The concept of nature + ALV

When:

13 October 2010

16:30 Hour - 00:00 Hour

Event organizer:Philosophy & Technology

Pricing 0:Free

Description

This is also the fifth meeting of the annual theme "Philosophy, Technology and Philosophy".

The theme "Philosophy, Technology and Philosophy" will be presented by special professors of the Thomas More Foundation at various public Dutch Universities. For further information, e-mail a.j.lutz@hccnet.nl. On the part of the Thomas More Foundation, the programme will be coordinated by Drs S.J.M. Waanders. Website: http://www.radboudstichting.nl/

The concept of 'nature' in technology, philosophy and religion I: From pre-modern to modern thinking
Lynn White, in Science (1967) on the historical roots of our ecological crisis, posited the thesis: by Christianity, nature has been desecrated and there lies the origin of environmental crisis. We will discuss three figures to nuance this thesis: Francis, Descartes and Pascal. First, Francis (1182-1226). In his Song of the Sun, we are introduced to the pre-modern medieval Christian worldview: nature and man are related to God in a big way. After the rise of natural science, Descartes (1596-1650) searched for certainty, and found a certain starting point in his cogito ergo sum. More than Christianity, he saddled us with a nature that could be studied and controlled. Because of his thinking, we are stuck with dualism of an inner world and outer world, mind and matter, soul and body. For how do body and mind work together? Still the questions with that dualism are unresolved. And finally, perhaps Blaise Pascal (1623 -1662) aptly formulated that multiple approaches are possible side by side. He was younger than Descartes and also a great physicist and mathematician. But he sees that there is another world besides mathematical certainty: "the heart has its reasons, which reason does not know". This reflection on the time of the emergence of the natural scientific and technical approach to nature, with the question of what may have been lost in the process, gives rise to questions such as: what is a right attitude towards nature? Do we control nature or does nature control us? Is there a middle ground between exaggerated optimism or pessimism towards the technical control of nature by technology. And can religions, by paying attention to vulnerability, moderation and simplicity or sobriety, contribute to the right handling of nature and the environment?

The General Assembly will be held from 4.30pm to 6.15pm.
The agenda is as follows:
1. Opening
2. Announcements
3. Discussion and adoption of annual accounts 2009
- secretarial annual report
- financial annual report
- findings of the audit committee
- discharge in respect of finances and the policy pursued by the Philosophy & Technology Section
4. Orientation on the programme for 2011
5. Discussion with and proposals by members
6. Anything else on the table
7. Closing of the ALV

Between the AGM and the lecture, there will be the possibility of enjoying a sandwich meal. Please state in your registration whether you would like to make use of this.

SPECIALITIES
The hall will be open for the ALV from 4 pm or for the lecture at 6.30 pm for free coffee or tea and a chat. PARTICIPATION IN EITHER PART OF THE PROGRAMME IS THEREFORE ALSO POSSIBLE. IF YOU ONLY WISH TO ATTEND THE LECTURE, WE WELCOME YOU FROM 6.30PM.

ROUTE DESCRIPTION
From the station hall of Utrecht CS, walk straight through the entire passage through Hoog Catharijne towards the city centre. When you arrive at the square, the Vredenburg 19 meeting centre is on your left, above C & A. When you get down, walk diagonally left along the walls of the building site, the square and the street (Vredenburg) have to be crossed. On the ground floor, there is only an entrance hall with lifts and a notice board with the hall number, to the left of the C & A windows, next to the shoe shop Breugel. Parking facilities include NH hotels.

Speaker(s)

Prof G.H.T. (Bert) Blans was born in Amsterdam in 1947. Studied theology and philosophy at Eindhoven and Nijmegen. Then philosophy at Leuven, where he obtained his PhD in 1975. From 1973 to the present, he has taught philosophy at the former Catholic Theological College/University in Utrecht, now the Faculty of Catholic Theology in Tilburg and Utrecht. Since 1990, on behalf of the Thomas More Foundation, formerly Radboud Foundation, he has worked as an extraordinary professor at Wageningen University. His teaching mainly concerns history of philosophy, philosophy of religion and ethics. His current research is on the impact of Augustine on contemporary philosophers. Because of his appointment at Wageningen, he also researches our dealings with nature and the environment, which was also the subject of his inaugural address there.

N.B. Bert Blans will give a second lecture The concept of nature in technology, philosophy and religion II on 10 November