Ian Barbour

Winifred and Atherton Bean Professor Emeritus of Science, Technology and Society, Carleton College

(1) Religion in an Age of Science (2) Ethics in an Age of Technology

In his first series of lectures, Barbour raises important questions of theology and provides a guide for the development of the field. He is concerned with five features of the scientific age: the scientific method, the new view of nature, the next context for theology, the role of religion in a globalised age, and the ambiguous power of technology. In his second series, he ‘deals with the challenges to ethics arising from technology and applied science’.

Biography

Ian Graeme Barbour was born on 5 October 1923 in Beijing. His work, Issues in Science and Religion, ‘has been credited with literally creating the contemporary field of science and religion’ according to PBS. While studying at the University of Chicago, he served as a teaching assistant to Enrico Fermi. After completing his PhD in 1949, he became Professor of Physics at Kalamazoo College, and in 1953, he enrolled at Yale Divinity School. Barbour retired as Winifred and Atherton Bean Professor Emeritus of Science, Technology, and Society at Carleton College in 2013.

Awarded the Templeton Prize in 1999 for Progress in Religion, he was recognised for his efforts to create a dialogue between science and religion. He used cloning as an example of science’s ability to say what is possible and religion’s ability to reflect on what is desirable. Important works include Earth Might be Fair: Reflections on Ethics, Religion and Ecology (1971), Myths, Models and Paradigms (1974), Technology, Environment and Human Values (1980), Religion and Science: Historical and Contemporary Issues (1997), and Nature, Human Nature and God (2002).

Published/Archival Resources

Published as Religion in an Age of Science, Ethics in an Age of Technology.