Sir John's Vision : What Do We Know? What Is There to Learn?

In 2017, the year marking the 105th anniversary of the birth of Sir John Templeton, a group of scientists, scholars, and advisors who knew him personally gathered in Lyford Cay in the Bahamas. Their purpose: to discuss how the Foundation that bears his name could best extend his philanthropic vision into the twenty-first century.

This volume is a result of that meeting—a collection of thirteen essays written by experts in fields that most fascinated Sir John. The contributors assess the Foundation’s fidelity to its founder’s intent, chart promising avenues for future grantmaking, and champion Sir John’s contrarian mission of unlocking life’s deepest mysteries.

The members of the John Templeton Foundation are the custodians of Sir John’s vision—bold in its aspiration; humble in its approach—charged with using the tools of science to advance the frontiers of the spirit. May the essays collected here serve as inspiration as we carry that vision forward.

Paul C. W. Davies, a theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and astrobiologist, is Regents’ Professor and founding director of BEYOND: Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science at Arizona State University (ASU). He serves as co-director of ASU’s cosmology initiative and was principal investigator in its Center for the Convergence of Physical Science and Cancer Biology for five years. His research has spanned the fields of cosmology, gravitation, quantum field theory, and astrobiology, with particular emphasis on black holes, the origin of the universe, and the origin of life. A member of the Order of Australia, Dr. Davies received the 1995 Templeton Prize. He is a member of the John Templeton Foundation and has served as a Foundation trustee and a member of its board of advisors.

George F. R. Ellis, professor emeritus of applied mathematics at the University of Cape Town, is as widely respected for his anti-apartheid Quaker activism as for his contributions to cosmology. He is currently a visiting professor at the University of Oxford. His scientific work on the mathematical foundations of general relativity and cosmology is recognized for its depth, originality, and wit. He studies fundamental questions like the geometrical structure of the universe and challenges conventional assumptions about how the universe began and 
is built. A fellow of the Royal Society, he was awarded the Templeton Prize in 2004. He is a member of the John Templeton Foundation and has served on the Foundation’s board of advisors.

Keith Ward, the former Regius Professor of Divinity at Oxford University and currently professor of the philosophy of religion at Roehampton University, is one of Britain’s foremost writers on Christian belief and doctrine in the light of modern scientific 
discoveries and in the context of other faith traditions. A priest in the Church of England, he has explored the tensions between the classical tradi- tion of natural theology, with its atemporal and self-sufficient God, and the biblical idea of a creative and responsive God, critically examined recent secular theories of human nature, compared the place of revelation and concept of creation in the major world religions, and sketched a revised Christian vision that looks to a convergent global spirituality. A fellow of the British Academy, he is a former member of the board of advisors of the John Templeton Foundation.