Dr. Santos presents at Congress on Integral Ecology

Dr. Lílian Santos recently presented at the Congress on Integral Ecology, organized by Expanded Reason Institute at Universidad Francisco de Vitoria in Madrid, Spain. The conference took place June 10-12, and focused on the ecological question of the convergence of interest and dialogue between different sciences, technology, philosophy, and theology. The conference’s goal was to respond to the call of Pope Francis in his encyclical Laudato Si’ to be a Church “going forth” into era that has been marked by anthropological crisis and, as the Institute described, “contribute our grain of sand to solve” the socio-environmental crisis that our current culture is facing. 

Dr. Santos, a faculty member of CatholicTech and Pontifical Atheneum Regina Apostolorum, and the UNESCO Chair in Bioethics and Human Rights, presented on: “Gene editing and Laudato Si’: a two-way expanded reason.” This paper aims to do an interdisciplinary exercise between gene editing and theology, especially considering the encyclical Laudato Si’. It seeks an expanded reason in a two-way direction: genome editing open to theology, and theology open to genetic knowledge. First, this research analyzes how gene editing can broaden its horizons and allow itself to be challenged by Laudato Si’s reflections. A parallel is drawn between the ten axes of Laudato Si’ and the global governance of gene editing. Secondly, this work discusses how theology, as observed in Laudato Si’, can further expand its horizons and be enriched by the possibilities of gene editing. Specifically, the six numbers of this encyclical letter that speak directly about genetics are considered. 

Subsequently, some issues related to gene editing not covered in Laudato Si’ are presented, such as the de-extinction of some species, the use of gene drives in disease-transmitting species, gene editing in animals for transplantation, advances in hybrids and chimeras, the rise of biohackers. The results of open reason on the part of both gene editing and theology bring new and crucial questions that arise from the encounter of these two fields of knowledge.

Expanded Reason Institute was established for the reflection, study, discussion, and dissemination of research and teaching programs that seek to pose and answer fundamental questions at the service of truth and the Christian transformation of society. The Institute hopes to understand open reason that integrates Theology and Philosophy free from ideological restrictions, based on the fundamental reasoning that faith and reason are not in conflict with one another in the search for truth. 

For more details on the conference and the Institute, visit their website here!

Dr. Lílian Santos is a professor at Catholic Institute of Technology and Pontifical Atheneum Regina Apostolorum in Rome. Read more about her research here.