Events

Across much of the globe — from the United Kingdom to the United States, from Peru to the Philippines — marriage is in retreat and cohabitation is on the advance. The implications of this shift for adults are much debated, but what are the effects on children? In this lecture, University of Virginia sociologist Bradford Wilcox will show the repercussions that the rise in…

Denis Alexander provides an engaging approach to the question of what it means to be human. With insights from genetics, philosophy and theology, Alexander shows that contemporary science is a gift to natural theology and that theology and science can indeed learn from and support one another. About the talk The old, bad days of…

In a world of 7+ billion citizens, each aspiring towards a lifestyle that consumes more of the planet’s resources than our ancestors, what is ‘enough’ and how do we know when we have it? Is affluenza the most worrying illness in today’s world, or should we simply be glad that life is now more comfortable?…

Rapid advances in reproductive and genetic technology are transforming the way new human beings can be created, selected and modified. At the same time, powerful medical technology is able to keep elderly people alive in the face of devastating diseases and degenerative conditions. How can we respond to these complex ethical challenges from the perspective…

C. S. Lewis is one of the best-known Christian apologists in the world. Richard Dawkins is one of the best-known atheist apologists in the world. Alister McGrath (Oxford University) has written best-selling studies of each of these fascinating authors. So what do they have to say on the meaning of life? How do they understand the role…

All scientists know that they are expected to maintain the highest ethical standards in their research, and discoveries are continually being made that require considerable ethical reflection with respect to their application. But is science itself an intrinsically positive enterprise from an ethical perspective? And which ethical principles should we prioritise in the applications of…

Co-organised by:Faith and Global Engagement, HKUDepartment of Social Work & Social Administration, HKUVisual Psychophysics and Neuroimaging Laboratory, HKU Anger is often associated as one of the major faces of shame in society. The word shame’ has been traced to the root meaning to cover or to hide, exemplified in the Biblical narrative of Adam and Eve. Shame is…

Co-organised by:Faith and Global Engagement, HKUDepartment of Social Work & Social Administration, HKUVisual Psychophysics and Neuroimaging Laboratory, HKU Shame and Contemplative Discovery:A Community Resocialization Process (12:30-2pm) Set within a fragmented community, The Family: People Helping People project is a group process model that aims to facilitate cultural resocialization through personal transformation. Based on the Contemplative Discovery…

Received wisdom is that evolution is a more-or-less open-ended process, and lacks any predictability. This applies to all species, including humans. We too are just another historical accident, of no more (or less) significance than a snake or dragon fruit. Central to this supposition are not only random factors such as mutations, but the claim…

The Character of Leadership is a collaboration between HKU Faculty of Social Sciences, HKU Faith and Global Engagement, The Oxford Global Leadership Initiative, and The Oxford Character Project, sponsored by Templeton World Charity Foundation.