Searching for the Origin of Goodness
What is goodness, how do we know it, and where does it come from? These are questions that philosophers, theologians, scientists, and the faithful have been asking since people first gathered to form cooperative groups. The perennial mystery of cooperation, whether among people or animals, is altruism. Altruism places the welfare of others above oneself and gives rise to self-sacrifice, whether in the service of family, tribe, or society. Altruism is a common in nature and can be observed in the behavior of social insects like bees, something that perturbed and puzzled scientists like Charles Darwin. In human society, altruism lies at the root of ethics, charity, faith, and heroism, and is a key motivator of cooperation. This talk will explore the nature and origin of altruism from several perspectives to better understand how goodness relates to faith, science, and society.
Dr. John Ambrosiano received his Ph.D. in Physics from The College of William and Mary in 1980 and has worked as a computational scientist at both the Livermore and Los Alamos National Laboratories. In 2005 he began pursuing an interest in Buddhism, which he now teaches at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Los Alamos. He has since retired from LANL but has remained a Laboratory Guest. Dr. Ambrosiano joined the Los Alamos Faith and Science Forum as a board member in 2022 and has presented several talks at the Forum’s summer series. These days he mostly spends his time fishing, writing talks, teaching, painting, and feeding horses.
