Natural Philosophy
FEATURED GRANT
The Fitness of the Cosmos for Life: Biochemistry and Fine-Tuning
Pamela Bond Contractor, President
Ellipsis Enterprises, Inc. (Flemington NJ)
Dr. Owen J. Gingerich, Professor of Astronomy
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (Cambridge
MA)
This
grant supported an exploratory interdisciplinary conference and publication project
commemorating a dual anniversary in science: L.J. Henderson's 1913
"biocentric" hypothesis and Fred Hoyle's 1953 discovery of the "triple-alpha"
reaction synthesis of carbon-12 in stars. Fitness explored the question
of whether analogs exist in biochemistry that broadly correspond to
"fine tunings" in physics and cosmology. The conference was held
in 2003 and an edited volume is forthcoming.
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Sample Grants
| Grant Title |
Award Date |
Grant Amount |
| |
- High Profile Debates: Theism versus Atheism
Dinesh D'Souza, Writer and Public Intellectual
This grant supports 6 public debates between Dinesh D'Souza and leading public atheists (including Dan Barker, Daniel Dennett, Christopher Hitchens, Michael Shermer, and Walter Sinnott-Armstrong) on the campuses of universities across the United States - Biola University, California Institute of Technology, Dartmouth College, George Washington University, Harvard University, and Tufts University - and at the 2008 National Religious Broadcasters' Convention. D'Souza argues in defense of theism, specifically Christianity, and incorporates contemporary scientific findings in the logic of his arguments.
|
November 2007 |
$90,000 |
- Templeton Royal Society Lectures on the Nature of Human Knowledge and Understanding
The Royal Society (London UK) - These
grants support a lecture series curated and organized by the Royal Society on
the nature of human knowledge and understanding.
|
June 2004 |
$281,885 |
- Nature in Belief: Evolutionary Explanation, Biological Function, and Religious Purpose
Professor James K. A. Smith, Director
Seminars in Christian Scholarship
Calvin College (Grand Rapids MI)
Professor Alvin Plantinga, John A. O'Brien Chair
Department of Philosophy
University of Notre Dame (Notre Dame IN)
Professor Jeffrey P. Schloss
Biology Department
Westmont College (Santa Barbara CA) - This research
grant surveyed the leading evolutionary theories of biological purpose and
religious function, and assessed these notions both philosophically and
theologically. A subsequent conference was held to discuss the research findings,
and an edited volume of essays is currently being prepared for publication.
|
September 2003 |
$203,845 |
- New Visions of Nature, Science, and Religion: Biophysical and Human Nature
Professor James D. Proctor, Director
Environmental Studies Program
Lewis and Clark College (Portland OR)
- This research grant examines four contemporary visions of nature and their scientific and theological dimensions. These four visions include evolutionary nature, emergent nature, nature as sacred, and nature as culture. The program is hosting workshops, conferences, public lectures, courses, and at least one visiting fellow each year.
|
September 2003 |
$745,652 |
- Is Nature Enough? Meaning and Truth in the Age of Science
Professor John F. Haught, Distinguished Research Professor of Theology
Founder and Director
Center for the Study of Science & Religion
Georgetown University (Washington DC)
- This grant supported research and writing of a book on the nature of Nature. Cambridge University Press published Is Nature Enough? Meaning and Truth in the Age of Science in 2006.
|
August 2004 |
$52,500 |
