Knowledge is power. Those three simple words from Francis Bacon captured the spirit of the Scientific Revolution and inspired five centuries of scientists to follow knowledge like a sinking star beyond the utmost bounds of human thought. In a relatively short span mankind has developed medical treatment for previously incurable diseases, created technologies to connect and communicate across continents, and built planes and rockets to ‘slip the surly bonds of earth to touch the face of God.’ Yet the Scientific Revolution destroyed as well as created—from atomic bombs to disintegrate the body to artificial intelligence threatening to destroy the mind.
What are or ought to be the limits of science? Is ceaseless innovation the sole task of science, or is science answerable to a higher form of knowledge? What is the relationship between science and philosophy or science and religion? What role does science play in the good life? Join us for Science and the Good Life a daylong workshop for high school students and teachers on Saturday, November 14th from 9am to 3pm at the Penn Newman Center.
This workshop will begin with the annual Gold Mass for Catholic Scientists at St. Agatha-St. James Church at 9am celebrated by Fr. Christian Wagner, SJ, a biotechnology professor at St. Joseph’s University. The Gold Mass is open to all interested members of the public, and will be followed by a brunch reception. Members of the general public interested in attending the Gold Mass may RSVP here.
After the breakfast reception, Prof. Nicolas Alvarez will deliver a keynote lecture on Engineering and the Good Life followed by a Q&A period as well as breakout discussions. After the breakout discussion, Felipe Martins, a PhD candidate in Physics at the University of Pennsylvania will perform a series of experiments with students and teachers illustrating the meaning and mechanics of science and its role in the good life. After lunch, Dr. Daniel Cheely will help facilitate a conversation on the history of science and religion and the role of science in the good life based on a course he is currently teaching at the University of Pennsylvania.
Schedule:
9:00 - 10:00 AM: Gold Mass for Catholic Scientists
10:00 - 10:30 AM: Breakfast Reception
10:30 AM - 12:00 PM: Keynote Lecture on Engineering and the Good Life by Prof. Nicolas Alvarez (Drexel) and Small Groups
12:00 - 1:00 PM: Experiments with Felipe Martins (University of Pennsylvania)
1:00 - 1:30 PM: Lunch
1:30 - 3:00 PM: “Science and the Good Life: On Histories of Science and Religion” with Dr. Daniel Cheely (PRRUCS)
Priority registration deadline: Wednesday, September 30
If you would like your school to be credited as a partnering institution for this workshop in particular, or for the Young Catholic Leaders Initiative in general, please contact Jose Perez-Benzo (jperezbenzo@collegiuminstitute.org).