Events

The Houston Centre warmly invites you to a public lecture with philospher and poet Dr. Raymond Tallis. Join us to consider the uniqueness of persons with a renowned medical scholar.

This lecture will be hosted on campus at Regent College. You can also stream the live lecture online at rgnt.net/live.

"WHY WE'RE NOT (JUST) BEASTS"

In this lecture, Dr. Raymond Tallis will set out the reasons for believing that humans are profoundly different from non-human animals, including even our nearest primate kin. He will argue against the popular view that humans are identical with our evolved brains and that persons are to be understood in Darwinian terms.

RESPONSE AND Q+A

Sinologist and Philosopher Dr. Edward Slingerland (Distinguished University Scholar and Professor of Philosophy, University of British Columbia) will offer a response before a public Q+A period. Come participate in a rich and stimulating conversation!

NO REGISTRATION REQUIRED

Registration is not required to attend. According to the latest provincial health order, no proof of vaccination is required to attend and masks are optional.

ABOUT RAYMOND TALLIS

Dr. Raymond Tallis is a philosopher, poet, novelist, cultural critic, and a retired medical physician and clinical neuroscientist. Specializing in geriatrics, Tallis served on several UK commissions on medical care of the aged and was an editor or major contributor to two key textbooks in the field, The Clinical Neurology of Old Age and Textbook of Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology. He has authored several books, including Aping Mankind, Hippocratic Oaths: Medicine and its Discontents, and, most recently, Freedom: An Impossible Reality. His work offers a critique of current predominant intellectual trends and an alternative understanding of human consciousness, the nature of language, and of what it is to be a human being.

ABOUT THE HOUSTON CENTRE

Grounded in Dr. James M. Houston’s Christian theological vision of integrative scholarship combining academic study, practical research, and lived reality, the Centre will provide opportunities for interdisciplinary and inter-religious dialogue on the question of what it means to be human. Through planned collaboration with UBC and other academic institutions, and by inviting insights from a wide range of secular and religious perspectives, the Centre aims to engage in a broad consideration of human identity and the common good.

Information about a public centre launch will be available later this year.