Events / STOQ 2007 International Conference /

PRESENTATION

The STOQ 2007 Conference will be focused on the topic of the ontogeny and development of human beings.

It is well known that in the last decades this topic, and in particular the question of the identity and status of the human embryo, has stirred hot and endless bioethical debates, with notable repercussions on the social and political issues of many countries.

Obviously, such an item must be tackled from different and intermingling viewpoints, from biology to law, or from medicine to anthropology, dealing with questions like: is human ontogeny a continuous process, or is it marked by biological and ontological discontinuities? If so, when and where to place such discontinuities, and what ethical and juridical conclusions to draw? Is there a clear cut between embryos and pseudo-embryos, or there is a continuum between perfect normality and total abnormality? How to deal with situations challenging the concepts of individual and organism, like conjoined twins or developmental chimaeras?

In a more general framework, the concept of ontogeny also reminds us of a bio-philosophical theme that seems today largely underestimated, that of biological genesis, with questions ranging from epigenesis to the origin of life, from genetics to phylogeny.

Thus, the next STOQ Conference will provide a unique opportunity to rigorously deal with, and serenely discuss, the numerous aspects of human development and ontogeny, in the context of a high-level academic board and in the beautiful setting of the town of Rome.

The Conference will be accordingly divided in four Sections:

a) Biological Aspects
b) Biomedical Aspects
c) Philosophical and Theological Aspects
d) Bioethical and Juridical Aspects

Concluding each day of the Conference, Panel Sessions will give all the participants an opportunity to intervene in open debate on these topics.

English and Italian are the official languages of the Conference, with simultaneous translation in both languages.

 

THE STOQ PROJECT…

• Is rooted in a collaboration among six Roman Pontifical Universities: Lateran, Gregorian, Regina Apostolorum, Holy Cross, Salesian, Angelicum, under the high patronage of the Pontifical Council for Culture.

• Is aimed at developing the dialogue and the confrontation between Science and Religion, to face the many theoretical, ethical and cultural challenges posed by current developments in science to the Christian vision of the world, the human person and the society.

• Is articulated into different research programs at the involved Universities. Students may follow courses of the STOQ Project at each of the involved Universities.

• Is directed towards students, scientists, philosophers, theologians and all those interested in deepening the rational basis of their faith, or tackling the issue of being a believer at the beginning of the Third Millennium.