Nicholas and Bernice Reuter Lecture Series
Lethal Autonomous Robots and the Plight of the Noncombatant
Professor Ronald Arkin, Regents' Professor and Associate Dean for Research and Space Planning at Georgia TechThis talk will encourage others to think of ways to approach the issues of restraining lethal autonomous systems from illegal or immoral actions in the context of both International Humanitarian and Human Rights Law, whether through technology or legislation. Co-sponsored with the Norman L. Ford Science Literacy Lecture Series.
Faith and Climate Change: a Meteorologist's View
Gary Eichten, renowned host from MPR's Midday, will interview StarTribune meteorologist Paul Douglas on the intersection of faith and climate change. In his most recent encyclical, "Laudato Si," Pope Francis has called climate change "One of the principle challenges facing humanity today" and "a shared responsibility." Paul Douglas will discuss both the most current science regarding earth's climate and his recognition as a committed Christian that finding responsible ways to deal with this change is part of the Christian call to stewardship.
Science, Religion and Public Policy
Dr. Ken Miller, biologist from Brown University,offers a definitive, ironclad, and, in its own way, beautiful, argument for the theory of evolution. As a scientist and a Roman Catholic, he believes God and Darwin's Theory of Evolution can co-exist. Dr. Miller is the author of bestseller Finding Darwin's God.
God, Evolution, and the Problem of Evil
Dr. Christopher Southgate is a Research Fellow in Theology at the University of Exeter and also Acting Principal and Dean of Studies for the South-West Church of England ministry program. His main fields of study are the science-religion debate, ecotheology and environmental ethics. His book The Groaning of Creation: God, Evolution and the Problem of Evil is one of the best studies of the question of evil and the goodness of God (theodicy in theological parlance) in light of evolutionary theory. Chris has also published seven collections of poetry, including a verse biography of T.S. Eliot - A Love and its Sounding (Salzburg, 1997).