Journey to the Center of Matter
Monday, September 21, 2009 / 4:30 p.m. / Bluhm Lecture Hall, Parmer Hall, Main Campus/Free
Giorgio Ambrosio, Ph.D.
In this journey to the center of matter we will start from a dew drop to end up
among quarks. We will see the most powerful particle accelerators in the world with 4-story high ‘
cameras’ taking pictures of particles colliding at almost the speed of light. We will take a few
glances at the ‘quantum world’ and its paradoxes. And we will try to understand, in the conclusions
and the following discussion, what all these facts may suggest to our daily life. Dr. Ambrosio is a
physicist with Fermi Lab. He is a charter member of the Albertus Magnus Society, and a member of
Chicago Crossroads Cultural Center. Dr. Ambrosio’s presentation is co-sponsored by the Albertus
Magnus Society and the Department of Natural Sciences.
2009- 2010 Albertus Magnus Society Meetings
During the academic year 2009-2010, our monthly seminars will focus on the theme of
HEALTH, HEALING AND THE HUMAN SPIRIT: RELIGION AND SCIENCE IN CONVERSATION. Our
presenters will engage us in a creative inquiry into several issues of religion and healing. They
will help us reflect on the role of faith, spirituality or religious practice in addressing the
ills of the full human person: body, mind and spirit. We will ask about differences in Eastern and
Western approaches to medical care, forms of alternative treatment that have been found
efficacious, and the challenge to religious faith posed by contemporary neuroscience. What has
religion to say to medical materialists, that is, are physical and mental health issues the concern
of physiology and psychology alone, or is there room for the Spirit?
Wellbeing: Expanding Horizons in Health, Faith, and
Medicine
Thursday, September 24, 2009 / 7:00 p.m. / Priory Room 263 / Free
Richard Woods, OP, Ph.D.
Recent developments in medicine and cutting-edge research in neuroscience and
psychophysiology suggest the emergence of a new understanding of the relationship between faith and
health. Similarly, complementary and alternative medicine, Asian and other non-Western cultures,
and ancient spiritual traditions offer insights into the meaning and practice of health and healing
from birth to death, including increased longevity, resistance to disease, and greater personal
wellbeing. Critics scoff at such claims. But even if verified, who will benefit from such
approaches? Are they worth the risk? Richard Woods, OP is Professor of Theology at Dominican
University and holds the 2009 Lund-Gill Chair. His latest book is
Wellness: Life, Health and Spirituality. Learn more about Fr. Woods at
http://richardwoodsop.net/ and
http://richardwoodsop.net/blog.
Music-Thanatology: Blending Art and Science at the End of
Life
Thursday, October 22, 2009 / 7:00 p.m. / Priory Room 263 / Free
Margaret Pasquesi, MA, CM-Th, and Tony Pedersen, CM-Th
National surveys indicate that people’s fears about dying, that is dying alone, being
unable to breathe and/or dying in pain, can exacerbate distress at the end of life. Pasquesi and
Pedersen will explain and demonstrate one method of personal support at life’s end—m
usic-thanatology. Prescriptive (tailored to the situation of the individual) live harp music vigils
take people beyond the music into a silence that is deeply spiritual and profoundly comforting, and
affects vital signs such as heart rate, blood pressure, respiration and temperature. There is
growing evidence that such vigils can alleviate pain and other distressing symptoms, help the
family to cope, and ease the patient’s transition out of this life. Pasquesi and Pederson
are certified music-thanatologists, working with Midwest Palliative & Hospice Care Center.
Albertus Magnus Lecture: Deep Incarnation: Prepare
for Astonishment
Thursday, November 19, 2009, 7:00 p.m.
Auditorium, Priory Campus
Admission is $10 – DU students, faculty and staff admitted free
Elizabeth Johnson, CSJ,
Ph.D. Distinguished Professor of Theology, Fordham University, will deliver our
annual lecture on the intersection of science and religion. Among the four ways theology can
interact with science (conflict, contrast, contact, and confirmation--John Haught), this lecture
works with the third option, which looks for ways in which scientific insight can shape theological
understanding. Jesus Christ anchors Christian faith. How might knowledge of cosmic and biological
evolution shed light on the wisdom that holds he is the incarnate Word of God? Tracing the
narrative of his life, death, and resurrection, this lecture explores how the dialogue of faith
with science opens Christology up to unsuspected depths. Johnson’s most recent book is
Quest for the Living God.
Neurotheology: Looking for a “Both/And” Theory of Brain and
Consciousness
Thursday, January 21, 2010 / 7:00 p.m. / Priory Room 263 / Free
Hugh McElwain, STD
Neurotheology has been called “a new science that explores how brain and nervous system
states might create, correlate with, or inform our understanding of religious experience.”
Neuroscience, neuropsychology and new instrumentation have made possible the study of increasingly
complex psychological possibilities, raising a radically new question about the relationship
between the physical brain and consciousness (spirit/soul). Some scientific naturalists tend to
reduce neuroscience to neurophysiology, thereby dismissing neurotheology. McElwain will argue for a
dual-aspect theory of brain and consciousness, and against such dogmatic materialism. Hugh McElwain
is Professor of Theology at Dominican University. He has lectured extensively on theology and
science, and presented a paper, “A Metaphysics of the Future: Science and Theology, Partners in
Dialogue,” at the Metanexus Conference in 2006.
Sleep, Dreaming, and Human Health
Thursday, February 11, 2010 / 7:00 p.m. / Priory Room 263 / Free
Kelly Bulkeley, Ph.D.
Sleep and dreaming are natural processes hard-wired into the human brain; they are also
universal portals into religious experience and spiritual insight. Dr. Bulkeley will describe
current scientific research on the health benefits of sleep and the evolutionary functions of
dreaming. He will integrate these findings with philosophical and religious teachings about the
healing power of dreams. Bulkeley is a Visiting Scholar at the Graduate Theological Union in
Berkeley, California. His latest book is
Dreaming in the World's Religions: A Comparative History. Learn more about Bulkeley at
http://www.kellybulkeley.com.
Spiritual Issues in the Care of the Dying
Thursday, March 18, 2010 / 7:00 p.m. / Priory Room 263 / Free
Daniel Sulmasy, OFM, MD, Ph.D.
Dying inevitably raises profound spiritual questions that are often left
unaddressed in clinical care settings: questions of meaning, value, and relationship. In this talk,
Dr. Sulmasy will "unpack" these three sets of questions and describe how health care professionals
can begin to help dying patients address these spiritual issues in clinical practice. Daniel
Sulmasy, a medical doctor and Franciscan Friar, has recently moved from the New York Medical
College to the University of Chicago where he holds the inaugural Clinton-Kilbride Professor of
Medicine and Medical Ethics, with joint appointments as a Professor in the School of Divinity and
as Associate Director of the MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics. Among his books is
A Balm for Gilead: Meditations on Spirituality and the Healing Arts.
Shedding Light on Eastern Medical Techniques
Thursday, April 22, 2010 / 7:00 p.m. / Priory Room 263 / Free
Alejandro Fernandez L. Ac. MSOM, NMD and Tim Sperduto
Fernandez and Sperduto will discuss the foundations of Eastern Medicine, explaining how
philosophy, culture and religion shaped this system of medicine that has helped bring health and
healing to more than half the population of Earth over the course of 4000 years. They will discuss
the claims made for therapies such as acupuncture, Reiki, Qigong and other alternative and
complimentary healing practices, and will share their insight into the Eastern view of the
relationship between healing and inner harmony. Alejandro Fernandez L. Ac. MSOM, NMD is a
practitioner of Eastern Medicine and an adjunct instructor for the Midwest College of Oriental
Medicine. Timothy Sperduto has explored alternative healing modalities from the age of thirteen,
has studied in China with Professor Chen Hui Xian, and is presently studying acupuncture. Learn
more about Fernandez and Sperduto at
http://artofnaturalhealing.com.