Fuller's School of Psychology is partnering with the California Institute of Technology to sponsor two evening lectures addressing important issues related to neuroscience, virtue, and transcendence. Both talks are free and open to the public.

"Why Habit Matters: The Bodily Character of the Virtues"
Dr. Stanley Hauerwas
Gilbert T. Rowe Professor of Theological Ethics, Duke Divinity School
THURSDAY, MAY 19    7:30-9:30 p.m.
Pasadena Presbyterian Church

Assuming that virtues are habits, in this presentation Dr. Hauerwas will shed light on what kind of habits the virtues are by calling attention to Thomas Aquinas's account of habit.

Dr. Hauerwas's lecture will be followed by a response from Dr. Steven R. Quartz, Professor of Philosophy and the leader of the Brain, Mind, and Society PhD program at Caltech.  

"The Vicarious Brain:
The Neural Basis of Empathy, Learning by Observation, and Sociopathy"
Dr. Christian Keysers
Professor for the Social Brain, University of Groningen, Netherlands
FRIDAY, MAY 20    7:30-9:30 p.m.
Beckman Auditorium, Caltech campus

Understanding the actions, sensations, and emotions of others requires in ourselves similar brain patterns evidenced when we experience the same things. Dr. Keysers will describe how vicarious brain activity is strong in empathic individuals and reduced in sociopaths, suggesting that vicarious brain activity plays a role in the normal development of virtue.

Dr. Keysers's lecture will be followed by a response from Dr. Nancey Murphy, Professor of Christian Philosophy at Fuller Seminary and member of the Executive Committee of the International Society for Science and Religion.  

For more information visit us at http://www.travisinstitute.org/understanding-virtue/