HONORS 224G God and Nature Reading and Discussion Guide Professor William Eamon New Mexico State University Fall 2003

Evolution or Creation?  A Compromise

 

What is science? content aims context What is religion? content aims context Can religion be scientific?

William Blake, Europe a Prophecy

Anthropology and Religion

Theories of religion advanced by anthropologists:

Edward Tylor:  Victorian anthropologist, author of Primitive Culture (1871).

Primitives have religion, moderns have science.  Both perform same function, i.e., to give order and meaning to the world; to explain nature.

Religion is like science, in that it emerges from a combination of observation, inference, generalization.

Primitives are animistic, hence they postulate souls to explain things (the data).

Religion is an intellectual phenomenon; but at a ‘childlike’ level; and based upon false assumptions.

Claude Lévi-Strauss:  French anthropologist, author of Structural Anthropology (1958) and The Savage Mind (1962)

Religion is science:  a science of observable, qualitative phenomena; not of unobservable, quantitative phenomena (modern science).

Religion is a science of the concrete.

Robin Horton:  English anthropologist living in Africa; author of "African Traditional Thought and Western Science"

Defends intellectual status of religion.

Distinguishes in terms of context:

Religious explanations operate in a ‘closed’ society, scientific ones in an ‘open’ society.

‘Closed’ society:  uncritical; no developed awareness of alternatives to established bodies of theory.  Prevailing tenets -- because they are never challenged -- assume a sacred status.

Is religion an explanation of the physical world, the world of nature?  Some anthropologists deny this:  only of symbolic, emotional world.

But in the 19th century, when the terms of the science-religion debate were set, this was accepted; and hence science always emerged as superior.  And the relationship was always seen as one of warfare.

Andrew Dixon White:  History of Warfare of Theology With Science in Christendom

The Genesis Project (creation myths)

Metropolitan Museum of Art: Blake Images Exhibition

Discussion Topics

Ancient Greece:

The birth of philosophy (natural philosophy)

The displacement of myth by science

Thales and the pre-socratics

In what areas did science displace mythology in ancient Greece?  And how successfully?

Disease:  religious versus scientific cures

Apollo sending a plague; disease randomly roaming the earth
Hippocrates: Epidemics, The Sacred Disease

Divination and fate:  astrology

The investigation of nature led to a new kind of wisdom; but was it superior?

Creation of wise men of a different (scientific) kind, replacing seers?

Hellenistic occult sciences

Magical formulas
Thessalos of Tralles

Sophocles

Oedipus Rex

What kind of king was Oedipus?
Did he act rationally?
Was he being scientific in his search for the murderer?

What kind of religion did Teiresius practice?
Does he act rationally?
Is he ‘superstitious’?

Does Sophocles resolve the conflict he sees between science and religion?  Explain why or why not.

Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex web site

Play the Oedipus Game! (A cool web site to test your knowledge of the play)

The Internet Dictionary of Philosophy (covers all periods)

Web Resources on Sophocles

Traditions of Magic in Ancient Antiquity

Discussion Topics

The pagan philosophical tradition:  Greece and Rome

What was ancient religion like?

rituals
sacrifices
prayers

Early Christianity

Christ as magus
Christ as a healer

Athens versus Jerusalem

How did early Christians regard philosophy?

To what extent did they use it?  For what purposes?

Tertullian

On Pagan Learning (c. 220 CE)

"What has Athens to do with Jerusalem?"  What did he mean?

Why did Tertullian think philosophy was dangerous?

The dangers of philosophy:

• Heresy
• Curiosity

Augustine

Biography:  354-430, native of Carthage.  Bishop of Hippo
His education
Works:  Confessions, City of God

Philosophy as a handmaid to religion; to be cultivated, but disciplined and put to use.

The dangers of curiosity.

Why does Augustine characterize curiosity as a "lust of the eyes"?
Does Augustine subordinate reason to faith?

On Faith in Things Unseen: (download this text)

To whom Augustine writing?

What kinds of (unseen) things is it rational to believe in?

• friendship, love, loyalty
• prophecy

Why is it rational to believe in such things?

their ‘indications’ or signs

Is it ‘scientific’ to believe in things unseen?

‘indications’, signs in science: evidence
clues

What kinds of invisible things in science do we believe in because of their ‘indications’?

The decline of science in late antiquity

What do we mean?
Was Christianity responsible?

What was the early Christian attitude toward science?

 

The Bestiary A book about ‘signs’:  animals as signs of divine things A book about ‘zoology’? Analogy; creation has a meaning versus science: what is the scientific ‘meaning’ of creation?

The world view of early Middle Ages

The ‘factuality’ of the bestiary:  what is ‘factual’ in it?  Are its claims (about animals) meant to be ‘true’ in the same sense that science's claims are true?  In what sense then?

 

Medieval TO maps:  portraying the world schematically Examine the T-O maps: what are these maps intended to portray? do the portray the world realistically or symbolically? in what ways are the T-O maps similar to bestiaries?

Augustine web site:  Texts, translations, commentaries, iconography.  An excellent and thorough site.

The Tertullian Home Page

The Aberdeen Bestiary Project

Maps of the Early Medieval Period

Discussion Topics
 
 

An Arabic Medical Manuscript

Resources and Links

Islamic Science

Arabic Science web site

Discussion Topics

Be able to formulate Anselm's Ontological Argument for God's Existence

The ANSELM'S ARGUMENT web site is worth looking at.

Can you think of any objections you might make to Anselm's argument?

From the ARGUMENT web site, read Gaunilon's Objections

St. Thomas Aquinas

How does Aquinas argue for God's existence?  Is this a variation of Anselm's argument? (See the ARGUMENT web site's summary, Aquinas on Anselm.)

Jewish philosophy

Moses Maimomides, "Guide of the Perplexed"

St. Anselm

St. Anselm

Moses Maimomides

Discussion Topics

Ptolemaic Astronomy

Saving the appearances
Epicycles

Nicolaus Copernicus, De revolutionibus (1543) Biography of Copernicus (timeline) Aims and methods of De revolutionibus calendar reform the status of mathematics versus physics Impact of the work:  A conservative revolution?

The Council of Trent (1545-1564)

Hermenetics and authority

Copernicus and the Bible

The debate over the Copernicanism and the Bible

In what ways, specifically, does De revolutionibus contradict Scripture?

Review these troublesome Biblical passages and explain why they are contradicted by Copernicanism:

• References to the stability of the earth (e.g., Psalm 93:1 & Ecclesiastes 1:4)
• References to the sun's motion with respect to the terrestrial horizon (e.g., Ecclesiastes 1:5 & Psalm 104:19)
• The sun at rest (Joshua 10:12-13)

The Protestant Reformation

Luther and Science
 

Nicholas Copernicus Museum

Council of Trent, Canons and Decrees

Biography and Timeline 1564: Born in Pisa 1589: University of Pisa 1592: Venice and the University of Padua 1610: Appointed to chair of mathematics at University of Pisa 1610: The Starry Messenger 1611: Goes to Rome 1611: Becomes member of Accademia dei Lincei 1615: Letter to the Grand Duchess Christina 1615: Condemnation of Copernicus 1632: Dialogue on the Two Chief World Systems 1632: Summoned by Holy Office to Rome 1633: Trial concludes; exiled to villa in Arcetri 1642: Died in Arcetri (8 January)

Discussion Topics

Galileo's Conception of Science

Nature written in a ‘great book’:  mathematics
The ‘orthodoxy of the day’:  naive realism in physics, instrumentalism in astronomy (Shea, 123)

What was the scientific status of Copernicanism, according to Galileo?  Was Copernicanism true or hypothetical?

Galileo and Rome

• The Reformation and Protestantism
• The Council of Trent
• 1615: Condemnation of Copernicus

Why, according to Galileo, is Copernicanism not contrary to Scripture?

Does Galileo reconcile science with religion?

Galileo Project Homepage

Galileo Room, Institute and Museum of the History of Science of Florence, Italy

What was the status of Copernican astronomy in 1615?

• proven or hypothetical?
• an improvement over Ptolemaic astronomy?

Letter to Grand Duchess Christina

• Galileo's hermeneutical strategy
• why St. Augustine?

Why did Galileo think he had ‘proven’ Copernican system?  On what grounds?

Did these ‘proofs’ constitute proof in the philosophical tradition?

• meaning of scientia (knowledge) in the Scholastic tradition
• the grounds for proof in the Scholastic tradition

The argument:

1.  Copernicus never discusses matters of faith; physical proofs
2.  His doctrine cannot contradict Scripture if rightly understood
3.  The Bible cannot error; but its meaning must be rightly understood
4.  Often Scriptural truths are abstruse; hence if one reads it literally, may fall into error
5.  Bible written to accomodate plain people
6.  Hence, in physics, we ought not begin with Bible
7.  Nature, on other hand, is inexorable and does not care if we understand her
8.  Bible does not teach physics

On accommodation:

1.  Some doctrines proven; others only plausible or conjectured
2.  When conjectured, must bow to Scripture
3.  When certain, interpretation of Scripture must accommodate itself to science.

Into which category did the Copernican doctrine fall?

How does Galileo accommodate the Joshua passage with a literal reading of the Bible?

Was Galileo’s attempt to reconcile science and religion successful?

How was the Galileo trial used as a symbol in the succeeding centuries?  What does it mean today?  Interpret the 1857 painting by Cristiano Banti.

 

1543	Copernicus, De revolutionibus
1610	Galileo, Starry Messenger
1615	Galileo, Letter to the Grand Duchess Christina

Early Inquisition Proceedings (1616)

 

1616	Consultants’ report on Copernicanism
February	Galileo’s audience with Cardinal Bellarmine
March	Decree of Index on Copernicus
March	Galileo’s audience with Pope Paul V
May	Bellarmine’s certificate concerning his conversation with Galileo

Interlude — 1616-1623

1623	Death of Pope Paul V; election of Cardinal Maffeo Barberini as Pope Urban VIII
1624	Galileo visits the new Pope
1632	Galileo, Dialogue on the Two Chief World Systems

Later Inquisition Proceedings (1633)

 

1633	April	Galileo’s first deposition
1633	April	Inquisitors’ report on Dialogue
1633	30 April	Galileo’s second deposition
1633	10 May	Galileo’s defense
1633	June	Report to Pope
1633	21 June	Galileo’s fourth deposition
1633	22 June	Sentence; Galileo’s abjuration

Discussion Topics

 

Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956), German dramatist, director, and poet, whose unique, disengaged treatment of social themes and revolutionary experiments greatly influenced modern drama and theatrical production. He was born in Augsburg, Bavaria. Brecht's early plays show the influence of expressionism, the leading dramatic movement at the time. In 1928, with German composer Kurt Weill, he wrote a musical drama, The Threepenny Opera, a satire on capitalism. During this early period in his career Brecht trained actors and began to develop a theory of dramatic technique known as epic theater. Rejecting the methods of traditional realistic drama, he preferred a loose narrative form in which he used distancing devices such as asides and masks to create a historical frame around the action.

Because of his political activities that opposed German dictator Adolf Hitler, Brecht fled from Germany in 1933. He wrote several plays, including Galileo (1938-1939) and Mother Courage and Her Children (1941), which established his reputation as a serious dramatist. In 1948 Brecht returned to Germany and founded his own theatrical company. He also wrote several noted collections of poems.

Brecht’s Galileo (1939)

This is what Brecht said about his play, The Life of Galileo:

“I hope this work shows how society extorts from its individuals what it needs from them.  The urge to research, a social phenomenon no less delightful or compulsive than the urge to reproduce, steers Galileo into that most dangerous territory, drives him into agonizing conflict with his violent desires for other pleasures.  He raises his telescope to the stars and delivers himself to the rack.  In the end he indulges his science like a vice, secretly and probably with pangs of conscience.  Confronted with such a situation, one can scarcely wish only to praise or only to condemn Galileo.”

Bertolt Brecht, 1947

Does Brecht condemn Galileo?  Why or why not?

Does Brecht apologize for Galileo?  Why or why not?

Read the essay, "Brecht and the Historical Galileo," by William Eamon

Brecht exhibition web site

Discussion Topics

The Reformation:  What is Protestantism?  How does Protestantism differ from Roman Catholicism in matters of doctrine?

• The doctrine of salvation
• The authority of Scripture

God and Nature in the Middle Ages:  God cooperating with nature

• Aristotelian science:  active matter; the integrity of nature
• The condemnation of 1277:  nominalism

Protestantism:  the radical sovereignty of God

Luther:  righteousness as a gift of God rather than a result of striving

Contrast to medieval doctrine of salvation:

• The role of good works
• Aristotle on moral virtue

Why did Luther reject medieval view?  (God's sovereignty)

The 'Protestant' view of nature:

• Nature as passive
• The creation:  ex nihilo
• Nature incomplete:  sustained by God
• Nature has no telos
• Radical sovereignty of God implies that nature has no powers

The mechanical philosophy

Atomism
Problems?  order out of chaos

Dead nature:  Robert Boyle (portrait)

Newton (portrait)

Gravitation; its problems;  nature lifeless, but permeated by God
Gravity as grace

A God of general providence, not of constant vigilance over nature.  Contrast to Reformers' God

Why the change?

• different questions (salvation v. a mechanistic view of nature)
• cultural reasons

Selection from Descartes' Discourse on Method

Why does Westfall claim that the 17th century was a 'watershed' in the history of Christianity?

Westfall's examples:  Kepler, Descartes, Newton

Kepler (portrait)

• A shift away from salvation:  focus on God the creator; wisdom of God in the creation
• Elevates nature as revelation of God

How does Kepler sustain this conception:  idea of ordered cosmos

• principles of geometry as rules of creation
• division of universe into triads (Trinity)

Descartes (portrait)

Skepticism:

Proof of existence of God:  The bedrock of his metaphysics.

• God as a metaphysical necessity.
• No specific Christian features required.


God the Creator/ Sustainer versus God the Redeemer

Descartes on wonder:

• repelled by wonder;
• science's purpose to make wonders end;
• compare to early Christian view


Absence of miracles, etc.

That God Exists:

 
How do we know what we think we know?  How can we be sure that our ideas correspond to reality?  What grounds do we have?

Grounds for doubting ideas of corporeal things, perceptions (e.g. heat and cold), etc.

Idea of God:  cannot proceed from me alone; Cannot doubt existence of God


The mechanical universe:  clockwork metaphors; God as superior artisan

Descartes' vortex theory

Mechanical beasts:  automata
Humanity:  automata plus a brain

Isaac Newton (portrait) What is Newton's conception of God? How does Newton's God differ from the traditional Christian deity? How is God like space? According to Newton, what is the relation between God and gravity?

William Blake, Newton

Leibniz (portrait)

The dispute with Newton:  the Leibniz-Clarke debate
Leibniz's views on space and time

Kepler Web Site

Leibniz's Philosophy

Discussion Topics

Does the universe show evidence of intelligent design?  Should the scientist look for evidence of intelligent design in the universe?

These questions emerged from considerations of the theological implications of the mechanical philosophy.  One of the important religious views that resulted was deism, a popular form of religion among 18th century intellectuals.   Deists believed in the existence of God on purely rational grounds, but did not give credence to revealed religion or religious authority.  An extension of advances in astronomy, physics, and cosmology made during the Scientific Revolution, deism was influential among politicians, scientists and philosophers during the later 17th century and especially during the 18th century, the so-called "Age of Enlightenment," in England, France, Germany and the United States.

The Enlightenment

Why is the 18th century called the "age of Enlightenment"?

Who were the philosophes and what did they believe?

Deism

What is deism?
Does deism involve belief in God?  What kind of God?

In what ways did Newtonianism and the mechanical philosophy prepare the way for deism?

Natural Theology

Who was William Paley?

What does Paley mean by ‘design’?

Be prepared to formulate Paley's version of the design argument.

The Refutation of Design

David Hume  (1711-1776)

Hume and the Edinburgh circle

Who was David Hume?

Be prepared to explain Hume’s main criticisms of the design argument.

Is it possible to have adaptations without design?  I.e., are adaptations (e.g., the eye to sight) necessarily 'designed'?

Do you think the design argument is valid?  Why or why not?

Why did the design argument fall out of favor in modern philosophy?

William Paley

The Hume Archives

The David Hume page

This week's seminars will be entirely arranged and conducted by the two teams of students who have signed up for the extra credit assignment.  The two teams are:

 

Team A:

Team B:

Illustration from the `Aja'ib al-makhluqat wa-ghara'ib al-mawjudat (Marvels of Things Created and Miraculous Aspects of Things Existing) composed in the 13th cent. by Zakariya' ibn Muhammad al-Qazwini

Some possible topics for this seminar include:

• Presentation of the major schools of Islamic philosophy and science
• Debate on the legitimacy of science in Islam

Resources and Links

History of Islamic Science Web Page

Islamic Philosophy Online

History of Science and Technology in Islam

Biography and Timeline Early Life and Education (1809-1831) 1809:      Born in Shrewsbury, England 1825-27: Edinburgh University, Scotland 1828-31: Cambridge University Voyage of Discovery: On Board the Beagle (1831-1836) 1831-36: Serves as naturalist aboard the H. M. S. Beagle 1835:      Beagle arrives at Galapagos Islands 1836:      Beagle returns to England The Origin of Species and its aftermath (18 1836-44:  Begins series of notebooks on biology 1839:       Marries Emma Wedgwood 1842-44:  Early versions of theory of evolution 1858:      Essays by Darwin and Wallace to Linnaean Society 1859:      Publication of Origin of Species 1871:      Descent of Man 1882:      Died at age 73

Discussion Topics

Darwin's Origin of Species

Species concepts:

(1) Essentialist (typological):  species are ‘types’, universals
(2) Nominalist:  only individuals exist; species fictions
(3) Biological:  species are populations which have reality owing to genetic cohesion and shared ecological niche

Theories of speciation before the Origin

Fixity of species
Evolution:  Lamarck

Charles Darwin

As naturalist:  the Beagle voyage
Origins of the Origin

‘One long argument’

Why does Darwin characterizes The Origin of Species as ‘one long argument’?

Design argument:  Why does Darwin reject design?

Objections the the argument of the Origin:

Why no missing links?
Laws of variation unknown

Strengths of the theory:

Geographical distribution
Species concept:  strongly marked varieties; superiority versus independent creation

Darwinism and Religion

What were Charles Darwin's religious beliefs?  (See text in website below).

What were Darwin's views if the design argument?
Was Darwin an atheist or an agnostic?

Adam Sedgwick

What were Sedgwick's objections to Darwin's theory (see website below).

Thomas Henry Huxley  (portrait)

What was Huxley's role in the history of Darwinism?

Is Darwinism just another religion?

Darwin’s Works online

Charles Darwin website

Adam Sedgwick

Charles Darwin's Religious Beliefs

The Huxley File

Alfred Russel Wallace page

Discussion Topics

Background:  The Tennessee Anti-Evolution Law

John Scopes (portrait)

The 'trial of the century'

What were the main issues of the trial?
Who were the protagonists?
What was the trial outcome?

Inherit the Wind What were some of the main political events that inspired the authors to write the play, Inherit the Wind? What were the main political ideas in the play? Do you think the play is relevant to today?  Why or why not?

Scopes Trial Web Page

Inherit the Wind Essay

Discussion Topics

Be able to formulate the main arguments of the 'scientific creationists'.

Are the arguments of the ‘scientific creationists’ scientific?

Are the arguments of the creationists valid?

Can ‘Galileo’s principle’ about science and religion be applied to the science/creationism controversy? Why or why not?

Creation Science home page

National Academy of Sciences ‘Science and Creationism’ page

National Center for Science Education home page

National Science Foundation "Science and Creationism" page

Intelligent Design Network, Inc.