For more than a decade developments in science have prompted wide-ranging discussions about human nature. Gone are the days when this subject was the preserve of theologians and philosophers; today the fields of genetics and neuroscience are shifting attention to the "biological basis of human nature. This engaging book takes readers straight to the intersection of religion and science, exploring what new scientific knowledge does and does not say about religious views on personhood.

Written by an international, interdisciplinary team of scholars sponsored by the John Templeton Foundation,...

How do recent scientific discoveries challenge and complicate -- but also enrich and illuminate -- the traditional Christian portrait of human nature?

In Rethinking Human Nature an international team of scientists, historians, philosophers, and theologians presents both the wisdom of the past and the cutting edge of current scientific research to explore answers to this question. Their discussions -- examining our brains, our genes, our ancestors, our societies, and more -- lead to a richer, more nuanced, and more complete understanding of what it really means to be...

Despite the many well-documented similarities -- genetic, cognitive, behavioral, social -- between our human selves and our evolutionary forebears, a significant gulf remains between us and them. Why is that? How did it come about? And how did we come to be the way we are?
In this book fourteen distinguished scholars -- including humanist, atheist, and theist voices -- address such questions as they explore how and when human personhood emerged. Representing various disciplines, the contributors all offer significant insights into new scientific research about the origins of human...