Yale Faculty Roundtable

Genes and genesis: SEeking Clues to the Meaning of Life and Our Universe

December 1, 2022

6 PM (est)

Presentations by evolutionary biologist David Haig and philosopher William Lane Craig will launch our dinner table discussions.

How do we approach our search for clues to the meaning of life and human existence? Is the genome of every individual the measure of meaning in the universe? If science determines an historical Adam and Eve, could our genesis be a measure of meaning in the universe?

At our next Faculty Roundtable, we will explore these and other approaches through rich conversation over a plated, three course dinner. Our interdisciplinary table discussions will be prefaced by a dialogue between evolutionary biologist David Haig and philosopher William Lane Craig. Ruth Blake (Professor of Earth & Planetary Sciences, Yale) will be moderating the conversation.

about our Speakers

David Haig, author of From Darwin to Derrida, explains “how a physical world of matter in motion gave rise to a living world of purpose and meaning. Natural selection, a process without purpose, gives rise to purposeful beings who find meaning in the world.”

William Lane Craig, author of the recent book In Quest of the Historical Adam, explores “the scientific case for Adam as a historical person who lived between 750,000 and 1,000,000 years ago as a member of the archaic human species Homo Heidelbergensis.”

Ruth E. Blake (moderator) is an American geochemist and environmental scientist. She is a professor at Yale University in earth & planetary sciences, environmental studies, and chemical & environmental engineering. Blake's work focuses on biogeochemical processes, paleoclimate, astrobiology, and chemical signatures of Earth's earliest life preserved in the rock record.

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