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On Faith and Science by [Edward J. Larson, Michael Ruse]

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Michael Ruse

On Faith and Science Kindle Edition

by Edward J. Larson (Author), Michael Ruse (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

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A captivating historical survey of the key debates, questions, and controversies at the intersection of science and religion

Throughout history, scientific discovery has clashed with religious dogma, creating conflict, controversy, and sometimes violent dispute. In this enlightening and accessible volume, distinguished historian and Pulitzer Prize–winning author Edward Larson and Michael Ruse, philosopher of science and Gifford Lecturer, offer their distinctive viewpoints on the sometimes contentious relationship between science and religion. The authors explore how scientists, philosophers, and theologians through time and today approach vitally important topics, including cosmology, geology, evolution, genetics, neurobiology, gender, and the environment. Broaching their subjects from both historical and philosophical perspectives, Larson and Ruse avoid rancor and polemic as they address many of the core issues currently under debate by the adherents of science and the advocates of faith, shedding light on the richly diverse field of ideas at the crossroads where science meets spiritual belief.

Print length

309 pages
Language

English
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Publisher

Yale University Press
Publication date

August 22, 2017
File size

888 KB
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"On Faith and Science stands out in the crowded field of introductions to the field of science and religion . . . the book is elegantly and entertainingly written throughout."—Glenn Branch, Reading Religion

“Balanced and insightful”—C. D. Kay, Choice

“Larson and Ruse. . . [allow] a spectrum from atheism to theism to find out where each of us feels the most comfort.”—Elof Axel Carlson, Quarterly Review of Biology

Winner of the Outstanding Academic Title for 2018 award sponsored by Choice

“The most readable, comprehensive, and authoritative primer on science and religion now available. Larson and Ruse are superb story tellers.”—Ronald L. Numbers, University of Wisconsin Madison

"A fresh, engaging, and even-handed assessment of the relations between science and religion by two of the world’s leading experts on the topic. Highly recommended."—Peter Harrison, author of The Territories of Science and Religion

"Combining expertise in the philosophy and history of science, the distinguished authors re-consider the continuing overlapping of science and religion in world culture. The result is enlightening and morally uplifting."—John Henry, University of Edinburgh

“Larson and Ruse are superb story tellers. This episodic, topical overview is the most readable, comprehensive, and authoritative combination now available.”—Ronald L. Numbers, University of Wisconsin-Madison

"Larson and Ruse are superb story tellers. In this episodic, topical overview they survey the relations between “science” and “religion” from ancient Babylonian and Greek observers to contemporary geneticists and neurobiologists, from stars to sex, and from Jews and Christians to Muslims, Buddhists, and Hindus. On Faith and Science is the most readable, comprehensive, and authoritative combination now available."—Ronald L. Numbers, University of Wisconsin-Madison

--This text refers to the hardcover edition.

About the Author

Edward J. Larson is University Professor of history and Hugh & Hazel Darling Chair in Law at Pepperdine University. Michael Ruse is Lucyle T. Werkmeister Professor and director of the history and philosophy of science program at Florida State University. --This text refers to the hardcover edition.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0747SFQSZ
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Yale University Press (August 22, 2017)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ August 22, 2017
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 888 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 309 pages
Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 0300216173

Best Sellers Rank: #2,238,753 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #1,624 in Religious Studies - Science & Religion
- #3,896 in Science History & Philosophy
- #4,175 in Ethics & Morality

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3.9 15 ratings

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Perry Marshall

Lots of light. Very little heat.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 17, 2017

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It was refreshing to read a book where, despite one of the authors being a famous atheist, that none of the usual straw-man arguments show up. The authors clearly know their history and are interested in the *interplay* of faith and science rather than the battle and the conflict thesis.

Particularly helpful to me was that, despite Judaism and Christianity being the focus, that Islam and Eastern religions like Buddhism and Hinduism were generally brought into view. In many cases I wasn't quite sure what positions those faiths held.

One of the difficulties is the plurality of positions one finds within a particular religion, making it hard to generalize. It is here that the authors do an especially good job, because I think they make a reasonable effort at painting with a broad brush.

An aspect that was particularly interesting was the observation that Darwinian evolution grew out of a very specifically Christian culture and not elsewhere, because Christians asked questions that people in other religions generally did not. According to the authors, Buddhism, for example, doesn't really ask how the world came to exist; it simply takes it as a given that it is here and that it is in a long series of many cycles.

I think Christianity and Judaism have a particular feature that makes them "the creature that eats its own tail." Both possess an assiduous appetite for pursuing the truth at all costs. So as society progresses, each religion raises questions that then produce more inquiry that then threatens previous theological assumptions. It strikes me that this makes these religions particularly evolutionary and as we all know, evolution is painful. What the best theologians seem to realize is that this creative destruction is ultimately best for all. I think it's quite significant that the only information we have about Jesus' childhood is that when he was lost they found him in the temple - debating Torah with the best thinkers in the country.

5 people found this helpful

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David J. Krause

Frustrating and confusing.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 22, 2018

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I’m a PhD in geology who has also taught astronomy and the history of science, and I have had a life-long interest in theology. Nevertheless, I simply cannot grasp what the intended message of this book is, or what I am supposed to learn from it that I didn’t know before. Their “Three Questions” analysis (p. 138 ff) is unconvincing, and near the book’s end the authors seem to argue (?) that the “Gaia hypothesis” can represent some sort of positive step in unifying science and religion (without noting that this “loving mother” killed off 99.9% of all her children in multiple great extinction events before humans even came on the scene). Are they saying that this picture is somehow compatible with religion, particularly its western historic Christian forms, or are the authors just grasping at straws?

4 people found this helpful

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P.J.

Stimulating, meaty reading

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 16, 2017

Great book, fascinating. After a condensed survey down the centuries of the interplay between faith and science, these two decorated professors, who alternate writing chapters, land in the especially profound and juicy era of Darwin, where the second half of the book takes flight eventually bringing us through the twentieth century with fascinating discussions on evolution, eugenics, contemporary gene testing for pregnant women, GMOs, climate change, and even the holistic Gaia hypothesis positing a soulful earth. An underlying theme is whether science has made faith irrelevant. Views of Moslem and Eastern faiths are also reflected along with Judo-Christian outlooks. The authors point to contemporary thinkers like E. O. Wilson, who, while an atheistic scientist, have hope that religion's moral compass will usher in a new enlightened environmentalism.... I often judge a book by how often I corner-mark pages to revisit, and there were many, also reflecting enticing nuggets of new insights for a lay person like me: that brilliant, humble Michael Faraday (whose portrait hung in Einstein's office beside Isaac Newton) was perhaps the first person to turn down a knighthood, not Lawrence of Arabia; that Eve's temptation and Adam's fall shows the spiritual roots of women's enduring subordination; that "missing links" up to man truly have been found, to counter an anti-evolutionist's point; that otherwise lauded jurist Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote a pro-eugenics (sterilization) opinion for The Supreme Court; the complicated vantage point and views of today's Pope Francis; and science's discoveries about global climate change and "DMS" (you'll just have to read the book!).

2 people found this helpful

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Michael

Honest Look at the Relationship Between Science and Religion

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 30, 2017

I was really impressed by this book as a primer. Every time I turned the page, I would wonder if such and such person or response would be noted, and sure enough, differing positions of all sorts, whether secular or religious, were mentioned, albeit rather briefly. I was thrilled that these authors packed so much good information into a small, well-written, and easy-to-understand book without allowing such a volatile topic as faith and science to erupt into a polarizing condemnation of one side or the other. Instead, the book was nothing more than a quick, honest historical look at the relationship between religion and science. Furthermore, their mention of Eastern religious understandings of science throughout the book was very helpful as well; it was a topic that I knew very little about.

4 people found this helpful

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Steve G

Well-considered and thoughtful discussion

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 10, 2017

I had read Michael Ruse’s book Simply Darwin and loved it so I was optimistic about this book and I wasn’t disappointed. He and Edward Larson talk about the interplay of science and faith from a philosophical and historical perspective respectively, but without the polemics or vitriol that one might sometime see in a book like this. The authors use a conversational tone and explain any background in science or religion that is required. Importantly, the discussion was not limited to the Abrahamic religions, but also included Eastern religions. It was a pleasant read and I recommend it for anyone interested in the interplay between science and faith.
Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book via Netgalley for review purposes.

3 people found this helpful

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Anthony Campbell

Nothing very new and excessively even-handed

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on September 20, 2018

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The relation between religion and science has a long history and it has gone through various phases, some amicable, some not. At present, thanks partly to a loosely knit group of writers who have been called the new atheists—Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennet. A.C. Grayling and others—relations are bad. But there are some non-believers who want to find common ground with religion, and Ruse has long been one of these; not that you would know it from this book, for both he and his co-author Larson are reticent about their own religious views. (Ruse has recently identified himself as an atheist, though he prefers the term 'sceptic'.) No doubt this is due to a wish to appear even-handed, but I think it leads to a certain softening of focus throughout.

Both authors are distinguished academics. Larson is a historian; Ruse is primarily a philosopher of science who also has an interest in history, particularly that of the theory of evolution. They write alternate chapters, although there is some flexibility, with some chapters containing contributions from both, and it isn't always easy to be sure who is writing at a given moment.

There are chapters looking at cosmology; physics; brain, mind, and soul; geology; evolution in general; and human evolution. The approach in these is historical; they look at how knowledge has evolved over time and how this has interacted with religion—mainly Christianity, but there is some reference to Judaism and Islam and a little to Hinduism and Buddhism. For each topic we get an outline of some of the religious issues that growth in our knowledge has given rise to. It is all done well enough, but there will be few surprises for anyone who is reasonably familiar with the subjects covered.

The last three chapters (7, 8 and 9) are a little different, in that they cover matters that are topical (and controversial) today: sex and gender, eugenics, and living on earth (which looks at global warming and other threats to our survival). In their closing paragraph the authors use the common ground they think exists between two very different people, Pope Francis and E.O. Wilson, to draw a moral for the relationship that ought to obtain between science and religion as it relates to our survival.

I'm sympathetic to the authors' wish to avoid facile condemnation of religion in the name of science, but I enjoyed reading this book less than I expected to. The tone is quite colloquial, almost to a fault, yet at the same time bland and a little flat. And at times the authors' evident desire to avoid giving offence becomes somewhat irritating. For example, they quote from Fritjhof Capra's 1975 book The Tao of Physics and remark that 'he remained an outlier among modern physicists', which seems a considerable under-statement; I wanted to know what they thought of it themselves. They are also fairly non-commital in their references to Richard Dawkins's book The God Delusion, about which Ruse has been scathingly critical elsewhere.

The book concludes with an eclectic annotated bibliography which is quite useful, although I was sorry to see no mention of Taner Edis's books, especially his The Ghost in the Universe, which to my mind is one of the best books on theism by a sceptic who nevertheless takes religion seriously. He has also written well on science and Islam, something touched on only briefly in the present book.

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