Institute of Religion, Science and Social Studies

Professor Jiang Sheng Attended the 22nd International Congress of History of Science at Beijing

On July 27, 2005, the 22^nd International Congress of History of Science was held at Youyi (Friendship) Hotel in Beijing. At the conference, Bidare V. Subbarayappa (second right in the photo), an India scholar, and Jean Staune (third right in the photo), General Secretary of Universite Interdisciplinaire de Paris and professor of philosophy, acted as the conveners of the seminar “The Dialogue of Science and Religion: Past and Present” (see the group photo of lecturers). The conference room of Youyi Hotel was crowded with the scholars from different countries. Dr. Paul K. Wason (first left in the photo), Director of the Science and Religion Program of John Templeton Foundation, and Dr. Pranab Das (rear center in the photo), Principle Investigator and Program Director of GPSS attended the conference. Under the sponsorship of John Templeton Foundation, the research of scholars from many different countries, including China, England, France, India, Japan, South Korea, and the United States, was supported. Twelve of these scholars were invited to deliver academic papers discussing the relationship between the major religions and science in the world. The paper “Daoism and Science in Ancient China”, delivered by Professor Jiang Sheng (second left in the photo), aroused a great deal of interest among the scholars.

More than a hundred years ago, in the East and the West, science and religion were regarded as incompatible as fire and water. However, with greater developments in science in the 20th century, interest in the relationship between scientific and human spirituality increased. Different national traditions and cultures ceased being simply symbols of backwardness, but rather became recognized as deserving respect, preservation and exploration with regard to developing scientific civilization in the future.

The conference was the first time that the International Congress of History of Science, called the Olympics of History of Science, was held in China. Preeminent international scholars assembled and discussed diverse appeals of future scientific developments to spiritual resources. With sustained attention, it became obvious that the contribution of Chinese cultural traditions to the coming post-modern scientific civilization was a much-neglected field of study