As I do most weekends, I phoned my mother in Oxford today. After exchanging family news, the subject turned to my philosophy course. “I just caught a story on BBC Oxford about a new philosophy group here,” she said. “Of course wasn’t able to read about it in the paper,” [because of her blindness] “but I think it was about the study of consciousness.” As we spoke, I quickly searched and came up with the obvious hit. “Are you talking about the Oxford Centre for Science of the Mind,” I asked. “The project that Susan Greenfield… sorry, Baroness Susan Greenfield is heading up? This led to a short digression about Tony Blair’s habit of handing out life peerages like school prizes, and then discussing our disappointment at the lack of rigour in many of Greenfield’s publications. After that, I told my mother about OXCSOM’s approach:
Initially there will be eight academics on the payroll of the Centre from six different departments: Anatomy, Pharmacology, Philosophy, Physiology, the Ian Ramsey Centre (Theology), and the Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics. The researchers will employ a wide range of techniques, including functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging.
“I wonder how the theologians will get on with fMRI,” I mused, and my mother assured me that that as Oxford theologians they would embrace it enthusiastically. “By the way,” I said, “do you know where OXCSOM is getting its money? It’s hosted by the IAN RAMSEY CENTRE [studying the relationship of religious belief and science], and funded by the John Templeton Foundation.” Both of us vaguely recognized the name – something about underwriting a scientific study of prayer. [Turns out he’s a Tennessee-born investment manager.]
As we talked, I clicked on a few links… and then I couldn’t contain myself any more. “So, let me tell you about another Templeton project I’ve just come across. It’s called The Institute for Research on Unlimited Love.” “What on earth do they mean by ‘unlimited love’, and how do you do research in it?” said my mother. “It all sounds very flakey.” I clicked the About us link. “No problem,” I said. “They’ve got all that covered. By ‘unlimited love’, they mean ‘love for all humanity without exception’. And as for research, ‘Just as we investigate the force of gravity or the energy of the atom, we can scientifically examine the power of unlimited love in human moral and spiritual experience.’ Easy.”
My mother sighed. “You know, a friend of mine, a newspaper columnist, told me that he was giving up on satire,” she said. “He feels that nothing he can write matches up to the reality of today’s world.” And we agreed that satire is dead, and set a time for our next conversation.