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The Limits of a Limitless Science and Other Essays

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This work contains 15 essays written by Stanley Jaki, a well-known Benedictine priest and author of numerous works on the relationship between science and religion. The essays concern a number of topics familiar to Jaki's readers such as artificial intelligence, SETI, evolution, cosmology, and others. I enjoyed best the essays in the book in which Jaki discusses the concepts of purpose, causality, and creation. Contrary to some, he forcefully argues that these concepts are primarily philosophical and theological, rather than scientific. This leads to a number of important conclusions, such as the Heisenberg uncertainty principle cannot be used to show that causality doesn't exist since it concerns measurement. [p. 133-34.] In addition, science cannot prove the eternity of the universe. [p. 137.] "That the universe owes its ultimate origin to a creation out of nothing is a philosophical inference based on its metaphysical contingency and not a conclusion from empirical observation." [p. 138.] It would make an interesting study to compare Jaki's position with that of the intelligent design movement, such as W. Dembski and M. Behe.

It can be a disconcerting experience to hear cosmologists discussing "God" particles, declaring that our universe is but the product of a basement laboratory in another universe and that cosmologists can now create universes literally out of nothing, in theory at least. As viewed from newspaper headlines and television reports, science (or even scientists!) can indeed appear limitless.

If such matters concern you, the time has come to enter into the world of philosophy and I can think of no better guide than the writings of Dr. Jaki. His ability to combine science, philosophy, theology and an encyclopedic knowledge of history is legendary and you will not miss leaving the tabloid headlines behind.

In this sixth collection of essays Dr. Jaki focuses on astronomy, cosmology and scientism (or the worship of science) amongst other topics as listed in the essay titles below:

1. The Limits of a Limitless Science
2. Extraterrestrials, or Better be Moonstruck?
3. Computers: Lovable but Unloving
4. The Biblical Basis of Western Science
5. The Inspiration and Counter-Inspiration of Astronomical Phenomena
6. Words: Blocks, Amoebas, or Patches of Fog?
7. Beyond Science
8. The Reality of the Universe
9. A Telltale Meteor
10. Cosmology: An Empirical Science?
11. To Awaken from a Dream, Finally!
12. Science and Religion in Identity Crisis
13. Science, Culture and Cult
14. The Paradox of Change
15. Cosmic Rays and Water Spiders

Particular essays of note are number 11 which is a review of Steven Weinberg's Dreams of a Final Theory and number 15 which covers many of Dr. Jaki's books and provides a good description for additional reading.

Jaki's essay collections serve as excellent introductions to his work and others published by ISI Books are listed under the further reading below. Jaki has nine essay collections in total but only Patterns or Principles -- on science and culture -- is directly available from Amazon.

Further Reading:

Chance or Reality and Other Essays (1986)

The Absolute Beneath the Relative and Other Essays (1988)

The Only Chaos and Other Essays(1990)

Patterns or Principles and Other Essays (1995) - **directly available from Amazon for $11**