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DATE |
SPEAKER /
RESPONDENT |
TOPIC |
VIDEO |
Thurs Jan 25, 4:30-6:00 pm,
Wolff Auditorium, Jepson (JP 114) |
George
Watson, Philosophy, Gonzaga |
"
What
Price Wisdom? Ignorance and the Path
to Understanding"
Suppose there were men who had always
lived under the Earth ... Suddenly, there was an
Earthquake and they were able to make their way up to
the surface of the Earth. There, they saw the Seas and
Skies, the Clouds, felt the Winds, saw how the Sun lit
up the entire World, how Dawn followed the Night, how
Day followed the Dawn and Evening came before the
Night. Then, how the Stars appeared and moved across
the Night with the Planets and the Moon. Would they not think Divine hands had made this Universe possible? --Cicero
quoting from a lost dialogue of Aristotle, On the
Nature of the Gods (2. 37. 95-96) If it is the case
that we are living in increasingly Post-Christian World,
from whence, then, might wisdom be found? If wisdom
requires that one search for it via the light of Truth,
what metron may we use to discover what is the
purest light? I would ask us to
jointly examine a few passages from Greek Drama and
Philosophy and juxtapose them with a few passages from
the Bible so that we might ponder what may be gained and
lost if we no longer believe that humans are made in the
Image and Likeness of their Creator. Using Plato’s Meno as the
starting point, we may end up pondering Parmenides’
admonition to Socrates that wisdom is the rarest of the
gifts from God. George Watson
attended the University of California, the
Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology, Notre
Dame, Gonzaga and the University of Idaho,
obtaining undergraduate degrees in cognitive
science, philosophy, history, literature and the
classics and graduate degrees in philosophy,
education and the teaching of mathematics. He has
taught mathematics, physics, chemistry, English,
Latin, religion, history, robotics, computer
science and drama at various Catholic secondary
schools. Mr. Watson has also taught philosophy at
Seattle University, the University of San
Francisco, the Dominican School of Philosophy and
Theology, and the University of California.
Currently a lecturer in the Gonzaga Philosophy
Department, Watson has been known to pose a myriad
of philosophical questions to the students and
faculty of Gonzaga.
|
|
Thurs Feb 8, 7:00-8:30 pm, Coughlin Theater, Woldson Performing Arts Center, Gonzaga University | Fr
Robert J. Spitzer, S.J., Ph.D.,
President, Magis Center; Former Gonzaga President |
"Why Is There Increasing
Openness to Transcendent Intelligence in Big Bang
Cosmology?"
Talk co-sponsored
with the Gonzaga Faith & Reason Institute
Today, scientists are more open to
belief in the transcendent than ever before. In the
last Pew Survey of the American Association for the
Advancement of Science, 51% of scientists overall and
66% of young scientists declared themselves to be
believers in God or a higher transcendent power. What
has produced this sharp increase in theism? Fr.
Spitzer will consider three major reasons: i. The
evidence
of the high unlikelihood of eternal inflation and an
infinite multiverse (by Stephen Hawking, Thomas
Hertog, and others) has reignited the problem of
fine-tuning for life in the exceedingly, exceedingly
improbable initial conditions and constants of our
universe. ii. The
increasing
acknowledgement (even among atheists such as Thomas
Nagel) that physical processes and structures alone
cannot explain the quantum and mind-like dimensions of
our universe. iii. The
recent
peer-reviewed medical studies of near death
experiences and terminal lucidity that present
convincing evidence (summarized in the 2022 Annals of
the New York Academy of Sciences) of a credible
possibility of consciousness surviving bodily death.
Rev.
Robert J. Spitzer, S.J. Ph.D., is a Jesuit
priest, teacher, author, and lecturer on topics
ranging from ethics, philosophy, and the relationship
between modern physics and Christian faith. Fr.
Spitzer has academic degrees from the Gregorian
University and the Weston School (Cambridge), and a
Ph.D. in Philosophy from the Catholic University of
America and has taught philosophy and business ethics
at Georgetown University and Seattle University. Fr
Spitzer led Gonzaga University as President from 1998
to 2009, at which time he significantly increased
programs and curricula in faith, ethics, service, and
leadership, guided efforts to build 20 new facilities,
increased the student population by 75%, raised more
than $200 million for scholarships and capital
projects, and founded the Gonzaga Faith & Reason
Institute. Fr
Spitzer has made many television appearances and
currently appears weekly on EWTN in “Father Spitzer’s
Universe.” Among Fr. Spitzer’s many works are the
books The Soul’s Upward Yearning: Clues to Our
Transcendent Nature from Experience and Reason;
The Light Shines on in The Darkness: Transforming
Suffering through Faith; New Proofs for the
Existence of God: Contributions to Late Twentieth
Century Physics and Philosophy; Evidence for
God from Contemporary Science and Philosophy,
and the recently released Science at the Doorstep
to God: Science and Reason in Support of God, the
Soul, and Life after Death (Ignatius 2023). Fr
Spitzer currently directs the Magis Center on
Science, Reason, and Faith,
which offers Fr. Spitzer’s unique take on the
complementarity of faith & reason as found in the
Catholic Intellectual Tradition and in dialogue with
contemporary philosophy and natural science.
“What’s Missing in Contemporary
Approaches to Business Ethics? The Devaluation of
Principles, Conscience, and Faith” Aram Lecture, Gonzaga School of
Business Administration Wednesday, February 7, 7 pm |
|
Mon Mar 25 (probable) | speaker TBA |
"TBA" More information soon!
|
|
Mon Apr 15 (probable) | speaker
TBA |
"TBA"
More information
soon! |
INFORMATION
For information about the Gonzaga Socratic Club or to
propose topics or speakers for future meetings, contact the
Club Director: