Of all the scientific disciplines, cosmology may be the most directly relevant
to classical philosophical and religious concerns. This conference brings some
of the world’s leading cosmologists and process philosophers together for
an intense three days of dialogue and debate. On the agenda: multiverse
theory, the Anthropic Principle, “process cosmologies,” evolving universes,
the question of purpose and design, and the religious significance of recent
breakthroughs in cosmology.
David Ray Griffin
Professor Emeritus, Claremont School of Theology
"An Introduction to Process Cosmology"
David Ray Griffin is professor emeritus at the Claremont School of Theology, where he taught for over 30 years (retiring in 2004). He is also co-director of the Center for Process Studies, and has authored or edited over two dozen books, including God and Religion in the Postmodern World, Religion and Scientific Naturalism, Two Great Truths: A New Synthesis of Scientific Naturalism and Christian Faith, and The New Pearl Harbor: Disturbing Questions About the Bush Administration and 9/11.
[Stream] (Time: 1:06:34) [Download MP3] (Size: 21Mb)
"An Introduction to Process Cosmology"
George Ellis
Professor Emeritus, Univeristy of Cape Town, South Africa
"The Multiverse Proposal and the Anthropic Principle: Where is the Boundary between Science and Religion?"
George Ellis, Professor Emeritus of applied mathematics at the University of Cape Town, specializes in general relativity theory, an area first broadly investigated by Einstein. He is considered to be among a handful of the world’s leading relativistic cosmologists, including luminaries such as Stephen Hawking and Malcolm MacCallum. His most recent investigations question whether or not there was ever a start to the universe and, indeed, if there is only one universe or many. His publications include The Large Scale Structure of Space Time (with Stephen Hawking) and On the Moral Nature of the Universe: Cosmology, Theology, and Ethics (with Nancey Murphy).
[Stream] (Time: 54:29) [Download MP3] (Size: 18Mb)
“The Multiverse Proposal and the Anthropic Principle”
Background Papers
Alexander Vilenkin
Professor of Physics, Tufts University
"Many Worlds in One"
Alexander Vilenkin is Professor of Physics and Director of the Institute of Cosmology at Tufts University. A theoretical physicist who has been working in the field of cosmology for 25 years, Vilenkin has written over 150 papers and is responsible for introducing the ideas of eternal inflation and quantum creation of the universe from nothing. His work in cosmic strings has been pivotal. He received his undergraduate degree in physics in 1971 in the former Soviet Union. He later moved to the United States, where he obtained his Ph.D. at Buffalo. His work has been featured in numerous newspaper and magazine articles in U.S., Europe, Russia, and Japan, and in many popular books. Professor Vilenkin has a new book out called Many Worlds in One: The Search for Other Universes.
[Stream] (Time: 53:33) [Download MP3] (Size: 16Mb)
“The Principle of Mediocrity”
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