Date and place: Thursday, February 18, 7:00 p.m., Burke Auditorium, McGowan School of Business
Historian and philosopher of science Dr. Marvin Bolt will deliver two free public lectures on Thursday, Feb. 18, in the Burke Auditorium at King’s College. The lectures are sponsored by The McGowan Center for Ethics and Social Responsibility at King’s.
In the 4 p.m. lecture “The Art of the First Scientific Instruments: Looking through - and at - the World’s Oldest Telescopes,” Dr. Bolt will discuss the invention of the telescope and how the invention quickly led to discoveries that turned views of the universe upside down and inside out. He will also discuss the optical, physical, and artistic elements of the world’s oldest telescopes.
In the 7 p.m. lecture, titled “Saving your life: When Scientific Reasoning and Moral Wisdom Turn Urgent,” Dr. Bolt will raise questions such as: “Am I endangered more by a friend or by a foreign terrorist?” “Which is a bigger threat: My neighbor’s gun or pool?” and “Am I more likely to die of heart disease or cancer?” As he explores methods for finding answers to each of these questions, he will draw upon personal experience to consider how individuals can develop knowledge, critical thinking skills, and the wisdom to learn how to live well.