Odysseans of the Twenty-First Century

In his book Radical Evolution: The Promise and Peril of Enhancing Our Minds, Our Bodies—and What It Means to Be Human (2005), author-journalist Joel Garreau identifies four technologies whose synergistic activity may transform humankind into a state transcending present human nature: genetic, robotic, information, and nano (GRIN) technologies. If the GRIN technologies follow Moore's Law, as information technology has done for the past four decades, Homo sapiens and human society may be unimaginably different before the middle of this century. But among scientists, futurists, and other pundits there is no agreement on the nature and ramifications of this transformation. Based on dozens of interviews, Garreau sees three possible scenarios for our species. The Heaven Scenario foresees enhanced bodies and minds in a disease-free world, perhaps even immortality; the Hell Scenario warns of losing our identity as a biological entity and perhaps the demise of liberal democracy; the Prevail Scenario predicts that we will muddle through the GRIN technology revolution basically intact, as we have prevailed during past technological upheavals. In this review, these scenarios are examined in the context of Kuhn's “normal” versus “extraordinary” science and in the context of current understanding about gene function.     

Science and Theology in the Twenty-First Century

The current interaction of science and theology is surveyed. Modern physics describes a world of intrinsic unpredictability and deep relationality. Theology provides answers to the metaquestions of why that world is rationally transparent and rationally beautiful and why it is so finely tuned for carbon-based life. Biology's fundamental insight of evolutionary process is to be understood theologically as creation "making itself." In the twenty-first century, biology may be expected to move beyond the merely mechanical. Neuroscience will not have much useful interaction with theology until it attains theories of wide explanatory scope. Computer models of the brain do not meet this requirement. A theological style of bottom-up thinking comes closest to scientific habits of thought. Complexity theory suggests that information will prove to be an increasingly important scientific concept, encouraging theology to revive the Thomistic notion of the soul as the form of the body. Another gift of science to theology will lie in providing a meeting point for the encounter of the world faith traditions.     

Science and Religion in the Twenty-First Century

Abstract. To achieve peace on our planet we must bridge the gap not only between science and religion but also among faith traditions. Accepting the doctrine of multiple paths can reduce interreligious tensions. Every view of the Divine is partial, every faith system rests upon supreme spiritual experiences, and each one provides fulfillment in the yearning to connect with the Cosmic Mystery.     

Rhetoric and Dialectic in the Twenty-First Century

The paper presents a historical overview of some characteristic differences between rhetoric and dialectic in the pre-modern tradition. In the light of this historical analysis, some current approaches to dialectic are characterized, with special attention to Ralph Johnson's concept of dialectical tier.     

Fields of Faith: Theology and Religious Studies for the Twenty-First Century

Books reviewed:
David F. Ford, Ben Quash and Janet Martin Soskice, eds., Fields of Faith: Theology and Religious Studies for the Twenty-First Century. Reviewed by Gavin D'Costa University of Bristol     

Developing Sexual Agency: Rethinking Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Century Theories for the Twenty-First Century

Neo-liberal society asserts that adults should be independent and responsible for themselves, and that children and adolescents should be dependent on their parents. The earlier construction of the concept of adolescence makes this seem obviously true. Yet if we remember that “adolescence” was part of a project of gender, race, and class construction, it becomes easier to ask whether adolescence is a meaningful concept and a stage of life or whether it continues to be a component of an ideology that relies on the construction of “others.” In this chapter, I suggest that adolescence plays the latter role, and that although the naturalization of adolescence is particularly dangerous for groups like queer youth who are at the margins of society, it is dangerous for all young people because it limits sexual agency. This is particularly important because increasingly society requires that young people consider their futures not from the assumption that they will move into well-defined roles, but with the assumption that they will need to define new ways of relating.

Fairweather and ESID: Contemporary Impact and a Legacy for the Twenty-First Century

This paper illustrates how the articles in this special issue demonstrate the central values, research, and action principles inherent in Fairweather's ESID model. The programs described in these articles address earlier social problems in new forms (e.g., previously, institutionalized mentally ill patients and now, the homeless mentally ill) and new issues (e.g., HIV prevention). Dissemination of innovative programs is abundant, but only recently has research begun in earnest to study the critical processes of dissemination. Moreover, Fairweather has pointed us in important, but yet unrealized directions for how to pursue a theory of social change on the basis of ecological concepts, innovative research methods and data analytic techniques, and salient change agent behaviors and principles.     

Sustaining Engineering Codes of Ethics for the Twenty-First Century

How much responsibility ought a professional engineer to have with regard to supporting basic principles of sustainable development? While within the United States, professional engineering societies, as reflected in their codes of ethics, differ in their responses to this question, none of these professional societies has yet to put the engineer’s responsibility toward sustainability on a par with commitments to public safety, health, and welfare. In this paper, we aim to suggest that sustainability should be included in the paramountcy clause because it is a necessary condition to ensure the safety, health, and welfare of the public. Part of our justification rests on the fact that to engineer sustainably means among many things to consider social justice, understood as the fair and equitable distribution of social goods, as a design constraint similar to technical, economic, and environmental constraints. This element of social justice is not explicit in the current paramountcy clause. Our argument rests on demonstrating that social justice in terms of both inter- and intra-generational equity is an important dimension of sustainability (and engineering). We also propose that embracing sustainability in the codes while recognizing the role that social justice plays may elevate the status of the engineer as public intellectual and agent of social good. This shift will then need to be incorporated in how we teach undergraduate engineering students about engineering ethics.     

Muslim-Christian Cooperation in the Twenty-First Century: Some global challenges and strategic responses

This article explores possible areas for Muslim-Christian cooperation in response to threats and challenges posed by the changing global context in the light of recent calls for the creation of a new world ethic, and the recognition of an ongoing and multi-layered global crisis. A discussion of the prerequisites and nature of a strategic Muslim-Christian partnership for the current century prefaces a suggestion of concrete areas for solidarity and joint action. 'From Egypt to Indonesia, Nigeria to Lebanon, an upsurge in intercommunal violence has already marked the new millennium as one of the worst periods of global conflict between Christianity and Islam for generations' (The Times 4/1/2000). 'It is true that the changing global context poses serious threats which make co-operation imperative, but the same context offers opportunities to help co-operation flourish as never before' (Michael Edwards. Future Positive: international cooperation in the 21st century, Earthscan Publications, London, 1999, 5).     

Saudi Women and the Muslim State in the Twenty-First Century

Islam has shaped the history and character of Saudi Arabia since the beginning of the sixth century A.D. The advent of oil in the Saudi scene has been of primary importance to the country in the past century. Oil revenues have been used to develop a vast network of infrastructure across the wide desert. However, challenges still remain as Saudi Arabia carefully treads the twenty-first century. The most poignant of them all is the status of Muslim women in this developing nation. Although significant efforts were made by the government to integrate women in development notwithstanding the strong and persistent pressure exercised by religious leaders, a lot of ambiguity about women's paradoxical situation still remains. The reasons are complex but the first major one is that the debate on women's role in society is taking place within the framework of the ‘Arab Islamic heritage.’ The dilemma on the status of women in Saudi Arabia will take a long time to resolve, since it is caught up in the larger debate on the role of religion and cultural traditions in society. Since Islam is the defining factor for the Saudi nation, tradition must be either cast aside or reinterpreted.     

The Worldwide Significance of Chinese Aesthetics in the Twenty-First Century

Through comparisons between traditional Chinese and Western aesthetics, this article tries to explain the worldwide significance of Chinese aesthetic tradition in the twenty-first century. In contrast to cognitive-rational spirit and the tendency to distinguish the subjectives and objectives of traditional Western aesthetics, traditional Chinese aesthetics shows a distinctive practical-emotional spirit and a tendency to harmoniously unite human beings with nature, and believes that beauty is, first and foremost, a free state or way (Dao) of human life; the most important thing for human beings is how to make their own lives and existence beautiful. Therefore, it puts forward some persuasive and valuable insights into beauty and art, thus playing an independent and constructive role in intercultural aesthetic dialogues of the twenty-first century. Translated from Journal of Xiaogan College, 2004:5