Rethinking Wonder: Dr. Lisa Sideris

Hello, World!

The Enlightenment de-throned religion as a way of satisfactorily explaining the world and the place of humans in the universe. Over the past century, certain scientists have been hard at work to fill that void with a new narrative. Our guest, Indiana University professor Lisa Sideris, is not so sure that is a good idea.

In Consecrating Science, Sideris argues that instead of cultivating an ethic of respect for nature, the new cosmology encourages human arrogance, uncritical reverence for science, and indifference to nonhuman life. Exploring moral sensibilities rooted in experience of the natural world, Sideris shows how a sense of wonder can foster environmental attitudes that will protect our planet from ecological collapse for years to come. 

Lisa H. Sideris is Professor of Religious Studies at Indiana University, where her research focuses on religion, science, and environmentalism. She is the author of Environmental Ethics, Ecological Theology, and Natural Selection.

Our thanks to the Zygon Center for Religion and Science for helping to arrange this interview.