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Ep 1.8: The Role of Ethics in the Science and Spirituality Relationship
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Richard discusses the different ways ethics can inform the science and spirituality relationship. To lay the groundwork for his exploration of ethics in science and spirituality, Richard begins by drawing two very important distinctions: First, he discusses the distinction between ethics and morality. Second, he explains the distinction between secular or philosophical ethics versus religious or spiritual ethics.
From there, Richard proposes a Fivefold typology for relating religious or spiritual ethics with science. The five categories are:
- Separation. In this category, spiritual ethics and science are kept completely separate from one another.
- Independent Incorporation. Here, persons of faith reach ethical conclusions based solely on their interpretation of their religious tradition’s teachings and sacred scriptures concerning a particular issue. However, after reaching their ethical position, they will then invoke scientific observation and research to buttress their ethical conclusion or make it more accessible to others who do not share the same religious perspective. The key here is that their ethical position is predetermined before they draw from science.
- Scientifically Informed. In this category, religious ethics incorporates scientific research and data into its ethical reflection. That is, scientific discoveries actually shape and influence the reflections, deliberations, and conclusions of spiritual ethics.
- Mutually Informing. In this category, spiritual ethics and science mutually inform one another at the applied level. Spiritual ethics and science mutually shape and inform one another on particular ethical questions. Two examples of mutually informing are: (1) What ethical obligations would human space explorers owe to non-sentient extraterrestrial life, if it were discovered in our solar system? and (2) What are the ethical considerations for the use of the new genetic technology, CRISPR?
- Foundation Integration. This category is at a deeper level than “Mutually Informing.” In this category, spiritual ethics and science mutually inform one another at the meta- or foundational level. Science and spiritual ethics will be used to inform the foundational assumptions, building blocks, and paradigms of one another. This mutual informing frequently occurs around the question, “What does it mean to be human?”
For Further Information:
- “We need to talk about human genome editing,” (Editorial) 8 January 2025,Nature 637, 252 (2025).
- Exploring the Origin, Extent, and Future of Life: Philosophical, Theological and Ethical Perspectives, ed. Connie Bertka, Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 2009. (This volume contains a collection of essays written by NASA scientists, as well as religious ethicists and theologians, concerning the obligations human space explorers may owe to non-sentient extraterrestrial life, if it is discovered in our Solar System.
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