Martin Luther King,
Jr.’s views on science—including his assertion that humankind’s moral and
spiritual progress lags behind our scientific and technological progress—offer
a starting point for an exploration of science and civil rights.
In his 1963 sermon “The
Man Who Was a Fool,” King wrote, “Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual
power. We have guided missiles and misguided men.”
Elsewhere, the civil
rights leader (and Baptist preacher) warned against a naïve polarizing of
science and religion.
In “A Tough Mind and a
Tender Heart,” he defined the symbiotic roles of the two realms: “Science
investigates; religion interprets. Science gives man knowledge which is power;
religion gives man wisdom which is control. Science deals mainly with facts;
religion deals mainly with values. The two are not rivals. They are
complementary.”
With King’s words
providing a touchstone, Asheville School will explore ethical issues that
emerge in the intersection of science and human rights during a two-day event
for students and faculty members on January 17 and 18.
How do King’s Cold
War-era, Space Age admonitions apply to a Digital Age, in which we can view
images from the surface of Mars? How do we ensure that our moral compass
improves and updates alongside such scientific and technological developments?
What can we learn from historical events that illuminate the ethical challenges
conjured by scientific advances?
Asheville School
Humanities teacher Jim Gardner organized interdisciplinary talks, films,
workshops, and activities to push Asheville School students to consider the
tough questions implicit in such topics as climate justice, equitable
distribution of resources, medical ethics, and eugenics.
“The Science and Civil Rights topic is important for students to study because not studying it is injustice-by-default: unawareness of issues such as eugenics, surveillance, genetic ownership, and climate justice could result in our unintentionally furthering injustice,” Gardner said. “ We don't want our students to be not-so-innocent bystanders but to be conscious and aware agents of change. To ignore such topics would be a disservice to the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. and others who have fought for civil rights.”
“The Science and Civil Rights topic is important for students to study because not studying it is injustice-by-default: unawareness of issues such as eugenics, surveillance, genetic ownership, and climate justice could result in our unintentionally furthering injustice,” Gardner said. “ We don't want our students to be not-so-innocent bystanders but to be conscious and aware agents of change. To ignore such topics would be a disservice to the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. and others who have fought for civil rights.”
Workshop
topics will also include civil rights for people with disabilities, the science
of morality, Black Enlightenment, genetically modified organisms, and many
others.
“I'm excited about the
range of topics,” Gardner said. “We hope students become more aware and will be
inspired to action and to further their learning.”
Biomedical
engineer and Medtronic principal specialist Cathy Condie, Director of
Personalized Medicine and Pharmacogenomics at Mission Heath Dr. Lynn Dressler,
and Director of the NAACP’s Climate Justice Initiative Jacqueline Patterson
will lead the first convocation in Asheville School’s Graham Theater. UNC
Asheville physics professor Michael Ruiz will discuss jazz and civil rights
during the second convocation.
“The topic and the
content of the topic is so important for students and faculty to address and
study, given the context of what's happening politically, and the historical
context and the development of science and technology,” Gardner said. “It’s
central to humanities and discussing what it means to be human.”
The event is part of a
series of programs celebrating the school’s newly remodeled science classrooms
in the recently dedicated Vandergrift Science Center. For several years,
Asheville School has presented a Civil Rights curriculum in January; previous program topics have included the
Holocaust, School Integration in Asheville, and Songs of Freedom.
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