This collection contains revised versions of selected papers presented at the Practicing Science: Virtues, Values, and the Good Life conference at the Notre Dame London Global Gateway in August 2018. Keynote speakers at the conference included Kristján Kristjánsson (Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues) with response by Darcia Narvaez (University of Notre Dame), Andrew Pinsent (Ian Ramsey Centre for Science and Religion) with response by Antje Jackelén (Church of Sweden), Michael Spezio (Scripps College), and Matthew Stanley (New York University Gallatin School of Individualized Study) with response by Don Howard (University of Notre Dame). We are grateful for the insightful reflections offered by Fern Elsdon-Baker (University of Birmingham), Gerald McKenny (University of Notre Dame), and Michael Welker (University of Heidelberg), which concluded the conference.
The conference was the culmination of the transdisciplinary Developing Virtues in the Practice of Science research project, supported by a grant from the Templeton Religion Trust and led by Celia Deane-Drummond, Darcia Narvaez, and Thomas A. Stapleford at the University of Notre Dame. Transdisciplinary work of this kind requires humility, curiosity, and a certain measure of risk, and we were fortunate to be able to work with a dedicated and adventurous team of scholars, including Dori Beeler, Louise Bezuidenhout, Emily Dumler-Winckler, Emanuele Ratti, Timothy S. Reilly, Fionagh Thomson, and Nathaniel A. Warne. The team’s work was augmented by the analysis of Mark Graves and enhanced by work with graduate students Char Brecevic, Michelle A. Marvin, Nicholas Ogle, and Michael Yankoski.
This project benefited from external advisors’ engagement; they also served as session chairs at the conference: Markus Christen (University of Zurich), Jeanne Nakamura (Claremont Graduate University), Yulia Egorova (Durham University), Rayna Rapp (New York University), and Michael Spezio (Scripps College). We especially thank Markus and Michael for contributing to the conference as speakers.
We thank all of the short paper contributors who elevated the discussion with their fresh perspectives which now appear in this collection: Jennifer Baker (College of Charleston), Jordan Droira (University of Oklahoma), Eranda Jayawickreme (Wake Forest University), Daniel Kuebler (Franciscan University of Steubenville), Braden Molhoek (Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences), and Gregory R. Peterson (South Dakota State University). Musharraf Hussain (Karimia Institute), Matias Petersen (University of the Andes), Irena Schneider (King’s College London), and Mara-Daria Cojocaru (Munich School of Philosophy) also delivered short papers.
The conference was made possible by grants from the Templeton Religion Trust and from the Institute for Scholarship in the Liberal Arts, College of Arts and Letters, University of Notre Dame. We have many people to thank for the organization of this event, including Rebecca Artinian-Kaiser, Christina Leblang, Katie Zakas Rutledge, Lauri Roberts, and Kristen Garvin-Podell, and we also thank the staff at the Notre Dame London Gateway for creating such a hospitable environment for the conference.
This ebook is the final project of the Center for Theology, Science, and Human Flourishing. We gratefully acknowledge Laura Donnelly for her organizational assistance in the early stages, Catherine Osbourne for excellent copyediting support, and especially Katie Zakas Rutledge, who with great diligence guided this ebook from its creation to completion.
