Science and nonbelief / Taner Edis.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Edis, Taner, 1967-

Series:

Greenwood guides to science and religion

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Science--History--Philosophy.

Science.

Religion and science--History.

Religion and science.

History.

Science and spiritualism--History.

Science and spiritualism.

Faith and reason--History.

Faith and reason.

Naturalism--History.

Naturalism.

Nature--Religious aspects.

Nature.

Philosophy.

Physical Description:

xxi, 285 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm.

Place of Publication:

Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press, 2006.

Summary:

Can science and religious belief co-exist? Many people-including many practicing scientists-insist that one can simultaneously follow the principles of the scientific method and believe in a particular spiritual tradition. But throughout history there have been people for whom science challenges the validity of religious belief. Whether called atheists, agnostics, skeptics, or "infidels," these individuals use the naturalism of modern science to deny the existence of any supernatural power. Science and Nonbelief chronicles, in a balanced and accessible way, the long history of the battle between adherents of religious doctrines and the nonbelievers who adhere to the naturalism of modern science.

The volume also addresses the political context of debates over science and nonbelief, and questions about the nature of morality. It includes a selection of provocative primary source documents that illustrate the complexity and varieties of nonbelief.

Contents:

Chapter 1 Science, Philosophy, and Religious Doubt 1

Philosophers, Doubting and Devout 1

The Old Science and the Old Faith 5

The European Enlightenment 9

Nonbelief Comes of Age 15

Science and Nonbelief Today 23

Scientific Naturalism 28

Chapter 2 An Accidental World 33

Why Physics Is Hard 33

The Nature of Modern Physics 36

The Burden of Proof 41

God in the Cracks of Causality 45

Quantum Mysticism 49

Cosmic Harmonies 52

Fine-tuning the Universe 55

A Moment of Creation? 58

Physics and Naturalism 61

Chapter 3 Darwinian Creativity 65

Achieving Complexity 65

The Physics of Evolution 68

Evolution and Religion 72

Old-fashioned Creationism 76

Intelligent Design 80

Creation through Evolution 85

Universal Darwinism 89

Chapter 4 Minds without Souls 95

Mind and Matter 95

Cartesian Dualism 97

Machines Who Think 100

Genes and Memes 105

The Conscious Brain 108

Qualia and Subjectivity 111

Mind over Matter 115

The God Module 117

Parts and Wholes 120

Nonbelief Adapts to Brain Science 123

Chapter 5 The Fringes of Science 125

Ultimate Explanations 125

Miracles and Rejected Knowledge 128

Scripture as Miracle 130

From Spiritualism to the New Age 133

Skeptics versus Psychics 136

Miracles in the Laboratory 141

UFOs and Aliens 145

Direct Experience of the Paranormal? 149

Paranormal Skepticism and Nonbelief 152

Chapter 6 Explaining Religion 157

Too Many Religions 157

Religious Studies 160

Rational Choice Theory 162

The Secularization Thesis 165

Religion and Group Selection 168

A Virus of the Mind 173

The Religious Mind 176

Explaining Theology and Nonbelief 180

The Prospects for Nonbelief 183

Chapter 7 Morality and Politics 187

More Than the Facts 187

The State of Science 190

The State of Nonbelief 195

A Morality of Reason 198

The Science of Morality 203

Separate Spheres 209

An Uneasy Alliance 213

1 Force and Matter, or, Principles of the Natural Order of the Universe. With a System of Morality Based Thereupon / Ludwig Buchner 217

2 "A Designer Universe?" / Steven Weinberg 222

3 "Obscurantism to the Rescue" / Richard Dawkins 227

4 The Problem of the Soul: Two Visions of Mind and How to Reconcile Them / Owen Flanagan 232

5 "What Can the Paranormal Teach Us about Consciousness?" / Susan Blackmore 236

6 "Why Is Religion Natural?" / Pascal Boyer 241.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [247]-275) and index.

ISBN:

0313330786

OCLC:

61131830