book_review
Stephen Jay Gould is justly honoured not only for his contributions to science but also for his sensitive and humane spirit, something which shines forth from his popular writings – especially his monthly column in Natural History. Nor should we forget his many activities on behalf of tolerance and understanding. Not the least is the…
Review of John Maddox’s What Remains to be Discovered: Mapping the Secrets of the Universe, the Origins of Life, and the Future of the Human Race, New York: Touchstone Books, 1998. Contents: – Preface – Part One: Mattero 1. Beginnings Without Endo 2. Simplicity Buried in Complexityo 3. Everything at…
I begin this review with two snapshot reactions. First, there was the review of Consilience in Science: this appeared early in 1998, and was written by a well-known philosopher of science who had himself written on some issues similar to those touched on by Wilson. To say that the review was negative would give negativity…
Though some have cautiously kept science and religion apart, remembering the theme in Ecclesiastes that “To everything there is a season, and a time in every purpose under the heaven,” there have been, in recent decades, a spate of books that try to build bridges between the two. Of these, some seek to find science…
Contents: Introduction – Christianity and the Scientific Worldview – The Trinity and Creation – Sacred Cosmology: the Genesis Creation Narratives – Explaining the Universe – Theistic Explanation – Breaking out of the Mechanistic Universe – God’s Action in the Universe – Creation, Suffering and the Divine Purpose – God and Evolution – The Soul –…
Soon after the emergence of modern science, William Cowper described Newton as the “sagacious reader of the works of God,” and Alexander Pope spoke like the Book of Genesis in his lines: “Nature and Natures laws hid in night: God said, “Let Newton be!” and all was light.” However, as modern science, with its esoteric…
Review of Ken Wilber, The Marriage of Sense and Soul: Integrating Science and Religion New York: Random House, 1998. 225 pages. Index. Reviewed by Michael E. Zimmerman,TulaneUniversity Ken Wilber has earned a deservedly high reputation in the field of “transpersonal” philosophy, which is the study both of aspects of consciousness that transcend the personal psyche…
Review ofRedeeming Culture: American Religion in an Age of Science. James Gilbert. viii + 407 pp. University of Chicago Press, 1997. $28.95 cloth. When Bryn Mawr psychologist James Leuba surveyed religious beliefs among American scientists more than eighty years ago, he found that about 42% affirmed their belief in a personal God who answers prayer,…
Having demonstrated that the ambiguous modern scientific and technological enterprise has its origin in something as ignoble as religion, David Noble apparently expects us to join with him in disowning it.
Review of David F. Noble, The Religion of Technology: The Divinity of Man and the Spirit of Invention. NY: Knopf, 1997 Noble’s general claim is that religious visions have propelled an interest in technological achievements. I suspect that a more accurate reading would see a human interest in technology receiving a post factum justification by…