I. Introduction As we celebrate the 150th anniversary of The Origin of Species, we can survey the history of the science initiated by Darwin. Its majestic sweep and enormous explanatory and integrative potential have combined to make it a pivotal intellectual issue of our time. Because evolution can illuminate an enormous range of phenomena, its…
I. Introduction One of the most vexing and pernicious aspects of science in general and the evolution controversy in particular is the tendency to make evolution and, by extension science, into general explanatory paradigms encompassing and/or supplanting philosophy, art, religion, and most other fields of human knowledge. The level of conceptual confusion inherent in this…
Introduction The apparent conflict between science and religion is often viewed and argued with respect to the existence of God. In particular, demonstrations of God’s existence feature prominently in these discussions. The idea, presumably, is to show that God must exist, therefore science cannot dispense with God or theology, for that matter. Typically these demonstrations…
Introduction The creation of a new philosophical system is a staggeringly difficult task, fraught with myriad dangers, pitfalls, and problems. Only one of supreme genius can undertake this enterprise with any expectation of success, and then only when old ways of thought have shown themselves inadequate to cope with the march of human knowledge. It…
I. IntroductionThe concepts of reductionism, naturalism, and nominalism in their radical form lie at the base of most anti-religious scientific writing, lurking there at such a deep level that even the author in many cases is unaware of the metaphysics they represent. Reductionism, in its most radical form, is the theory (or belief) that all…