Science and Religion: Are They Compatible?Paul Kurtz In recent years a noticeable trend toward harmonizing the distinct worldviews of science and religion has become increasingly popular. Despite marked public interest, many leading scientists remain skeptical that there is much common ground between scientific knowledge and religious belief. Indeed, they are often antagonistic. Can an accommodation be reached after centuries of conflict? In this stimulating collection of articles on the subject, Paul Kurtz, with the assistance of Barry Karr and Ranjit Sandhu, have assembled the thoughts of scientists from various disciplines. Among the distinguished contributors are Sir Arthur C. Clarke (author of 2001: A Space Odyssey, and numerous other works of science fiction); Nobel Prize Laureate Steven Weinberg (professor of physics at the University of Texas at Austin); Neil deGrasse Tyson (Princeton University astrophysicist and director of the Hayden Planetarium); James Lovelock (creator of the Gaia hypothesis); Kendrick Frazier (editor of the Skeptical Inquirer); Steven Pinker (professor of psychology at MIT); Richard Dawkins (zoologist at Oxford University); Eugenie Scott (physical anthropologist and executive director of the National Center for Science Education); Owen Gingerich (professor of astronomy at Harvard University); Martin Gardner (prolific popular science writer); the late Richard Feynman (Nobel Prize-winning physicist) and Stephen Jay Gould (professor of geology at Harvard University); and many other eminent scientists and scholars. Among the topics discussed are the Big Bang and the origin of the universe, intelligent design and creationism versus evolution, the nature of the "soul," near-death experiences, communication with the dead, why people do or do not believe in God, and the relationship between religion and ethics. |
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Page 76
... scientists , soundly following the scientific method , have not also been famously wrong . They have . Most scien- tific claims made on the frontier will ultimately be disproved , due primarily to bad or incomplete data . But this ...
... scientists , soundly following the scientific method , have not also been famously wrong . They have . Most scien- tific claims made on the frontier will ultimately be disproved , due primarily to bad or incomplete data . But this ...
Page 112
... scientists all secularists ? Apparently not . A strong core of scientists are believers . In 1914 the sociologist James H. Leuba surveyed scientists listed in American Men and Women of Science and found that 42 percent believed in a ...
... scientists all secularists ? Apparently not . A strong core of scientists are believers . In 1914 the sociologist James H. Leuba surveyed scientists listed in American Men and Women of Science and found that 42 percent believed in a ...
Page 136
... scientists know more and more about less and less . Many , in my opinion , even lack an overall view of science . I think it is no accident that those scientists who are the most active in criticizing evolution , usually from a ...
... scientists know more and more about less and less . Many , in my opinion , even lack an overall view of science . I think it is no accident that those scientists who are the most active in criticizing evolution , usually from a ...
Contents
An Overview of the Issues | 11 |
Are Science and Religion Conflicting or Complementary? Some Thoughts About Boundaries | 25 |
Cosmology and God | 29 |
Copyright | |
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