Gilbert Meilaender: Equal Dignity – a Commitment in Search of a Rationale

Please note that this event will be held off-site at UBC’s Sage Bistro Lecture Hall.

The concept of human dignity is part of the very bedrock of Western culture. Yet when we speak of “human dignity,” what exactly are we talking about? Although appeals to human dignity or equal dignity are common, the term gets used in quite different—even opposite—ways.

Precisely because the meaning of dignity language is contested, renowned bioethicist and Lutheran theologian Gilbert Meilaender will discuss what he means when he uses this language and will offer a rationale for using it in that way, suggesting that the term “dignity” is properly used in at least two ways—the most important of which is to mark the equal personal dignity we all share.

Dr. Quentin Genuis, an Emergency Physician at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver and the Physician Ethicist for Providence Health Care, will offer a response to Professor Meilaender.

For more information, you may contact The Houston Centre at [email protected].

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Gilbert Meilaender is Senior Research Professor at Valparaiso University. He taught at the University of Virginia (1975–78), at Oberlin College (1978–96), and at Valparaiso University (1996–2014), where he held the Duesenberg Chair in Christian Ethics. He holds an MDiv (1972) from Concordia Seminary (St. Louis) and a PhD (1976) from Princeton University.

Professor Meilaender is the author of many books and articles in the field of Christian ethics. Among his books are Friendship: A Study in Theological Ethics; Bioethics: A Primer for Christians; and The Way that Leads There: Augustinian Reflections on the Christian Life. He is co-editor (with William Werpehowski) of the Oxford Handbook of Theological Ethics.

He has served on the Board of Directors of the Society of Christian Ethics, as an Associate Editor of Religious Studies Review, as a Consultant Editor of Studies in Christian Ethics, and as an Associate Editor of the Journal of Religious Ethics.

Professor Meilaender’s work in the area of bioethics is well known. He is a Fellow of the Hastings Center and was a member of the President’s Council on Bioethics from 2002 to 2009.

Dr Quentin Genuis is an Emergency Physician at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver, and the Physician Ethicist for Providence Health Care. He holds a Master of Letters from the University of St. Andrews. He teaches in academic, clinical, professional, and lay-settings on a variety of issues related to bioethics. His research and writing interests include the autonomy debates, end-of-life care, compassion, human dignity, addictions, and theological anthropology. He enjoys drinking Scottish whiskey, reading Dostoevsky, and slacklining. He loves his wife, Kalyn, and their four children: Lila, Rowan, Elias, and Junia.

ABOUT THE HOUSTON CENTRE

The Houston Centre for Humanity and the Common Good is a five-year initiative of Regent College, grounded in Dr. James M. Houston’s comprehensive vision of integrative scholarship. Its main task is to foster interdisciplinary and interreligious dialogue on the central question of the late-modern world: what does it mean to be human?

Inviting a range of philosophical perspectives through collaboration with the University of British Columbia and other institutions, the Centre explores a holistic understanding of humanity that accounts for the unique social, political, and theological issues of our time. Comprising a community of leading scholars, the Centre generates dialogue across disciplines—theology, philosophy, biology, cognitive science, political studies, and more—in order to navigate the mystery of the human person.

Through public lectures, seminars, and a variety of publications, the Houston Centre helps others engage theological questions of humanity for the common good.