Are We Alone? Reason, Religion, and the Search for Life in the Universe

A virtual presentation by Professor Ariel Anbar

EVENT CO-HOSTED BY:

ABOUT THIS EVENT: The religions of the world – including Jewish tradition – give humanity a central role. The clash between science and religion is fundamentally a consequence of science demoting humanity from this pedestal. Astronomy, which has been central to the growth of science in the West, has taught us that we are not at the center of anything, at least in terms of physics and chemistry. We have learned that we are in a corner of the universe that is typical, not exceptional. But is the same true of biology? That is what we are going to find out as we search for life on other worlds. In this session, we will review the state of the search and its future prospects, and explore how the tension between science and religion may respond to what we discover.

This project is part of a national program entitled “Scientists in Synagogues,” a grass-roots initiative run by Sinai and Synapses in consultation with the American Association for the Advancement of Science Dialogue on Science, Ethics and Religion, and funded by the John Templeton Foundation, along with other individual donors.