duplication and transmission of each message complete and intact including
>this paragraph. Otherwise, duplication and/or transmission of any portion
>should be guided by "fair use" principles, and explicit permission should
>be obtained when needed. Except when permitted by "fair use," permission
>to duplicate or transmit any portion written by a contributor must be
>obtained from that author.
> -Copyright 1997, 1998, 1999.
>William Grassie <http://www.voicenet.com/~grassie>.
>
Keith B. Miller
Department of Geology
Kansas State University
Manhattan, KS 66506
kbmill@ksu.ksu.edu
http://www-personal.ksu.edu/~kbmill/