Princeton Project: Evolution and Human Nature
Posted 29 July 2011 by Dominic
The Center of Theological Inquiry at Princeton will convene an interdisciplinary research team of theologians and scientists in residence during 2012-2013 to address questions of nature and nurture raised by the biological evolution of human beings. The project is entitled “Evolution and Human Nature” and will be led by two Senior Research Fellows: Celia Deane-Drummond, University of Notre Dame, and Dominic Johnson, University of Edinburgh. The work of the research team will include international symposia and seminars with leading scholars such as Melvin Konner, Emory University, Sarah Coakley, University of Cambridge, Simon Conway Morris, University of Cambridge, Wentzel van Huyssteen, Princeton Theological Seminary, Niels Gregersen, University of Copenhagen, and Angela Creager, Princeton University.
The Center of Theological Inquiry welcomes proposals to explore how the explosion of new research in evolutionary biology, psychology, and anthropology is challenging and changing our understanding of human nature and development, not least in relation to religion and theological accounts of the human condition. Our field of inquiry encompasses these evolutionary and human sciences, theological anthropology, practical theology, psychology of religion, religious studies, and the history and philosophy of science. Applications will be considered from scholars in relevant disciplines offering fresh thinking on the topic, including the core questions of nature and nurture and the relationship between religion, culture, and human evolution. How have the human capacities for religion and culture evolved? What do theology and the sciences contribute to our understanding of the evolution of human beings over time? How might philosophy and theology engage the assumptions in the science of human evolution?
The Center of Theological Inquiry will award 8 Research Fellowships of up to $70,000 and 2 Postdoctoral Fellowships of $40,000. Applications will be considered for the full year or a semester, with fellowships awarded pro rata. The full Request for Proposals (RFP) and the required application forms will be available for downloading from our website (under PROGRAM / APPLY) from September 1 - November 30, 2011. The closing date for applications and all supporting documents is November 30, 2011. Applications may be submitted by mail to the Center or electronic attachment to apply@ctinquiry.org. Only completed applications received by the November 30, 2011 deadline will be considered.
CTI is also announcing the research topics for Years 2 & 3, as part of its three year Project on New Approaches in Theological Inquiry, 2012 - 2015, under the leadership of Robin Lovin, Southern Methodist University, and Friederike Nüssel, Heidelberg University: 2013-14 - Religious Experience & Moral Identity, and 2014-15 - Law & Religious Freedom (in collaboration with the Law and Public Affairs Program at Princeton University). The Requests for Proposals for these two years at CTI will be announced in the spring of the preceding year. The Center of Theological Inquiry will also award 8 Research Fellowships of up to $70,000 and 2 Postdoctoral Fellowships of $40,000 in each of these two years.
The Research Fellowships for all three years of this project are supported by a major grant from the John Templeton Foundation.
Posted in Meetings, Religion, Religion and Science | No Comments »