Wright’s lecture explores the ‘Evolution of God’

New York Times bestselling author Robert Wright gave a lecture entitled “The Evolution of God,” Oct. 8, presenting research from his most recent book of the same name. Wright’s lecture was sponsored by the Oen Fellowship, a program which invites a distinguished lecturer biannually to discuss the relationship between religion, science, politics and the arts.

Wright is the author of three previous books, “Three Scientists and Their Gods,” “The Moral Animal” and “Nonzero.” He has been a contributor to The Atlantic, The New Yorker, Time, The New Republic, The New York Times Magazine and Slate among other publications.

In his lecture, Wright discussed how God, as a human concept, has evolved since the beginning of religion, emphasizing the three Abrahamic faiths, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, to illustrate how all three faiths have changed according to the circumstances in which their followers found themselves.

“Wright, in this book, is trying to create conditions to provoke conversation,” Loyal Rue, professor of philosophy and religion, said. “He’s trying to get the fundamentalists to accept evolution and the atheists to see that the fundamentalists are valid in their beliefs.”

Wright also spoke about the relationship between science and religion and the role technology and globalization has played in expanding our moral outlook and evolving our conception of God.

“I think the broadening of our moral horizon is due to the way technological evolution expands the range of interdependence, and that is a major component of the expansion of our social organization,” Wright said.

This led some in attendence to see bright possibilities for the future.

“Wright argues that whether the Abrahamic faiths can live together is more about politics and economics than theology,” Paul Gardner, professor of political science, said. “I like that argument and find it optimistic.”

Wright also explained how the moral commonalities of the three faiths has helped them grow morally.

“Interdependence has helped expand the moral circle, and religion has been one medium through which that’s been expressed,” Wright said. “But, in principle, certainly atheists can have exactly the same experience of having their moral circle expanded by virtue of an interdependent relationship.”

In contrast to most secularists, Wright believes the growth in technology and our moral horizon give credence to the idea of moral progress and a higher purpose.

“There is a moral direction pointed towards a larger circle of moral inclusion,” Wright said. “And I believe this gives evidence to the hypothesis that there is some larger purpose working itself out through the material dynamics of the universe, though a larger purpose doesn’t necessarily signify divine forces.”

Some in attendance, however, did not find all of Wright’s point believable.

“When you’re talking about progress of any kind you have to be talking about progress towards something,” Matthew Simpson, assistant professor of philosophy said. “To talk about moral progress means that we know what it means to be moral. Therefore, to talk about moral progress is to say that we know what moral truth is and that more people are behaving that way. And I don’t think that’s believable.”

Wright acknowledged that moral progress, at the present time, has not come as far as it could.

“The truth is there hasn’t been enough moral progress,” Wright said. “In a sense, I believe the root of all evil is the inability or unwillingness of people to put themselves in the shoes of people in circumstances very different than their own.”

Wright stated that the ability to see things from others’ perspectives is imperative to building ties between people of different faiths.

“I appreciated how Wright’s message of the interdependence of faith and culture tied in with Ebo Patel’s push for interfaith dialogue and tolerance,” Andrew Gonzalez (‘12) said. “These lectures have pushed me to understand other religions and cultures and how connected we all are.”

Wright ended his lecture on a personal note, acknowledging the affect faith has in his own life.

“I personally find the idea of a larger purpose with a moral direction helpful to me in orienting my own spiritual life, my moral life and the idea that aligning myself with this purpose is a worthy endeavor,” Wright said. “I don’t know if there is a God behind it all, but if there is a God, all I can say is that when you work at exercising your moral imagination and you’re trying to help expand the definition of your community to where it hasn’t gone before, then you’re doing God’s work.”