Social Construction and the Created Character of Human Beings
This project aims at contributing to the dialogue between Christian thought and contemporary social sciences by means of an examination of the possibilities of mutual enhancement between the belief in the created character of human beings and the interpretation of human persons proper of the socio-constructivist approach. In particular, the idea of human nature, highly contested by constructivists, will be examined in the light of both the emphasis on historicity and contingency characteristic of current social sciences and of theological anthropology. We expect that a contemporary interpretation of the created character of human beings can take elements from socio-constructivism at the same time that it will set limits and confer certain direction and purpose to the process of social construction. Besides the production of original scholarship, the project aims at educating new scholars and strengthening the work of our inter-university science and religion research group.
Grant: US$14,854
Dates: March 2016 – March 2017