Gilbert Meilaender, PhD, MDiv

Professor Meilaender discusses his upbringing as the son of a Lutheran pastor, his education at Concordia Senior College and his path to academia after being ordained as a Lutheran minister. He discusses his graduate studies at Princeton University with mentor Paul Ramsey. He talks about his identity as a theological ethicist in a time when higher education was trying to distinguish the academic study of religion from theological study. He also discusses his experience with foster care and adoption, which shapes his view on reproductive technologies and the implications of the unquestioned use of such technologies. Professor Meilaender talks about his involvement with The Hastings Center and his work on the President’s Council on Bioethics during the George W. Bush administration. He notes that the Council’s work was philosophical, in contrast to law- and policy-oriented bioethics. He discusses the influence of the Council’s work on his thinking about human dignity, as well as the limits of bioethics, his approach to politics, and his belief in including religious views in public debate. The conversation concludes with reflections on his influences, friendships, correspondence with readers, and views on end-of-life care.