The Firth Lectures 2021 Day 1

The Firth Lectures 2021

This is the first of two live Q&A events for the 2021 Firth Lectures on the theme:

Humans and Animals: Boundary Questions and Why They are Significant for Theology and Ethics from Prof. Celia Deane-Drummond, Senior Research Fellow and Director of Laudato Si' Research Institute at Campion Hall, University of Oxford. 

Pre-recorded lectures are available to view on The Firth Lectures webpage. These should be watched prior to attending the Q&A sessions. The live Q&A's will be held on Microsoft Teams to discuss the topic of each lecture. 

Theology and the Evolution of Violence: Are we Wired for War or Peace?

This public lecture considers the empirical and theological aspects of the long- standing debate between Thomas Hobbes and Jean Jacques Rousseau on the basic state of nature at the dawn of human origins: was it towards collective violence or peace? Work with primates highlights both violence and reconciliation tendencies among chimpanzees and bonobos. More organised violence in the form of warfare is only characteristic of human societies capable of symbolic representation. Prof. Deane-Drummond argues that any linear progression from hunting game to warfare is unlikely, and the role of religious belief is also equally complex. Theologians influenced by Augustine’s theory of just war and evolutionary anthropologists agree that perception of injustice triggers inter-group and intra-group violence. Anthropologists are normally hesitant about coming to any negative judgment about oppressors, but theologians have different tools that can be at the service of understanding the complex factors that lead to peace. 

To join the Q&A get your ticket on Eventbrite by following this link.