The Nexus of Science and Spirit
The Nexus of Science and Spirit group will host public events and lectures by national speakers, civil servants and other public figures. The series is supported by a matching grant from the Metanexus Institute’s “Local Societies Initiative for the Constructive Engagement of Religion and Science” whose purpose is to encourage dialogue groups to “explore the dynamic interface between religion and science.” Shepherd’s Nexus, one of over 300 local societies funded worldwide, aims to explore the intersection of science, religion, philosophy, music, art, and technology in the present, past and future. Science and religion reveal the depths of our souls and place the most advanced technical achievements in our hands. While they have their differences, science and religion both find inspiration in music, literature and the arts, which express the human spirit in ways that enchant our memories and enlarge our hearts. Nexus events will seek to join lectures and performances together to present a balanced blend of talk and experience, thought and feeling. In addition to larger “formal” events we will also host ongoing informal discussions on topics of interest in and around Shepherdstown, WV, about 90 minutes from the Baltimore and Washington DC metro areas. Interested? Contact Nexus director, Farzad Mahootian, Ph.D. with any questions or to receive future announcements.
(This beautiful image of the oscillating reaction of Safranin dye appears here courtesy of photographer, Dr. Juraj Lipscher. For more images of this kind visit: http://www.swisseduc.ch/chemie/orderchaos/ See more of Dr. Lipscher's chemistry and photography at: http://www.lipscher.ch)
Spring 2007 Events: The Nexus of Science and Spirit presents a series of presentations to engage your head, heart and hands. All events are free and open to the public and will be held at Shepherd University Byrd Center for Legislative Studies, at 7:00 pm.
March 26th "What’s Love Got to do With It? Philosophy, Spirituality and Science on Love” Love holds a special place in many world religions. It is expressed in a variety of ways: as compassion, mercy, empathy, agape, eros…and more. Beyond the sphere of religion, love holds the highest place in the deeply personal corners of our hearts, but do we know what or why it is? It can be gentle as a cool refreshing rain in summer, or it can consume everything in a fiery passion. Considering its powerful and compelling nature, might it hold the key to life’s mysteries? What have science and philosophy to say about love? Philosophy means, literally, the love (philo-) of wisdom (-sophia), but why must one love wisdom? Can’t we just like it, or respect it, or…. use it, especially in those really complicated situations that humans get into, as individuals and as entire nations? Can science contribute helpful answers to these questions, perhaps to give us a definitive answer in terms of hormones, or genetics, or cognitive evolution? We will entertain these questions with he hope that these questions will in turn entertain us in an evening of reflection on the ancient origins of Western philosophy, and the distant hopes of modern science. Farzad Mahootian, Ph.D., and other will facilitate this evening’s discussion. April 9th “Global Warming, Science, & Spirit: Questions, Answers, & Dialogue” Though Earth day is on April 22nd, we will start a few weeks early to express appreciation of our dynamic, beautiful and terrifying planet, the alpha and omega that supports and surrounds our every step and holds our every breath. The International Panel on Climate Change has declared that global warming is unequivocal, which is to say, it is a fact. After briefly surveying a slideshow of some of the evidence, we will discuss the significance of global warming. In our discussion we will consider the personal, social, and political impacts, as well as the psychological and spiritual impacts of global warming. Shepherdstown resident and philosopher, Farzad Mahootian, Ph.D., and other Shepherd University colleagues will facilitate this evening’s discussion. April 26th “The Sky Within: Mathematics and Art of Persian Dome Interiors” This lecture begins with connections between mathematics and art from ancient Greece to the modern era and presents examples from the art and architecture of Iran. In Persian architecture, geometry provided diverse stylistic developments for construction and design, as well to evoke an emotional response by harmonization of the constructional elements. Through complex geometric designs involving repetition, rhythm, pacing, scale, and color combination, Persian artists and architects transformed geometry into the art of harmonization of feeling, faith and philosophy. Reza Sarhangi, Ph.D., will present a slideshow, and a variety of geometrical sculptures and artwork during his lecture. Dr Sarhangi is the director of Bridges: Mathematical Connections in Art, Music, and Science, an international conference that he founded in 1995. For more information visit pages.towson.edu/gsarhang/ May 8th “A Taste of Rumi and Sufism” Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi’s message of love beyond creed is desperately needed in the world today. Come help us celebrate the 800th anniversary of Rumi’s birth, and UNESCO’s International Year of Rumi, with Rumi’s poetry and a brief introduction to Sufism and the Mevlevi (whirling) dervishes. In recent years the best selling poet in the U.S., Rumi is also beloved in Turkey, Persia, and Afghanistan (all countries where he lived) and in much of the world. The Mevlevi sufis are his spiritual heirs, and have influenced modern philosophers such as G.I Gurdjieff, who advocated a scientific approach to spiritual development. Shepherdstown resident, Hardy Mason, the evening’s speaker, was introduced to the Mevlevi way in 1980 and Gurdjieff’s methods in 1972. May 24th "Rumi and the Mevlevi Way in America" We are most fortunate to have the leader of the Mevlevi Order of America in the Shepherdstown area this month. Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi’s message of love beyond creed is desperately needed in the world today. Come help us celebrate the 800th anniversary of Rumi’s birth, and UNESCO’s International Year of Rumi, with Jelaluddin Loras leader of the Mevlevi Order of America. This event will include readings of Rumi’s poetry, sohbet (spiritual discussion), live music and a brief demonstration of Mevlevi whirling. Jelaluddin Loras came to Claymont (near Charles Town) with his father in 1980 in fulfillment of a prophecy that the Mevlevi way would be brought to the West. His father Suleyman Dede was the Mevlevi sheik of Konya, where Rumi spent his most productive years. He returns to Claymont after a period of 27 years on the occasion of the auspicious Year of Rumi. Weekend Retrerat with Jelaluddin Loras Jelaluddin Loras will return to Claymont for a weekend event May 25-28.The Claymont Society for Continuous Education was founded on the principles of G.I Gurdjieff and his student J.G. Bennett, who advocated scientific approaches to spiritual development. The Claymont Society sponsored early visits to America by a number of spiritual leaders including Thich Nhat Hanh, Songyal Rinpoche, and Sheik Muzafer of the Helveti dervishes, in addition to Suleyman Dede. See the Claymont website for more information on a unique opportunity: www.claymont.org/upcoming_sufievent.htm To learn more, contact Hardy Mason and Liz Kyle at 304-876-9268, or email: Hardymason@yahoo.com.
<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><
Fall 2006 Events:
Thursday, September 21, 2006, 7:00 pm
at the Byrd Center for Legislative Studies, Shepherd University
William Grassie, PhD.
Executive Director, Metanexus Institute for the Constructive Engagement of Science and Religion “Beyond Intelligent Design, Science Debates, & Culture Wars: Towards a Constructive Theology of Evolution”
The lecture gives a brief introduction to the theories of evolution, the variety of religious response to evolution, and in conclusion, a survey of some constructive theologies of evolution prominent among Christian thinkers today. Grassie distinguishes between "what happened when" in natural history and the "how and why" of evolutionary theories, arguing for theoretical pluralism that moves beyond random genetic drift and natural selection as the only engine of biodiversity. Grassie argues that this pluralistic view of biological complexity is more in harmony with a theological understanding of a creator God, who is "compassionate and merciful". He maintains that Intelligent Design theory is bad science and bad theology, but and that the current polarization does not help our students or the public understand the many important issues at stake in interpreting evolution. (You may download the presentation Dr Grassie has prepared for this event. It is the third article listed at http://www.metanexus.net/metanexus%5Fonline/about/people/wgrassie/) Our speaker is William "Billy" Grassie, founder and executive director, Metanexus Institute. Grassie also serves as executive editor of the Institute's online magazine and discussion forum with over 40,000 weekly page views and over 6000 regular subscribers in 57 different countries. He has taught in a variety of positions at Temple University, Swarthmore College and the University of Pennsylvania. Grassie received his doctorate in religion from Temple University in 1994 and his BA from Middlebury College in 1979. Prior to graduate school, Grassie worked for ten years in religiously-based social service and advocacy organizations in Washington, D.C; Jerusalem, Israel; Berlin, Germany; and Philadelphia, PA. He is the recipient of a number of academic awards and grants from the American Friends Service Committee, the Roothbert Fellowship, and the John Templeton Foundation. Grassie is a member of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers).
Thursday, October 19, 2006, 7:00 pm
Robert E. Ulanowicz, PhD.,
University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science “Does Science Proscribe Immanent Divine Action?”
It is commonly perceived that the laws of science are inexorable and exhaustive, leaving no "wiggle room" for God to intervene in the physical world in response to prayer. This assumption is predicated on a set of postulates about nature that were formulated during the Enlightenment. Contemporary research in ecosystems ecology reveals examples of biological phenomena that contradict each of those basic assumptions and suggest an alternative metaphysics that is both more accommodating of theistic beliefs and which also provides a more fruitful foundation for research in the life sciences. You may download Dr Ulanowicz's paper. Bio: Dr. Ulanowicz is Professor at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, and External Fellow at the Center for the Study of Biological Complexity at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia. He is a Lector and Extraordinary Minister in his Roman Catholic parish. He is a Core Participant in the "New Visions of Nature, Science and Religion at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Dr. Ulanowicz received his PhD from Johns Hopkins University. A chemical engineer by training, Dr. Ulanowicz’s early work at CBL involved research into Chesapeake Bay estuarine hydrography and modeling of ecological systems. He is the author of several books and articles on ecology and other topics. Visit his website for more detail on his recent work and publications, visit http://www.cbl.umces.edu/~ulan/
Thursday, Dec 7, 2006, 7:00 pm
James F. Nystrom, PhD.,
Shepherd University, Department of Mathematics and Computer Science
“Mechanism for the Simulation Argument”
In this three part talk, Jim Nystrom will begin with summarizing Nick Bostrom's [1] "Simulation Argument" and present the tripartite disjunction (Simulation Disjunction or SD) where Bostrom claims that at least one disjunct of the SD is true. One consequence therefrom could be that we are living in a computer simulation (created in fact by some type of posthuman society). In the second part Nystrom supposes a specific type of Dualism; then generalizes the SD and creates a Modified Simulation Disjunction (MSD) to encompass complete universe simulations. Finally he supposes that the Universe is a simulation (of the type suggested in the MSD), and therein Nystrom suggests that algorithmic control of a simulated Universe may be realized using Gravity and Mind as the mechanisms (or the teleological prime movers); thus identifying techniques for posthuman simulators to simulate the Universe as it is, rather than assuming, as Bostrom does, that the only simulation possibility is a type of masquerade. [1] Nick Bostrom. “Are You Living in a Computer Simulation?”, Philosophical Quarterly, 2003, Vol. 53, No. 211, pp. 243-255. http://www.simulation-argument.com/simulation.html BIOGRAPHY: Dr. J.F. (Jim) Nystrom is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Computer Sciences at Shepherd University. Jim holds an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering from Texas A&M University and three graduate degrees from the University of Idaho; including the PhD, covering the areas of computer science, physics, and electrical engineering. Jim is a computational scientist whose specialization is the research and development of algorithms for computational simulations. Jim's work has been published in leading academic journals and has been presented at international conferences both in the United States and in Europe. Jim is also the founder and leading advocate of an emergence computational style called "computational cosmography," wherein space enclosing geometrical forms are to replace the familiar binary bits as the fundamental element of computation. Website: http://webpages.shepherd.edu/JNYSTROM/ EXAMPLE SLIDES FROM PAST PRESENTATION: http://notendur.unak.is/not/jamesn/gravity_og_mind.pdf
Spring 2006 Events
Spring and Fall 2005 Events
back to Farzad Mahootian's Main Page