An atheist chemist and a Christian philosopher discuss why human beings have worth.
The large majority of us assume that there is something unique about human beings. Human value is intuitive to us. But what does it mean that human beings are valuable? What makes a human being distinct from other living things, if at all? Why do human beings have worth? How might a Christian or an atheist find common ground on these questions, and how might they differ? Are our answers to these questions consistent with our religious or non-religious worldview? Does our answer to these questions have any relevance to life?
Come hear two scholars from different worldviews discuss why human beings have value.
Bring a friend and your questions for audience Q&A. Priority seating to OSU affiliates.
Speaker Bios:
Ivana Nikolic Hughes, Columbia
Department of Chemistry
Ivana Nikolic Hughes is a Senior Lecturer in Discipline in the Department of Chemistry at Columbia, and the Director of Frontiers of Science, a science course required of all Columbia College first-year students. Ivana graduated from Caltech in 1999 with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering, with Honors and earned her PhD from Stanford University in 2005, working in the Department of Biochemistry as an American Heart Association Fellow. The topic of her PhD was enzymatic catalysis and protein evolution in the alkaline phosphatase superfamily.
Ivana’s current research interests focus on nuclear technologies as part of the K=1 Project, Center for Nuclear Studies at Columbia. Recent work has addressed radiological conditions in the Marshall Islands, the site of US nuclear weapons testing in the 1940s and 1950s. Ivana speaks widely about nuclear weapons, climate change, and other science-related topics.
Peter John Kreeft, Boston College
Department of Philosophy
Peter Kreeft, Ph.D., is a professor of philosophy at Boston College. He loves his five grandchildren, four children, one wife, one cat, and one God. His 75 books include: Handbook of Christian Apologetics, Christianity for Modern Pagans, Fundamentals of the Faith
Watch a recording of the event:
Sponsored by: Ratio Christi & Cru at OSU