Transcript SCIFAITH
“Ockham’s Razor” (A) It is futile to do with more what can be done with fewer. (B) When a proposition comes out true for things, if two things suffice for its truth, it is superfluous to assume a third (C) Plurality should not be assumed without necessity. (D) No plurality should be assumed unless it can be proved (a) by reason, or (b) by experience, or (c) by some infallible authority. Ockham’s Razor Cuts Both Ways: thoughts on the faith-science interaction Making CONTACT with Sagan’s Vision of Science/Religion • Dr. Eleanor Arroway Science portrayed as open, intellectually courageous, objective, honest • Palmer Joss (and others) Religion portrayed as inward, closed, subjective, intellectually weak and dangerous Backgrounding Science • it is historically and culturally delimited • it makes - a priori metaphysical and epistemological assertions about the natural world • it is socially situated Some Metaphysical and Epistemological Assumptions about the Natural World • Simplicity • Mathematical Nature of Reality - Beauty and Elegance • Foundationalism • Materialism – “The Cosmos, all that is or ever was or ever will be”. Cosmos, 1980 Worldviews in Collision “Science and Religion are diameterically opposed at their deepest philosophical levels. And because the two worldviews make claims to the same intellectual territory - that of the origin of the universe and humankind’s relationship to it conflict is inevitable” The Humanist, (May-June, 1986),. 26. Scientific Materialism • science is the only reliable path to knowledge • matter and energy are the fundamental entities of the universe. Quotables ... “We are survival machines - robot vehicles blindly programmed to preserve the selfish molecules known as genes.” Richard Dawkins, The Selfish Gene “Man knows at last that he is alone in the universe’s unfeeling immensity, out of which he emerged only by chance” Jaques Monod, Chance and Necessity In the end, science as we know it has two basic types of practitioners. One is the educated man who still has a controlled sense of wonder before the universal mystery, whether it hides in a snail's eye or within the light that impinges on that delicate organ. The second kind of observer is the extreme reductionist who is so busy stripping things apart that the tremendous mystery has been reduced to a trifle, to intangibles not worth troubling one's head about. The world of secondary qualities color, sound, thought is reduced to illusion. The only true reality becomes the chill void of ever streaming particles. Loren Eiseley, "Science and the Sense of the Holy" Ways of Relating Science and Religion • • • • Conflict Independence Dialogue Integration the struggle between scientific materialism and biblical literalism is like a fight between a Boa Constrictor and a Wart Hog. Each tries to swallow the other whole. The fight can be avoided if they occupy different territories or if they pursue more appropriate diets! Ian Barbour, Religion in an Age of Science Ockham’s Razor and the Durability of Religious Belief · many scientists maintain a belief in a personal God and participation in a religious community · religion exists and is practised in all cultures · religion is a “real” phenomenon in as much as it can be studied historically, anthropolgically, sociologically .... · religion contains objective practices and ideas How Science Informs Religion · lessons of physics and the shift from naive realist to critical realist positions has led to the realization that reality is “seen through a glass darkly”. This challenges us to begin to understand the extent to which a particular religion (Christianity, Islam, etc) is a model about God and our relationship to God. · The laws of nature challenge our understanding of how God acts within the universe (the problem of divine action and primary and secondary causes) How Religion Informs/Transforms Modern Science · Religion provides a the corrective lens to re-focus scientific questions and concerns to human ends. · Religion challenges science to be aware of its metaphysical underpinnings and structural limitations Ideas for the classroom... • Sagan’s series COSMOS provides fertile ground for teasing out implicit assumptions and metaphysical positions • THE QUESTION IS? - a BBC-Open University production designed for highschool students • The newsletter Science & Spirit • avoid materials that entrench a conflict position How to contact me ... • e-mail: [email protected] • homepage: http://www.kingsu.ab.ca/~brian/brian.htm