Science & Religion. Evolution or Creation. Atheism & Science. God and Humanism. Science and Faith. New Atheism
Showing posts with label History of Science. Show all posts
Showing posts with label History of Science. Show all posts
Defending Science. Between Scientism And Cynicism
Sweeping in scope, penetrating in analysis, and generously illustrated
with examples from the history of science, this new and original
approach to familiar questions about scientific evidence and method
tackles vital questions about science and its place in society. Avoiding
the twin pitfalls of scientism and cynicism, noted philosopher Susan Haack argues that, fallible and flawed as they are, the natural sciences
have been among the most successful of human enterprises -- valuable
not only for the vast, interlocking body of knowledge they have
discovered, and not only for the technological advances that have
improved our lives, but as a manifestation of the human talent for
inquiry at its imperfect but sometimes remarkable best. This
wide-ranging, trenchant, and illuminating book explores the complexities
of scientific evidence, and the multifarious ways in which the sciences
have refined and amplified the methods of everyday empirical inquiry;
articulates the ways in which the social sciences are like the natural
sciences, and the ways in which they are different; disentangles the
confusions of radical rhetoricians and cynical sociologists of science;
exposes the evasions of apologists for religious resistance to
scientific advances; weighs the benefits and the dangers of technology;
tracks the efforts of the legal system to make the best use of
scientific testimony; and tackles predictions of the eventual
culmination, or annihilation, of the scientific enterprise. Writing with
verve and wry humour, in a witty, direct, and accessible style, Haack
takes readers beyond the "Science Wars" to a balanced understanding of
the value, and the limitations, of the scientific enterprise.
Science and Religion. Some Historical Perspectives
In this 1991 volume, John Hedley Brooke offers an introduction and
critical guide to one of the most fascinating and enduring issues in the
development of the modern world: the relationship between scientific
thought and religious belief. It is common knowledge that in western
societies there have been periods of crisis when new science has
threatened established authority. The trial of Galileo in 1633 and the
uproar caused by Darwin's Origin of Species (1859) are two of the most
famous examples. Taking account of recent scholarship in the history of
science, Brooke takes a fresh look at these and similar episodes,
showing that science and religion have been mutually relevant in so rich
a variety of ways that no simple generalizations are possible. A
special feature of the book is that Brooke stands back from general
theses affirming 'conflict' or 'harmony', which have so often served
partisan interests. His object is to reveal the subtlety, complexity,
and diversity of the interaction as it has taken place in the past and
in the twentieth century.
John Hedley Brooke
Dr. John Hedley Brooke held the Andreas Idreos Professorship of Science & Religion at Oxford University from 1999 to 2006. He is a Fellow of Harris Manchester College, Oxford and Honorary Professor of the History of Science at Lancaster University. In 2007 he was a Distinguished Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies at Durham University. His books include Science and Religion: Some Historical Perspectives (Cambridge University Press, 1991) and (with Geoffrey Cantor) Reconstructing Nature: The Engagement of Science & Religion (T & T Clark, 1998). His most recent book, co-edited with Ronald Numbers, is Science & Religion around the World (Oxford University Press, 2011) He is currently President of the International Society for Science & Religion.
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