#832 Ursula Goodenough - The Sacred Depths of Nature: How Life Has Emerged and Evolved
RECORDED ON MAY 15th 2023.
Dr. Ursula Goodenough is a Professor of Biology Emerita at Washington University in St. Louis where she engaged in research on eukaryotic algae. She has presented the paradigm of Religious Naturalism and the Epic of Evolution in numerous venues around the world. She currently serves as president of the Religious Naturalist Association. She is the author of The Sacred Depths of Nature: How Life Has Emerged and Evolved.
In this episode, we focus on The Sacred Depths of Nature. We talk about “why” questions surrounding existence, meaning, purpose, and developing a sense of mystery. We go through topics in evolutionary biology, like the origins of life; biochemistry and emergence; the self; the origins of evolution and biodiversity; the evolution of multicellular organisms; sexual reproduction, and the evolution of nurture; and death. We discuss the tenets of Religious Naturalism, and the intellectual schism between religion and science. We talk about the existential, spiritual, and moral domains of Religious Naturalism. We discuss how it deals with traditional religions, how science can elicit religious-like responses from people, and the risk of nihilism.
Time Links:
Intro
Meaning, purpose, and a sense of mystery
The origins of life
Emergent phenomena
The self, from the perspective of evolutionary biology
Evolution and biodiversity
The evolution of multicellular organisms
Sexual reproduction, and the evolution of nurture
Dealing with death
The tenets of Religious Naturalism
The intellectual schism between religion and science
How Religious Naturalism approaches existential questions
Dealing with traditional religions
The moral dimension of Religious Naturalism
How can science elicit religious-like responses from people?
The risk of nihilism
Follow Dr. Goodenough’s work!
Follow Dr. Goodenough’s work:
Faculty page: http://bit.ly/3wakbAG
Religious Naturalist Association: https://bit.ly/3W3sDhw
Works on ResearchGate: https://bit.ly/3QMfpTu
The Secret Depths of Nature: https://bit.ly/3GPflOu