The Scientific & the Divine: Conflict and Reconciliation from Ancient Greece to the Present

by James A. Arieti, Patrick A. Wilson

Overview

There have been many—too many—attempts over the centuries to bring science and religion into harmony. James A. Arieti and Patrick A. Wilson survey and assess these various efforts, from Plato to Aquinas to present-day philosophers and theologians. The Scientific & The Divine examines the perennial issues that keep science and religion at arm's length, clarify those issues, and fit them into an historical framework.

This book is ideal for use as a textbook in any course that discusses the interplay between science and faith. Arieti and Wilson do not push an agenda—they take a critical, analytical look at the theories that started when the ancient Greeks realized the religious implications of scientific discovery. The Scientific & The Divine shows the historical continuity of both the central issues and the many potential solutions, and demonstrates which of these theories comes closest to saving the marriage between science and religion.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780742513969
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	02/11/2003
Pages:	352
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.24(h) x 1.03(d)

About the Author

James A. Arieti is Graves H. Thompson Professor of Classics at Hampden-Sydney College. Patrick A. Wilson is associate professor of philosophy at Hampden-Sydney College.

Table of Contents

Part 1 Part One: Science and Religion
Chapter 2 The Problem
Chapter 3 Is Human Reason Able to Explain the World?
Chapter 4 What Is Science?
Chapter 5 The Origin of Scientific Attempts to Explain the World
Chapter 6 The God of Ancient Philosophers
Part 7 Part Two: Reconciling Science and Religion
Chapter 8 General Considerations Concerning the Reconciliation of Science and Religion
Chapter 9 Plato
Chapter 10 Philo of Alexandria
Chapter 11 Reconciling Science and Religion in Medieval Islam
Chapter 12 Reconciling Science and Religion in Medieval Judaism
Chapter 13 Reconciling Science and Religion in the Christian Middle Ages
Chapter 14 Reconciling Science and Religion from the Renaissance through the Enlightenment
Chapter 15 Science and Religion in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries
Chapter 16 Science and Religion at the End of the Twentieth Century
Chapter 17 Conclusion

Editorial Reviews

This is a scholarly book, sufficiently researched and highly readable. With the use of so many historical references, the book allows the reader enough detachment to tackle the big theological questions with a level of objectivity. It would be an ideal textbook for a survey course on the relationship between science and faith.

Research News and Opportunities In Science and Technology

This is a clear and thoughtful discussion on the science/religion relationship. It is historically sensitive, yet fully up to date. It is balanced, yet does not hesitate to wade into major controversies. I recommend the book strongly.

Michael Ruse

I have found no better single volume on science and religion than The Scientific and the Divine. Arieti and Wilson have brilliantly and succinctly distilled the wisdom of the ages into a highly readable text that should be adopted by professors teaching courses on this most compelling and important subject.

Michael Shermer

[This book] is particularly welcome because its authors tackle issues of science and religion from two unusual but informative disciplinary perspectives.

Religious Studies

This is a scholarly book, sufficiently researched and highly readable. With the use of so many historical references, the book allows the reader enough detachment to tackle the big theological questions with a level of objectivity. It would be an ideal textbook for a survey course on the relationship between science and faith.

Research News and Opportunities in Science and Technology