Can one be spiritual without being religious? This question was the topic of a lecture given Mar. 1 in Scripps’ Balch Auditorium by Ronald Dworkin, Frank Henry Sommer Professor of Law and Philosophy at New York University. His lecture, entitled “Einstein’s God: Must Religion Be Supernatural?,” was sponsored by the Scripps Department of Philosophy and was part of the Merlan Lecture Series.

Dworkin explained that the world of inquiry is divided into the areas of interpretation (value-judgements, encompassing aesthetics, and ethics) and explanation (scientific truth). According to Dworkin, these areas do not overlap. If we place religion into the field of interpretation, instead of explanation, then there is no need for it to conflict with science. Placing religion in the “interpretation” category, he said, would also give it a more spiritual bent without asking it to provide scientific truths.

After introducing his talk and giving a brief sketch of some major facets of religious debate, Dworkin articulated his own position.

“I don’t think we have to be theistic at all,” he said. “I think we can have religion without God.”

Dworkin proposed a kind of religion that celebrates the universe and the awe people feel when they experience it, but does not attempt to explain natural phenomena in any way.

“There’s not much left for religion as an explanation,” he said.

Dworkin also stressed that a person does not need to be religious in order to live a meaningful life.

“I think we need to take more seriously the nineteenth-century view to live life as a work of art,” he said.

After the lecture and a question-and-answer session, Dworkin and a few attendees moved to Sycamore Court for a reception. Dworkin then dined with members of the Scripps faculty and a number of Scripps students in the Hampton Room above Malott Commons.

“This has definitely helped me see a different perspective than the one I currently have with regards to... religion,” said Maria Angeles SC ’14, who attended the lecture, reception, and dinner.

The Merlan Lecture, established by the Scripps Class of 1969, is designed for “someone who has engaged issues of pressing contemporary relevance,” according to Professor of Philosophy Dion Scott-Kakures.

Dworkin “is a preeminent philosopher who engages in social and political debates that are of interest to the wider Scripps community,” said Yuval Avnur, Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Scripps. “The point [of the lecture series] is to bring in spectacular philosophers who will attract everyone else.”