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The Miraculous from the Material with Professor Alan Lightman

Over the years, Alan Lightman* has provided the Kerem Shalom community with a number of memorable talks about spirituality and science. We are delighted that Alan once again will be sharing his insights with us as part of our L.E.D. series.

Alan’s upcoming talk will be focused on the PBS series SEARCHING: Our Quest for Meaning in the Age of Science, which will air in January 2023. The series is based on several of Alan’s books. In his talk, he will explore a few of the large questions
considered in the series:

What does it mean to be human in a world of increasing science and
technology?

How can a system made of material atoms and molecules give rise to complex human experiences, like consciousness, falling in love, and awe?

Can we create a conscious computer or organism in the lab and, if so, what moral and ethical responsibilities would we have?

Alan will illustrate his talk with video clips from the series. In the clips, he will talk to Jack Szostak, a Nobel-Prize winning biologist; Ruth Faden, a leading bioethicist at Johns Hopkins; Micah Greenstein, a rabbi in Memphis, Tennessee; the Dalai Lama, and
BINA48, the most advanced android created so far.

Alan Lightman is Professor of the Practice of the Humanities at MIT, a novelist and essayist, a distinguished physicist, and social entrepreneur. In 2003 he founded the Harpswell Foundation, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to empower a new
generation of women leaders in Southeast Asia.

Alan has received numerous accolades and awards for his extensive creative work at the intersection of the sciences and the humanities.

Feb 26, 2023 10:30 AM in Eastern Time (US and Canada)