Beyond Science: The Wider Human Context [Hardcover]

John Polkinghorne (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0521572126 | ISBN-13: 978-0521572125 | Publication Date: August 13, 1996

Science is very successful in discovering the structure and history of the physical world, but its success is purchased by the modesty of its ambition. There is more to be told of the encounter with reality, including the nature of scientific inquiry itself, than can be gained from impersonal experience and experimental test. This book goes beyond science to consider the human context in which it operates and to pursue that wider understanding which we all seek. It looks to issues of meaning and value, intrinsic to scientific practice but excluded from science's consideration by its own self-denying ordinance. It raises the question of the significance of the deep mathematical intelligibility of the physical world and its anthropically fruitful history. It considers how we may find responsible ways to use the power that science places in human hands. Science is portrayed as an activity of human persons pursued within a convivial and truth-seeking community. This book neither over-values science (as if it were the only worthwhile source of knowledge) nor devalues it (as if it were to be treated with suspicion or not taken seriously). Beyond Science provides a considered and balanced account which firmly asserts science's place in human culture, maintained in mutually illuminating relationships with other aspects of that culture.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Not many distinguished physicists have discovered their vocation as Anglican priests. As one who did, Polkinghorne writes with rare authority on the ultimate meaning of science. Against those who regard it as no more than contrived but useful formulas, he insists that science opens a genuine understanding of the harmonies of the universe. But against those who regard science as our only access to truth, he defends the scientifically inexplicable yearnings for elegance and vision that have made science itself--and much else--possible. Only the foolish, he argues, will repudiate science; only the even more foolish will reject all values not derived through it. And for Polkinghorne, ultimate values spring from faith in God as creator of the universe scientists explore. Not all skeptics will yield to this synthesis of faith and rationality, but Polkinghorne will awaken in many thoughtful readers a new appreciation for their place in the marvelous cosmos. Bryce Christensen

Review

'Polkinghorne has written an interesting, thought-provoking book ... a fascinating account.' Ilya Prigogone, The Times Higher Educatonal Supplement

'Polkinghorne's literate sense of wonder at the magical richness of things shines out on almost every page, whether or not one agrees that it implies a creator.' David Mermin, Nature

'A thoughtful book for the mature upper sixth-former.' Andrew Lintern-Ball, School Science Review

' ... this is an admirable book'. Chris Clarke, Physics World

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 143 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (August 13, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521572126
• ISBN-13: 978-0521572125
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,999,663 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simple, but profound, thinking about science and religion, June 17, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Beyond Science: The Wider Human Context (Hardcover)

Polkinghorne had a career as an academic physicist, and has also been theologically trained. He examines science from a religious viewpoint. He doesn't find a warfare between science and Christianity, but he does believe that scientists sometimes claim to know more than they should about metaphysical issues. Polkinghorne deals intelligently with both physics and biology. One chapter gives capsule evaluations of the legacies of important scientists, including Stephen Hawking. This book does not claim that the earth was created a few thousand years ago, but it does claim that science has by no means ruled out an Intelligent Designer.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent science writer with intriguing ideas., May 7, 1998

By 

Brett Williams (Dallas, TX) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Beyond Science: The Wider Human Context (Hardcover)

Polkinghorne is a splendid writer of science and a formidable mind with wonderful ideas. He has a control of language rivaling any science writer I have read. His "Quantum World" is a beautiful work. In "Beyond Science" he continues along similar lines with a particularly charming chapter discussing the personalities of great physicists with whom he has associated. He does a superb job describing what science is and how it works. Unfortunately he descends into scholarly ambiguity in his chapter on the human mind, with bloated sentences that run on and can easily confuse even the careful reader.

The ultimate purpose of the book is to present allowance for belief in a divine creator. Mostly this revolves around the Anthropic Principle (AP) - the idea that the existence of life is so sensitive to variation in physical constants of the universe that they must have been set by a creator for such life to exist. AP embraces evolution as the machinery for God's work. Polkinghorne is in a minority among physicists but the idea should cause some pause for reflection. He limits credit to the idea that since we are products of those constants it should not be surprising that they are what they are. As one who appreciates the power of science he understandably holds dear any notion based on reason that allows for God. But he appears to hold the idea too dearly, as adherents of AP often do. Attempting to make apparent improbabilities of constants set by chance understandable he notes Leslie's philosophical story of a fly hit by a bullet on a vast wall. He allows it two possible reasons for occurring, 1) because very many bullets were fired or 2) because a marksman took careful aim. Thus with intent, as a creator would have for tuning the constants with the aim of creating humans. Surely he knows but ignores two other possibilities, that the fly and bullet just happened to be at the same place in time or that the fly and bullet have some as yet undiscovered attraction for one another requiring they meet. This last is analogous to the constants having the values they do for as yet undiscovered requirements within the fabric of the Big Bang or Inflation or some other mechanism. Probabilities against events can sometimes carry too much weight. The probability that any four hands of thirteen cards are drawn in specific order from a deck of fifty-two is 1 in 4 billion trillion. Yet each time you draw four hands of thirteen cards, it happens. The cards dealt are completely determined by their position in the deck. We don't know what that is but it is fixed. Polkinghorne makes a few similar, but generally lesser transgressions to preserve his belief. I was repeatedly surprised and relieved to see him admit this on occasion and discuss opposing views.

The only unfortunate result of such a book will be that creationists use such material against science through misunderstanding and convenient abbreviation. Which is not a reason to stop such inquiry. I recommend "Beyond Science" for those at least mildly aquatinted with the field.