For the John Templeton Foundation, I wrote about the profound inquiries into science and ethics featured in The New Atlantis.
Are we alone in the cosmos, and if so, how should we think of ourselves? What do the insights of evolutionary theory mean for ethics? Is the so-called replication crisis a sign that modern science is self-correcting or that it has dangerously lost its way? How does the evolving theory of information in physics change the way we understand ourselves and the world? In a world dominated by Twitter conversations, addressing big questions in ways that require more than 280 characters is difficult. Tackling them requires careful, deliberate reflection, multiple vantage points, and an approach that aims to be both of-the-moment and timeless.
Founded in 2003, The New Atlantis is a quarterly publication about the ethical and philosophical implications of modern technology and science. The magazine, which takes its name from Francis Bacon’s 1627 fable of a society suffused with the latest scientific and technological knowledge, resolutely aims to take the long view about the peril and promise that contemporary technology offers. “By adopting this name, The New Atlantis, we gesture to the fact that we are part of an ongoing, several-centuries-long conversation about the link between science, technology, and human nature,” says Ari Schulman, the magazine’s current editor. “We aspire to provide answers that are going to be relevant long after we’re done with our work.”