Science, Evolution, and Religion

A Debate about Atheism and Theism
Erscheinungsjahr 2016
ISBN: 978-0-19-937937-8
Verlag: OXFORD UNIV PR

Buch, Englisch, 288 Seiten, Format (B × H): 140 mm x 210 mm, Gewicht: 358 g

Comprehensive, up to date, and engaging, Science, Evolution, and Religion provides detailed coverage of the science-religion debate in contemporary culture and academia. The two authors, Michael Peterson and Michael Ruse, present theism and atheism, respectively, and argue for their positions. Peterson occasionally draws from Christian doctrine to supplement theism; Ruse often supplements his atheism with elements drawn from the larger context of philosophical naturalism. The result is a rich and respectful dialogure and debate on the nature of science, cosmic origins, biological origins, the anthropic principle, and the meaning of life, among other important subjects.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Peterson, Michael

Ruse, Michael

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Philosophie: Allgemeines, Methoden

Inhaltsverzeichnis

- Preface

- Introduction

- 1. Autobiographical Reflections

- Peterson: A Life Observed

- Formative Experiences

- Witnessing God Make a Comeback

- Considering Intellectual Journeys to God

- Engaging Science and Religion

- Ruse: Apologia Pro Vita Sua

- Early Years

- Loss of Faith and Finding Darwin

- Creationism

- Accommodationism

- 2. Science

- Ruse: Thinking about Science

- What Is Science?

- Metaphor

- What Is Naturalism?

- The Limits of Metaphor

- Peterson: The Harmony of Science and Religion

- Where the Conflict Really Lies

- Does the Method of Science Support Naturalism?

- Do the Laws of Science Disprove Miracles?

- Theism as the Worldview Home of Science

- 3. Cosmic Origins

- Peterson: A Theistic Understanding of the Universe

- The Beginning According to Science

- A Metaphysical Explanation of the Cosmos

- The Fine-Tuned Universe

- Naturalist Objections

- Beauty, Elegance, Intelligibility

- Ruse: In the Beginning

- The Big Bang Theory

- Religious Implications?

- The Fundamental Question

- Why Skepticism?

- One God or Two?

- 4. Origin of Life

- Ruse: It's All Purely Natural

- Defining Life

- A Natural Solution?

- Impossible!

- Miracles?

- Where Do We Stand?

- Peterson: There is Grandeur in This View of Life

- The Biological and the Pre-Biological

- Origin of Life Research

- The Mystery of Life

- God or Natural Process?

- Theistic and Christian Belief

- 5. Darwin and Design

- Peterson: A Wider Teleology

- Darwin's Discovery

- Natural Selection and Design

- Understanding Evolution

- Darwin's Gift

- Teleology and Natural Theology

- Ruse: Darwin Destroys Design

- The Darwinian Theory of Evolution

- The Problem of Final Causes

- Does Darwinian Selection Refute Christianity?

- So, What's the Answer?

- 6. Evolutionary Directionality

- Ruse: No Direction to Evolution

- Bottom-Line Demands

- Does Evolution Go Anywhere?

- Causes

- Christian Escapes?

- Is God Too Complex?

- Peterson: The Trajectory of Evolution

- How Did We Get Here From There?

- Scientific and Meta-Scientific Questions

- God and the World of Science

- Creation, Providence, and Evolution

- Emergence

- 7. Mind and Rationality

- Peterson: The Preeminence of Mind

- Consciousness and Self-Consciousness

- Neuroscience and the Metaphysics of Mind

- Evolution and Human Uniqueness

- Rationality and Evolution

- Ruse: Humans According to Evolutionary Naturalism

- Sentience

- Knowledge

- Naturalism Defeated?

- A Sensus Divinitatis?

- 8. Morality

- Ruse: An Evolutionary Perspective on Ethics

- The Moral Argument for God's Existence

- Explaining Morality

- Implications for the Science/Religion Interface

- Christianity on Morality: Beyond Rescue?

- Peterson: Morality and Personhood

- A Darwinian Genealogy of Morals

- A Moral Argument against Evolutionary Naturalism

- Theism and Personal Dignity

- A Theistic Genealogy of Morals

- 9. Evil and Suffering

- Peterson: Theism, Atheism, and Evil

- The Argument from Evil and Suffering

- Science and Approaches to Theodicy

- Theodicy for a Scientific Age

- Evil and the Clash of Worldviews

- Ruse: Darwinism and Evil

- Does Darwinism Intensify the Problem?

- Original Sin

- Free Will

- Natural Evil

- 10. Meaning and Purpose

- Ruse: A Stark Picture Indeed

- Where Are We?

- Why Do We Believe?

- Evolutionary Debunking?

- Evolutionism as Religious Substitute

- Peterson: The Deep Structure of the Universe

- Science, Evolution, and the Search for Meaning

- Naturalism and the Denial of Meaning

- Theism and Meaning

- Follow the Argument Wherever It Leads

- References

- Glossary

- Name Index

- Subject Index

Über Autor(innen)

Michael Peterson is Professor of Philosophy of Religion at Asbury Theological Seminary. He has written or edited several books including Reason and Religious Belief, Fifth Edition (OUP 2012), and Philosophy of Religion, Fifth Edition (OUP 2015). He is also managing editor of Faith and Philosophy, and winner of Templeton grants in science/religion.

Michael Ruse is Lucycle T. Werkmeister Professor and Director of History and Philosophy of Science at Florida State University. He is well known for his work on the relationship between science and religion and is founding editor of the journal Philosophy and Biology.