For centuries, people have been searching for what makes a human being human, what place humans have in the cosmos, and whether there is more than our material world. Influenced by new knowledge about our brains, among other things, our view of man has changed drastically in recent years. The question is what effect this changed image of man has on our relationship to God and on the image of man's place in the cosmos. Thereby, it is not certain whether science can answer this.
Connecting character
This question connects philosophy, religious sciences/theology and history, and has descriptive, evaluative and design aspects. To answer this question, first of all, a description of our current view of man and its historical development is needed. To know what impact the changed human image has on our relationship to divine powers and on the image of man's place in the cosmos, a historical, philosophical and religious evaluation is needed. The conundrum of whether science can answer this question at all is a fundamental question about the scope and limits of knowledge and science. Determining this scope requires philosophical evaluation. The designing aspect is in several areas: - Science communication: a better understanding of what is and is not scientific helps to communicate more effectively what outcomes we can and cannot achieve with science. - Science policy: a good understanding of the limits of our knowledge contributes to a better connection between our research efforts and the knowledge we actually need to shape our world, including through politics and economics. - Governance and policy: a certain human view often implicitly underlies decisions on how to spend money in the public sphere, such as in healthcare or the cultural sector. Making such a view of humanity explicit offers opportunities for community building and gaining support for certain decisions.
