Talks Examine Faith and Science, Humility

The Provost’s Office and the Gaede Institute for the Liberal Arts co-­host two free, public lectures Feb. 9 and 11 at Westmont, featuring Elaine Ecklund, Herbert S. Autry professor of sociology at Rice University, and David McNaughton, professor of philosophy at Florida State University.

Ecklund explores “What Scientists Think about Faith and What People think About Science and Why We Should Care” in a Pascal Society Lecture on Monday, Feb. 9, at 3:30 p.m. in Winter Hall’s Darling Foundation Lecture Hall (Room 210).

“For decades, there has been conflict between religion and science,” Ecklund says, “but are all scientists really against religion? And are all Christians really against science?”

Ecklund will discuss what scientists think about faith and what people of faith think about science using her 10 years of research on the subject.

McNaughton examines “Humility: From Sacred Virtue to Secular Vice” in an Erasmus Society Lecture on Wednesday, Feb. 11, at 3:30 p.m. in Hieronymus Lounge at Westmont’s Kerrwood Hall.

McNaughton will consider how some virtues, like humility, rise and fall in importance over time or move beyond the domain of virtue altogether. He will examine the benefits of humility and probe whether it’s possible to rescue it from a secular context and once again admire it as a virtue.

The Gaede Institute, which co-sponsors a variety of faculty-organized lectures, promotes the continued vitality of the liberal arts tradition in American higher education.