Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
the coexistence of science and religion
Influence of religion to science
the coexistence of science and religion
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: the coexistence of science and religion
Constantly on opposite sides, science and religion both espoused to define the meaning of man's existence and purpose. From the dawn of human cognition, religion seemed to have an important influence in daily lives. On the other hand, the purpose of science was to support theological dogma, and if possible, enforce them. By the 15th century, a pattern of divergence from solely subordination to theology emerges. Why was this possible? Looking at the characteristics of science and theology, the aims of the former is positivistic and the latter is normative. In the positivistic realm, whatever is concerned is what it is and it is under the control of natural law. Theological aspects are usually normative in that they dictate and mostly without unsubstantiated proof but faith alone. Since both are ultimately aspiring to the highest purpose, which is to guide the essence of existence, conflict is inevitable. In order to avert conflict, some individuals, notably deists, during and after the Scientific Revolution tried to validate that theology was essential to scientific discovery. How and why did they attempt to do so? One should note that some of these so-called scientists' aspirations were within the theological context and not all were new creations but modifications of discoveries from antiquity (Matthews, Platt and Noble 448). This is my argument.
To elaborate on my contention, some discussions of the historical aspects are vital. Certain individuals discovered over time that some of the scientific theories, in certain fields, from antiquity were either inaccurate or incorrect. A portion of these theories was either bogus or meant solely to support theological norms. During the Renaissance, new approaches to Christianity such as...
... middle of paper ...
...unter, Michael. "Science and Heterodoxy." Reappraisals of the Scientific Revolution. Ed. David C. Lindberg and Robert S. Westman. Cambridge: Cambridge Univeristy Press, 1990. 437-460.
Matthews, Roy T., F. DeWitt Platt and Thomas F. X. Noble. The Western Humanities. 7th ed. Vol. II. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2010. II vols.
McMullin, Ernan. "Conceptions of Science in the Scientific Revolution." Reappraisals of the Scientific Revolution. Ed. David C. Lindberg and Robert S. Westman. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990. 2-92.
Olson, Richard G. Science and Religion, 1450-1900: From Copernicus to Darwin (Greenwood Guides to Science and Religion). Westport: Greenwood Press, 2004.
Smith, Graeme. A Short History of Secularism. London: I. B. Tauris, 2008.
Westfall, Richard S. Isaac Newton (Very Interesting People Series). New York: Oxford University Press, USA, 2007.
Tobey, Ronald C, Horus Gets In Gear: A Beginner's Guide to Research in the History of Science. 2nd revised ed., Riverside: Department of History, University of California - Riverside, 1990,
“The lack of conflict between science and religion arises from a lack of overlap between their respective domains of professional expertise—science in the empirical constitution of the universe, and religion in the search for proper ethical values and the spiritual meaning of our lives. The attainment of wisdom in a full life requires extensive attention to both domains—for a great book tells us that the truth can make us free and that we will live in optimal harmony with our fellows when we learn to do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly.”
Wolf, A. A History of Science, Technology and Philosophy in the 16th and 17th Centuries. Vol. 2. New York: Harper, 1959.
Who were the four key figures who contributed to disenchanting the view of the universe?
Wolf, A. A History of Science, Technology and Philosophy in the 16th and 17th Centuries. Vol. 2. New York: Harper, 1959.
Henry, John. (2001). The scientific revolution and the origins of modern science. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Publishing
Shapere, D. (1964). Review: The structure of Scientific Revolutions. The Philosophical Review , 73 (3), 383-394.
Barbour, Ian G. Religion in an Age of Science. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1990. Print. (BL 240.2 .B368 1990)
...wever, in the best interest of advancing education and an enlightened society, science must be pursued outside of the realm of faith and religion. There are obvious faith-based and untestable aspects of religion, but to interfere and cross over into everyday affairs of knowledge should not occur in the informational age. This overbearing aspect of the Church’s influence was put in check with the scientific era, and the Scientific Revolution in a sense established the facet of logic in society, which allows us to not only live more efficiently, but intelligently as well. It should not take away from the faith aspect of religion, but serve to enhance it.
...eveloped, and especially during the Enlightenment, God and religion were relegated to a lesser role because it was thought that science could explain everything. Now, though, the farther we plunge into science, the more questions we find that can only be answered by religion. When science and Christianity are both studied and well understood, especially in the context of their limitations, it is possible to integrate them, or at least for them to complement each other, in my view of the world.
Throughout the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, radical and controversial ideas were created in what would become a time period of great advances. The Scientific Revolution began with a spark of inspiration that spread a wild fire of ideas through Europe and America. The new radical ideas affected everything that had been established and proven through religious views. "The scientific revolution was more radical and innovative than any of the political revolutions of the seventeenth century."1 All of the advances that were made during this revolutionary time can be attributed to the founders of the Scientific Revolution.
Wolf, Abraham. History of Science, Technology, and Philosophy in the Eighteenth Century. New York: MacMillan Press, 1968. Web. 5 June 2012.
First off, it is important to realize that religion and science have to be related in some way, even if it is not the way I mentioned before. If religion and science were completely incompatible, as many people argue, then all combinations between them would be logically excluded. That would mean that no one would be able to take a religious approach to a scientific experiment or vice versa. Not only does that occur, but it occurs rather commonly. Scientists often describe their experiments and writings in religious terms, just as religious believers support combinations of belief and doubt that are “far more reminiscent of what we would generally call a scientific approach to hypotheses and uncertainty.” That just proves that even though they are not the same, religion and science have to be related somehow.
Over the course of the years, society has been reformed by new ideas of science. We learn more and more about global warming, outer space, and technology. However, this pattern of gaining knowledge did not pick up significantly until the Scientific Revolution. In the sixteenth and seventeenth century, the Scientific Revolution started, which concerned the fields of astronomy, mechanics, and medicine. These new scientists used math and observations strongly contradicting religious thought at the time, which was dependent on the Aristotelian-Ptolemy theory. However, astronomers like Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, and Newton accepted the heliocentric theory. Astronomical findings of the Scientific Revolution disproved the fact that humans were the center of everything, ultimately causing people to question theology’s role in science and sparking the idea that people were capable of reasoning for themselves.
Ian Barbour introduced four models to establish the relationship between religion and science in his book, “Religion In An Age of Science”. This included the Conflict, Separation, Dialogue, and Integration models. The dialogue model in particular describes the methodological parallels that exist between the two paradigms. In this model, both science and religion are areas with significant knowledge of the unive...