Law, Ethics, and the Life Sciences at the University of Louisville

The University of Louisville's Brandeis School of Law - whose new dean is BioLaw luminary James Chen - has announced that it will hold the first annual conference on Law, Ethics, and the Life Sciences on October 26-27, 2007. Topics and scholars will span the fields of law, environmental science, information technology, health sciences, and bioethics, exploring both connections and divisions between these disciplines.

Louisville Law School describes the philosophy of the Law, Ethics, and the Life Sciences conference as follows:

Half a century ago, C.P. Snow identified a debilitating clash between competing literary and scientific cultures. To this day, abiding cultural divides cripple public understanding of a wide range of scientifically sophisticated issues, from global climate change and biodiversity loss to childhood vaccination, embryonic stem cell research, contraception, abortion, and end-of-life decision making. This conference aspires to span all of these subjects, and others, without regard to internal boundaries within law, ethics, or the life sciences. Environmental law, health law, food and drug regulation, biotechnology, law and behavioral psychology, and evolutionary analysis of law share a common scientific core. The best path toward understanding that core lies in embracing the similarities among these legal subdisciplines.

Anyone interested in attending what promises to be a fascinating and important conference should visit this website. Biolaw scholars interested in presenting at the conference should consult the Call For Papers website.