Abstract

Monks contemplate. Philosophers contemplate. But do scientists contemplate? And should scientists contemplate? This seminar introduces and motivates three core questions underlying the new Faraday Institute Research Hub on ‘Science as a Contemplative Activity’ launched in April 2025. First, why should science return to its contemplative roots today? Second, how did early Christians situate the study of nature within their account of human spiritual progress? Third, what might it look like to contemplate in a contemporary scientific context? I will illustrate how our Research Hub in addressing these questions will bring together theological and philosophical accounts of modernity, early Christian reflections on spiritual progress, and contemporary sociological study of natural scientists, to develop a renewed understanding of science as a contemplative activity.