Bioscientific Foundation: Bioscientific Dialogue as Model of Intercultural Dialogue

Interdisciplinarity is an intercultural process in which different scientific subcultures interactand complement each other. The theory of evolution has given the biosciences an integrative foundation that combines molecular biology, behavioral research and cultural evolutionary studies. In particular, the theory of symbolic transmission builds bridges to the humanities and cultural sciences. Theological ethics can benefit from this interdisciplinary exchange by incorporating biological findings and at the same time critically reflecting on their methodological limitations. Evolutionary ethics in particular makes it clear that moral norms are not static, but culturally developed and have an evolutionary-dynamic basic character. This approach can be helpful for interculturally oriented theological ethics, which seeks common ethical foundations and solutions across cultural boundaries. In this context, the interdisciplinary dialog between theological ethics and the biosciences can serve as a model for intercultural ethics. For example, by drawing on an empirically grounded “theory of cultural evolution”, this dialogue provides a framework for understanding cultural differences and promoting communication between epistemically different traditions in an increasingly globalized world.