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On Saturday, April 14th the Thomistic institute hosted a conference on “Creation and Modern Science”.  The three speakers both clarified the terms of and entered into some of the hottest topics of debate concerning physics, creation, evolution, human origins, original sin, human thought and neuroscience.

William Carroll delivered an enlightening paper that offered a Thomistic response to the contemporary debates concerning physics and creation.  Carroll argued that since the natural sciences are only concerned with change, it is the concern of metaphysics to indicate the necessity of a creator.  Cosmology can point to the need for an origin of motion, but one can only arrive at a radical foundation for existence (i.e. creation) through arguments that are properly metaphysical.  He proposed that it is a mistake to use arguments from the natural sciences to deny creation (as do Stephen Hawking and Lawrence Krauss) but it is also a mistake to use arguments from the natural sciences to argue for creation (as do Robert Spitzer and William Craig).

Fr. Nicanor Austriaco, O.P. gave a lively presentation that attempted to show the harmony of magisterial teaching and recent developments in human genomics.   All human beings may have descended from a small population in Africa that survived after the eruption of a supervolcano in Indonesia.  Fr. Austriaco argued that it is not inconsistent with faith to suppose that God directly infused such a group with rational souls and grace but that this same population quickly fell into sin.

Edward Fesser offered an informative paper outlining several different arguments to show that human thought is not explainable simply in terms of material processes.  He opened with some arguments from neo-scholastic authors but focused on an argument from James Ross based on the determinacy of formal thinking.  Fesser was careful to note that thought has both material and immaterial aspects.  To acknowledge the material aspects of thought (e.g. the use of a mental image as formed by the brain) is not a desperate concession to modern science, but an unsurprising consequence of hylomorphism.

[Report by Br. Raymond Snyder, O.P.]

Fr. Nicanor Austriaco, OP, associate professor of biology and instructor of theology at Providence College, is to be a featured presenter at an upcoming Vatican conference on adult steam cell research.  The conference, entitled “Adult Stem Cells: Science and the Future of Man and Culture“, begins today (Wednesday) and is gathering 350 scientists, religious figures, politicians, educators and industry representatives.  The opening address will be given by Hon. Tommy Thompson, the former Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.  Fr. Austriaco’s topic will be “Will the Advancement of Life Sciences Change Our Vision of Man?”

The Conference is a three-day international conference on adult stem cells and the promise they hold for health care.  It is described by its organizers as, “an exclusive event targeting a select number of participants, including the foremost experts in Adult Stem Cell research along with recognized leaders in the life sciences, medicine, religion, ethics, and public policy.”  The sponsors for the conference include the U.S. Stem for Life Foundation and by the Pontifical Council for Culture.

On November 9-11, 2011, the Pontifical Council for Culture will host a conference at the Vatican on Adult Stem Cells: Science and the Future of Man and Culture. Fr. Nicanor Pier Giorgio Austriaco, O.P., Assistant Professor of Biology at Providence College, will give a talk as part of the conference titled “Will The Advancement of Life Sciences Change Our Vision of Man?” Below is the abstract of his paper:

One of the most significant philosophical developments of the past five hundred years involved the replacement of the substantial view of the human person pioneered by Aristotle and Aquinas with the more mechanistic view championed by Descartes. This change has had profound ramifications on how we understand the nature of the human being at all stages of his biological development. It has also made it difficult for philosophers to provide a coherent account of the identity and continuity of the human organism. However, recent developments in the life sciences, especially in the emerging field of systems biology, provide us with conceptual tools to recover a more substantial view that better explains the constitution of the human organism than its mechanistic rival.

The conference will take place at the Aula Nuovo del Sinodo in Vatican City. For more information, visit the conference website, or read this story about the June 2011 press conference announcing the event.

Medical Students, Residents and Medical Professionals Gathering at St. Catherine of Siena Church, New York City

The Dominican Friars Healthcare Ministry of New York is hosting a gathering of medical students, residents and medical professionals at the Church of St. Catherine of Siena on Sunday, July 31, from 1-3 PM (following the noon Mass). To RSVP, email jsullivan.siena@gmail.com or call 212-988-8300. The Church of Saint Catherine of Siena is located at 411 E. 68th St., New York, NY 10065.

iBreviary, a popular tool for cell phones and devices such as the iPhone and iPod which may also be accessed online, provides the texts of the Liturgy of the Hours for each day of the year. Recently, the English version of iBreviary began including specifically Dominican prayers and readings for Dominican feasts such as Bl. Adrian Fortescue, an optional memorial today, or St. John of Cologne, who will be celebrated as an obligatory memorial by Dominicans tomorrow. These elements are taken from the Proprium Ordinis Praedicatorum, a supplement to the Liturgy of the Hours published by the Order.  The official Latin texts of this supplement have been approved for liturgical use by the Holy See.  However, there are currently no English translations of the Dominican propers to the Breviary that have been approved for liturgical use, and therefore these texts in English may only be used privately.

In the web version shown below, click on Office of Readings, Lauds or Vespers to see the Dominican propers.