Exploring the evolution of human dignity, this book examines its significance in post-war ethics and politics through the lenses of the Vatican, the United Nations, and U.S. Federal Bioethics. It highlights how these institutions have shaped and influenced the understanding of dignity in contemporary discourse, offering insights into the moral and ethical implications for society. Through a detailed analysis, the work sheds light on the intersection of faith, global governance, and bioethical standards in shaping human rights.
Focusing on the intersection of faith and science, this book reveals the involvement of Christian theologians collaborating with scientists to explore the ethical dimensions of stem cell research. It highlights the unexpected support from these theologians for scientific advancements, countering common perceptions. Through their narratives, the authors provide a historical overview of stem cell science and articulate reasons for faith communities to embrace and advocate for research in this field.
The book delves into protocell technology, examining its ability to generate simple life forms from nonliving materials. Experts discuss the potential advantages of this groundbreaking science, alongside the associated risks and ethical considerations. Through various perspectives, the text highlights the implications of creating life and the responsibilities that come with such advancements, making it a thought-provoking exploration of the intersection between science and morality.
With the publication of Darwin’s The Origin of Species, problems once limited to the domain of human activity, were extended to all of nature. Human society, whatever else one might think about it, was seen as fundamentally characterized by the play of violent forces – scarcity, competition, domination. With Darwinian evolution this play of forces appeared to be at work throughout nature. Violence and suffering, it seems, are not merely the vicissitudes of life; they are the very condition of its possibility. If the problem of evil had been asked of human nature, it can now be asked of the structure of biological life itself. Is violence and suffering so essential to evolutionary history that biological life cannot be conceived without it? And do these evolutionary forces, whether conceived as the Darwinian “survival of the fittest” or the Neo-Darwinian “selfish gene,” indicate that human beings are biologically biased to commit acts of violence, especially violence offering genetic advantage, such as genocide? If the answer to such questions is affirmative, then theological questions abound. Do violence and suffering, as basic conditions of life, render the idea of a creator God untenable? Do these elements of nature exhibit divine will? Does nature, marked by survival of the fittest, fit within God’s purpose for creation? Can we expect redemption or transformation? The collection of essays in this book provides answers to these questions. In doing so they attempt to clarify the problem of evil as shaped by evolutionary biology, examining its scientific, historical, philosophical, and theological elements, and offering the beginnings of a Christian theodicy adequate to it.
