Academic Conference - "Human Evolution: in search of our anthropic roots"
Madrid, 6-8 September 2007- Universidad Pontificia Comillas - Aula Magna
The objective of this conference is to analyse human evolution, not exclusively
from the paleontological or paleoanthropological (homo erectus, neanderthal,
sapiens) perspective, but from a wider outlook: to encounter the primordial
anthropic roots that have made human evolution possible (the anthropic term is
used in a weak sense). The conference focuses on the anthropic aspects of four
moments of evolution: matter and universe, life, man and neurology, and the
establishment of the formal sciences. The fifth session deals with the
theological models that are a result of the scientific knowledge of human
evolution.
Conference Venue:
Universidad Pontificia Comillas - Aula "García Polavieja"
C/ Alberto Aguilera, 23
Madrid
Transport Instructions from
Airport
Programme (updated July 26, 2007)
Wednesday, 5 September 2007
16:30 Registration Opens
18:00 Welcome Cocktail
Thursday, 6 September 2007
9:00 - 9:30 Welcome to Comillas University
José
Ramón Busto Saiz
Rector
of Comillas University of Madrid
Presentation
of Sophia-Iberia in Europe
Javier
Leach Albert
Director
Chair of Science, Technology and Religion
Session I: Matter and Universe
Chair:
Agustín Udias
Complutense
University of Madrid, Spain
09:30 - 10:00 Presentation of evolutionary moments
10:00 - 11:00 William Stoeger - Vatican Observatory and University of
Arizona
11:00 - 11:30 Paul Gabor - Vatican Observatory
11:30 - 12:00 Break
12:00 - 13:30 Debate and conclusions
13:30 - 15:30 Lunch
Session II: Life
Chair:
Kuruvilla Pandikattu
University
JDV, Pune, India
15:30 - 16:00 Presentation of evolutionary moment
16:00 - 17:00 Niels Henrik Gregersen - University of Copenhagen, Denmark
17:00 - 17:30 Carlos Alonso Bedate - Consejo Superior de Investigaciones
Científicas, Madrid, Spain
17:30 - 18:00 Break
18:00 - 19:30 Debate and conclusions
Friday, 7 September 2007
Session III: Man and Neurology
Chair:
Jens Degett
EAGLES
Project, Spain
09:30 - 10:00 Presentation of evolutionary moment
10:00 - 11:00 Francisco Mora - Complutense University of Madrid, Spain
11:00 - 11:30 Javier Monserrat - Comillas University of Madrid, Spain
11:30 - 12:00 Break
12:00 - 13:30 Debate and conclusions
13:30 - 15:30 Lunch
Session IV: Formal Sciences
Chair:
Christine Heller
Comillas
University, Spain
15:30 - 16:00 Presentation of evolutionary moment
16:00 - 17:00 Piergiorgio Odifreddi - University of Turin, Italy
17:00 - 17:30 Piotr Janik - University School Ignatianum, Cracow, Poland
17:30 - 18:00 Break
18:00 - 19:30 Debate and conclusions
20:30 Conference dinner
Saturday, 8 September 2007
Session V: Theological Reflection
Chair:
William Stoeger
University
of Arizona, USA
09:30 - 10:00 Presentation of evolutionary moment
10:00 - 11:00 Fraser Watts - University of Cambridge, UK
11:00 - 11:30 Job Kozhamthadam - University JDV, Pune, India
11:30- 12:00 Break
12:00 - 13:30 Debate and conclusions
13:30 - 14:00 Conference closure
14:30 - 20:30 Cultural visit of Madrid (optional)
Academic Conference - Speakers
Speakers.- MADRID SEPTEMBER 07 - Academic Conference
William R. Stoeger
Vatican Observatory. University of Arizona
Stoeger is a staff scientist for Vatican Observatory Research Group and the University of Arizona specializing in theoretical cosmology, high-energy astrophysics, and interdisciplinary studies relating to science, philosophy and theology.
Stoeger's research has dealt with various problems connected with the physics of accretion onto black holes, and mathematical and physical issues connected with torsion and bi-metric theories of gravity, as well as the harmonic map structures contained in gravitational theories, including general relativity. More recently, with collaborators from South Africa, England, and the United States, he has been concentrating on observationally oriented projects in theoretical cosmology, attempting to build more adequate bridges between theory and cosmologically relevant astronomical observations and observations of the microwave background radiation. He also continues to pursue some research on the physics of the central engine in active galactic nuclei and quasars.
Niels Henrik Gregersen
University of Copenhagen
Niels Henrik Gregersen is full Professor in contemporary theology at the University of Copenhagen. Internationally known for his work on the relation between religion and natural science, he was formerly research professor in theology and natural science at the University of Aarhus. He has studied the connection between natural science and life philosophy in many ways, for example in the books: "Chaos and Causality. Chaos theory and its meaning for philosophy and theology" and "Rethinking Theology and Science. Six Models for the Current Dialogue". In his Danish language works he has in particular published articles on modern theology in the 20th Century and in the present one. He is the Danish National Church Representative in the Lutheran World Federation and Chair of the Board of the Institute for Oecumenic Studies in Strasbourg.
Francisco Mora
Complutense University of Madrid
Francisco Mora is doctor of Medicine from the University of Granada and doctor of Neuroscience from the University of Oxford (England). He is likewise Professor of Human Physiology in the Faculty of Medicine of the Complutense University of Madrid, and Adjunct Professor in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Iowa in the United States, where he has been honored with the Helen C. Levitt Professorship Award.
Piergiorgio Odifreddi
Department of Mathematics. University of Turin
Piergiorgio Odifreddi has taught in both Italy (Turin, Alessandria, Siena, Milan) and in the United States (Cornell University). Since 2001, he has been a Professor of mathematical logic in the Department of Mathematics at the University of Turin.
He has written editorials and books reviews for La rivista dei libri (the Italian edition of the New York Review of Books), is a regular contributor to Le Scienze (the Italian edition of Scientific American), and has also written for several newspapers such as La Repubblica, La Stampa and the weekly L'Espresso. The television stations Radio Tre, RAI Due and RAI Tre have hosted many of his discussions on various scientific topics.
Fraser Watts
Queens´College. University of Cambridge
Reader in Theology and Science, and Fellow and Director of Studies, Queens' College, University of Cambridge Fraser's research covers two broad fields -- that of the interface between psychology and theology, and that of the psychology of religion.Work carried out in the first of these fields is summarised and integrated in the forthcoming book Theology and Psychology, due to be published in January 2002 by Ashgate. The next major project will be on theological and psychological perspectives on the human emotions. Collaborative work is in progress on the theology and psychology of forgiveness. The recently published Psychology for Christian Ministry (Routledge, 2001), presents an approach to the psychology of religion applied to a broad range of the work of the Church.
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