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Wentzel Van Huyssteen

Alone in the World? Hardcover – April 12, 2006

by J. Wentzel Van Huyssteen (Author)

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In Alone in the World? — first given as the 2004 Gifford Lectures at the University of Edinburgh — J. Wentzel van Huyssteen develops the interdisciplinary dialogue that he set out in The Shaping of Rationality (1999), applying this methodology to the uncharted waters between theological anthropology and paleoanthropology.

Among other things, van Huyssteen argues that scientific notions of human uniqueness help us to ground theological notions of human distinctiveness in flesh-and-blood, embodied experiences and protect us from overly complex theological abstractions regarding the "image of God." Focusing on the interdisciplinary problem of human origins and distinctiveness, van Huyssteen accesses the origins of the embodied human mind through the spectacular prehistoric cave paintings of western Europe, fifteen of which are reproduced in color in this volume.

Boldly connecting the widely separated fields of Christian theology and paleoanthropology through careful interdisciplinary reflection, Alone in the World? will encourage sustained investigation into the question of human uniqueness.

Print length

365 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Eerdmans
Publication date

April 12, 2006
Dimensions

6.75 x 1 x 9.5 inches
ISBN-10

0802832466
ISBN-13

978-0802832467
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

J. Wentzel van Huyssteen is the James I. McCord Professor Emeritus of Theology and Science at Princeton Theological Seminary and in 2003 became the first South African and the first Princeton Seminary professor to deliver the prestigious Gifford Lectures.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Eerdmans (April 12, 2006)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 365 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0802832466
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0802832467
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.8 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.75 x 1 x 9.5 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #3,333,129 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,332 in Christian Theological Anthropology
- #4,650 in Science & Religion (Books)
- #15,089 in History & Philosophy of Science (Books)

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6 ratings

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David Aharb

Deep and Surprising in Unexpected Ways

Reviewed in the United States on May 14, 2017

Verified Purchase

Deep. Recommend. A read, at least for me, that I take in the writer's words slowly, pausing to reflect about them. Memorable and useful in ways that surprise me.

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Eric B Antwi

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States on August 1, 2014

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Great

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gloria paoli

This an important discourse on the need for theology and other science to converge.

Reviewed in the United States on October 22, 2013

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The book advocates for science and theology to converge in a clear well written appeal.
The author also was mindful of feminist theology. He did not use he or she, but rather humanity.
I would recommended this book

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THE 2004 GIFFORD LECTURES ON SCIENCE & THEOLOGY

Reviewed in the United States on October 12, 2020

J. Wentzel van Huyssteen was a professor of Theology and Science at Princeton Theological Seminary from 1992-2014; he was ordained in the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa.

He wrote in the “Acknowledgements” of this 2006 book, “The invitation to deliver the Gifford Lectures… presented me with a unique and challenging opportunity to develop further my own thoughts on the complex relationship between religion and science. Preparing for … the Gifford Lectures … has opened up new and exciting ways of thinking about the problem of interdisciplinary reflection… the rather concrete focus of my research would … afford me the challenge of rethinking, and ultimately revisioning, Lord Gifford’s requirement for doing ‘natural theology in the widest sense of the term.’ Most importantly, however, it finally gave me the opportunity to explore the uncharted but fascinating relationship between theology and paleoanthropology.”

He explains in the first lecture, “I have argued for a ‘postfoundationalist notion of rationality’ with significant challenges for the interdisciplinary dialogue between theology and the sciences… Leaving behind modernist notions of absolutist, universal reasoning, and accepting the postmodern challenge of fragmentation and pluralism in both theology and the various sciences. I have argued for important and distinct differences between reasoning strategies used by theologians and scientists. At the same time, however, I have argued that shared rational resources may actually be identified for the very different cognitive domains of our lives precisely in the pragmatic performance of rationality in different reasoning strategies.” (Pg. 11-12)

He continues, “Thus an interdisciplinary rationality is revealed that supports the claims… for a public voice for theology in our complex, contemporary culture. On this view theologians, and also scientists of various stripes, should be empowered to protect the rational integrity of their own disciplines, while at the same time identifying overlapping issues, share problems, and even parallel research trajectories as we cross disciplinary lines… This should be a challenging answer to one of modernity’s most powerful demands, namely, that theological reflection… ultimately requires universal epistemological guarantees to qualify as ‘real science.’” (Pg. 13-14)

He summarizes, “in an open, postfoundationalist conversation, Christian theology should be able to claim a ‘democratic presence’ in interdisciplinary conversation. Theology would share in interdisciplinary standards of rationality that… would not be hopelessly culture- and context-bound. And theology would become an equal partner in a democratic, interdisciplinary conversation with the sciences, where an authentic, Christian voice might actually be heard in a postmodern, pluralist situation.” (Pg. 30-31)

He explains, “the unavoidable question seems to be: How special are we as a species? Are we created in the ‘image of God,’ as Christian theology has traditionally maintained, or should we rather follow the classic philosophical route and think of ourselves as ‘rational animals’? … framing this important question already presents us with a false dilemma, a choice we do not have to make… sometime in our past our ancestors were part of a remarkable emergence… into self-awareness, with an increasing capacity for consciousness, the possibility of moral responsibility, and the yearning and capacity for aesthetic and religious fulfillment. This fact alone offers fascinating challenges to traditional Christian theology, since it is no longer possible to claim some past paradise in which humans possessed moral perfection, a state from which our species has somehow ‘fallen’ into perpetual decline.” (Pg. 36-37)

He asks, “If ultra-Darwinists are correct, why would this amazing brain… emerged through a stunning, interactive evolutionary process, so massively deceive us only as far as the propensity for religion is concerned? This is especially pressing if we keep in mind that once intelligence is let in the door, it … becomes a catalyst for further development…” (Pg. 59)

He notes, “science and theology may at times conclude with stunningly conflicting perspectives: on the one hand, Homo sapiens can be seen… as created in ‘the image of God,’ both rationally and morally superior to all other creatures; on the other hand, in the wake of post-World War II horrors, Homo sapiens has also been described as a ‘mentally unbalanced predator’ endowed with vigorous and destructive aggressive instincts.” (Pg. 67)

He points out, “in various respects we do not behave like most material objects. We are self-aware and critically conscious, and although degrees of consciousness are something we share with a fairly large proportion of the animal world, we have developed the ability, over and above mere consciousness, to think critically and discursively, to be aware that we are so thinking, and to express these thoughts in language and other symbolic forms. In fact, the presence of thought, reflection, and self-conscious belief is what makes human activity different from the conscious but unreflective behavior of nonlinguistic animals… It is against this background that we have to look at the very human abilities for reflective knowledge, moral awareness, aesthetics, and, I would add, a propensity for religious awareness and religious belief.” (Pg. 96)

He suggests, “The principles of evolutionary epistemology… can support these claims for the plausibility of religious belief as part of the remarkable cognitive capacity that contributes to our notions of human uniqueness. However, it would be too much for a theologian to go beyond this minimal transversal connection … and use the argument… to claim maximally the existence of God … as an explanatory factor in the evolution of human cognition… a theology … may indeed be liberated… precisely by discovering that the reality claims we make in theology are resonant with, and reinforced by, the defining role that the emergence of religious awareness played in the evolution of human cognition.” (Pg. 105-106) Later, he adds, “biblical concepts like the ‘imago Dei,’ along with … concepts like creation, sin, atonement… etc., once had a great orienting power that has now been greatly reduced by contemporary secularized thought… one of the most crucial questions today should be whether there is a way in which we may rediscover the canonical function and orienting power of a concept like the ‘imago Dei’ without retreating to metaphysical abstractions.” (Pg. 116)

He observes, “Feminist theology has crucially influenced … the idea of the ‘imago Dei’ and has unequivocally shown that this doctrine has… functioned as a source of discrimination against and oppression of women. Any attempt to revision its powerful resources should specifically uncover the fact that this important theological symbol does indeed give rise to justice, and … a root metaphor for understanding the human person… On this view the liberating character of the ‘imago Dei’ is revealed as a … powerful symbol that points to justice, liberation, and reconciliation.” (Pg. 161)

He states that “Homo sapiens sapiens… dates back to between 125,000 and 40,000 years ago… this species alone, is firmly … associated with the habitual and patterned symbolic marking of objects. It is in this very specific sense that most paleoanthropologists would argue for a distinct species uniqueness… A crucial question that we should ask is: Why do we have prehistorical ‘art’ from around 40,000 years ago and not before? The answers… come down to hypotheses about the advent of some form of modern capacity for symbolling … that focuses on the invention of symbol-based language and accompanying neurological changes of some sort.” (Pg. 176)

Later, he adds, “The seeds for this cognitive fluidity were sown with the increase or brain size that began 500,000 years ago... The first step to full cognitive fluidity… to entertain ideas that bring together elements from normally incongruous domains, occurred … between 60,000 and 30,000 years ago. This … led to the cultural explosion we are now calling the appearance of the human mind. Ultimately this important step … was what enabled our species to design complex tools, to create art, and to discover religious belief.” (Pg. 197-198) He continues, “the use of symbols separate from language, as in cave paintings and abstract signs, could only have been a product of language.” (Pg. 231) He asserts, “no culture lacks a rich mythical, mystical, and religious tradition, and … mythology and imagination are the mark of the modern human mind… The predisposition to religious belief is one of the most complex and powerful forces in the human mind, one of the universals of human behavior… And with awareness of self comes awareness of death. Therefore… the practice of burial and the death awareness that must have gone along with it offer … the possibility of gleaning … something of the level of conscious imagination in our distant ancestors’ minds.” (Pg. 240)

He summarizes, “When I refer to ‘human nature’ … I certainly do not want to imply any essentialist claim… for us to be human beings… there is not single trait or characteristic that adequately captures the notion of human uniqueness. However, there is also no point in denying that we human beings do share an identifiable and peculiar set of capacities and propensities that clearly distinguishes us from other animals… It thus becomes clear that neither anthropological nor scientific explanations as such can exhaust the religious dimensions of human existence… in fact, they point toward the need for fuller theological explanations.” (Pg. 288-289)

He concludes, “This experience of good and evil, and theological distinctions between evil, moral failure, sin, tragedy and redemption, lies beyond the scope of science. But it is science that helps us better understand our evolutionarily developed bodies that are the bearers of human uniqueness, and it is precisely this embodied existence that confronts us with the realities of vulnerability, tragedy, and affliction… theology offers a promising key to understanding these profoundly tragic dimensions of human existence, but also to understanding why religious belief has provided our distant ancestors, and us, with dimensions of hope, redemption and grace.” (Pg. 325)

This book will be of great interest to those seeking contemporary “theological” interpretations of human nature, in its scientific aspects.

Helpful

S. McDonald

from William B. Eerdmans

Reviewed in the United States on May 8, 2006

The author develops the interdisciplinary dialogue that he set out in The Shaping of Rationality (1999), applying this methodology to the uncharted waters between theological anthropology and paleoanthropology. Among other things, the author argues that scientific notions of human uniqueness help to ground theological notions of human distinctiveness in flesh-and-blood, embodied experiences and protects from overly complex theological abstractions regarding the "image of God." Focusing on the interdisciplinary problem of human origins and distinctiveness, the author accesses the origins of the embodied human mind through the spectacular prehistoric cave paintings of western Europe, fifteen of which are reproduced in color in this volume. Boldly connecting the widely separated fields of Christian theology an paleoanthropology through careful interdisciplinary reflection, this book will encourage sustained investigation into the question of human uniqueness.

16 people found this helpful

Helpful

Les Brighton

Illuminating discussion of half the story

Reviewed in the United States on April 11, 2011

A general summary of the book's contents is provided in other reviews, so I won't repeat that material here. I found three things of particular value: (1) A nuanced and extremely helpful discussion of how theological and interdisciplinary thought and dialogue can go forward in a post-foundationalist environment. (2) A splendid survey of the ideas of a wide range of thinkers: theologians, scientists and evolutionary epistemologists on the question of what makes humans human. The book is very much in the nature of a review and upacking of the ideas of others. Although there is some evaluation and drawing of conclusions, there are few new ideas or suggestions from Van Huyssteen himself. It is extremely helpful to have all this material drawn together in one place, but don't expect a dramatically original thesis at the end. (3) The understanding of human being as embodied, evolved reality is very helpful, especially in contrast to the free-floating abstract theories of the Imago Dei that Van Huyssteen catalogues but in general does not endorse. Alongside this positive comment I should note my slight uneasiness at the ease with which Van Huyssteen, alongside a number of contemporary theologians, buys in without any apparent reservations to the whole naturalistic evolutionary narrative. While not wanting to return to a naively instrumental understanding of creation, the truth is we know so very little so far about processes. In my view we are in danger of taking as definitively established a view of evolutionary process that in its detail is still only very partial, and thus tying ourselves to a naturalistic coat-tail that in 10 or 20 years' time may well be demonstrably inadequate on the basis of scientific discovery itself.
The emphasis of the Gifford Lectures commission is upon natural theology, and so one expects an argument rooted in the natural world and the sciences. However, considering that the word `theology' is present in the title this volume is striking in its almost complete anthropocentric focus. God is only on the far margins of the discussion, a kind of phantom presence. There is no attempt to link what can be known about human being (upon which there is in the book much very helpful reflection) to what can be known about God: for example what it might mean for our understanding of God that God addresses human beings, engaging with their distinctive understanding and rationality; or, even more significantly, is able to become incarnate in the embodied evolved hominid that is homo sapiens in order to transform the failures and limitations of human being, and bring us into the life that is God's intention for us. It may be that Van Huyssteen sits a little lightly to these central ideas of Christianity: at one point he notes that "In Western civilization Christianity still provides an important source of meaning for many of us, even though the centuries-old monopoly of Christianity is certainly under increasing pressure today." (p.292) This seems a rather limp affirmation from a professor at Princeton Theological Seminary, but perhaps explains the `elephant in the room' sense one gets whenever the object of human religious consciousness is alluded to.
A final comment about style. Van Huyssteen has a cultured and gentlemanly manner, but his style is dense, filled with circumlocutions, qualifications and an adjective or two tacked onto every noun. Theological reflection is always deep, cave images are always spectacular, or famous, or highly exceptional, and so on. It is sometimes quite hard work to wade through all this to what Van Huyssteen is saying, and to keep your mind focused on the main line of argument that lies beneath all the grace notes. It is definitely worth the effort to do so, but prospective readers need to be prepared!

7 people found this helpful

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