Join Kol Ami for the second in their Scientists in Synagogues series, Science Meets Judaism, this time focused on animal sentience. Recent research has begun to document animals’ mental states and internal experience. Just as animals have their own personalities, some may share a capacity for perceptions that we would recognize as spiritual. Do animals have souls? Mike Jawer, author of Sensitive Soul and several other books, will propose a way to gauge soulfulness based on biology and on emotion. From a Jewish perspective, what would it mean to view other creatures as possessing souls? How does that correspond to Jewish teachings on the lives of animals? Dr. Diane Sharon will discuss two of the most prominent stories about animals from the Torah, and explore the ways in which “talking animals” embody a respect for other species and their roles in human life.
A Q&A session will take place after the presentations, and refreshments will be served.
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