Immediately following the META Symposium on Sunday, August 2 from 1:30pm-5:30pm (Hilton Eugene Vista II room), there will be a half-day interdisciplinary workshop focused on the implications of recent advances in microbial biology for our understanding of human nature. This workshop will feature speakers from the humanities, social sciences and biophysical sciences, who will speak directly to how our understanding of human-microbe interactions alters how we view ourselves as human beings. Are the functions of our organism the unique outcome of our own genetics? Are our physiological capacities the product of our singular evolution? Are our psychological states and emotions, in a word our personality, nothing else than the expression of our organic properties? Ultimately, are we truly individuals? Today, microbial biology calls into question the most traditional conceptions of human nature and thus, helps us rethink some of the basic ethical concepts that inform our lives.

Workshop Flyer

AroundtheO article about the three-day META symposium

Contact: Nicolae Morar nmorar@uoregon.edu