The claim is often heard that science and religion are in
irreconcilable conflict. However, when the essence of
science and the essence of religion are examined more
closely, this viewpoint may appear as simply a mirage.
The first and vital step in this investigation is to
understand that only physics (including astronomy,
chemistry and molecular biology) qualifies as exact
science. In this book the author, Stanley L. Jaki,explains how this is so,
and then explores what physicists themselves have
claimed physics to be. Next he considers what these
physicists have said as philosophers regarding physics,
and after that shows what their investigations of the
history of physics have revealed.
The result is that the function of numbers is seen as
the determinant factor in the nature of physics. If such
is the case, and as long as religion is viewed as a set of
propositions which are not subject to measurement,
which numbers make possible, then a conflict between
religion and exact science can only be a mirage.
A chapter on the ideologies grafted onto physics
provides further information on this crucial point. The
next to last chapter deals with the inclement climate of
opinion that prevents a fair consideration of these
points. The last chapter gives a concrete analysis of
some cases that often come up in debates regarding
science and religion.
