SSQ Publications

Faith in Science: Scientists Search for Truth

Edited by W. Mark Richardson and Gordy Slack
Routledge, 2001
 

Science vs religion-the two have traditionally been seen as having an adversarial relationship, from before Galileo to this day. Faith in Science demonstrates how misleading this portrayal is, by allowing those who know best—scientists—speak for themselves.

W. Mark Richardson and Gordy Slack, philosopher and science writer respectively, conducted interviews with twelve of the world's top scientists on subjects ranging from the existence and nature of God to the role of religion and spirituality in modern scientific work. What's revealed is a broad diversity of perspectives on the relationship between science and religion. The approaches are as surprising as they are varied, but all defy the stereotypes embedded in so much of the popular science versus religion debates.

The chapters open with brief profiles of the scientist interviewed. Conversations explore such issues as the comparative natures of scientific and religious truth; changing conceptions of God in a world whose materiality is increasingly emphasized; the implications for religion of new discoveries in physics and astronomy; and the limits of both science and religion. This complex mosaic of unguarded accounts demonstrates how two of the major cultural forces in modern life, so often portrayed as conflicting, can coexist.

Contents

Foreword by Ian G. Barbour

The volume includes interviews with the following scientists:

Charles Townes, Nobel Prize for invention of the maser and the laser, University of California at Berkeley; Anne Foerst, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard Divinity School; Arno Penzias, former Research Director at Bell Labs, New Jersey, Nobel Prize winner in 1978; Mehdi Golshani, University of Technology, Tehran; Pauline Rudd, Glycobiology Institute, University of Oxford; Brian Cantwell Smith, Professor of Cognitive Science and Computer Science, Indiana University; Bruno Guiderdoni, Paris Institute of Astrophysics; Joel Primack, University of California at Santa Cruz; Mark Pesce, co-creator of Virtual Reality Modelling Language (VRML), Principal Engineer for Shiva Corporation; John Polkinghorne, Anglican Priest, Past President of Queen's College, Cambridge, former Professor of Mathematical Physics at Cambridge; John Rodwell, Professor of Plant Ecology, Lancaster University and Anglican priest; Kenneth Kendler, Medical College of Virginia, Director of the Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioural Genetics at Virginia Commonwealth University

ISBN-13: 978-0415257657
ISBN-10: 0415257654

Available from Routledge and Amazon

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Practicing Science, Living Faith: Interviews with 12 Leading Scientists

Edited by Philip Clayton and Jim Schaal

Columbia University Press, 2007
 

Twelve scientists from diverse backgrounds and disciplines demonstrate that it is indeed possible for profound intellectuals to integrate the life of science with the life of faith. In honest and inspiring interviews, they describe the difficult though rewarding process of reconciling their faith with their science and reveal the ways in which the two spheres can not only coexist but also mutually enhance each other.

Jane Goodall begins the conversation by emphasizing the importance of recognizing the "spark of spirit" that runs through all creatures, human and animal. Robert Pollack discusses his motivations for opening a major center for the study of science and religion at Columbia University. Khalil Chamcham, a Moroccan astrophysicist and devout Muslim, moves from the study of galaxy formation to a new dialogue between Islam and the West. Thomas Odhiambo, a Kenyan entomologist, helps to bring sustainable agriculture to sub-Saharan Africa by uniting African animist and Christian traditions, and Henry Thompson, a computer scientist, utilizes his Quaker practice in both his science and his work as a mediator.

Thoughtful and compelling, these and other scientists recount a rich integration of science and religion in their practice, their experience, and their approach to their work. Some find a deep harmony between the life of faith and the practice of science, whereas others struggle with the ongoing tensions. These original interviews range across the metaphysical, ethical, and religious implications of cutting-edge research. Taken together, they offer a unique picture of how scientists make peace with their work and their spirituality.

Foreword, by William D. Phillips
Preface, by W. Mark Richardson
Introduction, by Jim Schaal and Philip Clayton
 

1. Jane Goodall
2. Hendrik Barendregt
3. Khalil Chamcham
4. Donna Auguste
5. Ursula Goodenough
6. Thomas Odhiambo
7. Faraneh Vargha-Khadem
8. Pauline Rudd
9. Satoto
10. Paula Tallal
11. Henry Thompson
12. Robert Pollack
Conclusion, by Philip Clayton
Acknowledgments

ISBN-13: 978-0-231-13576-4
ISBN-10: 0-231-13576-9

Available from Columbia University Press and Amazon

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Science and the Spiritual Quest: New Essays by Leading Scientists

Edited by W. Mark Richardson, Robert John Russell, Philip Clayton and Kirk Wegter-McNelly
Routledge, 2002

Addressing fundamental questions about life, death and the universe Science and the Spiritual Quest examines the ways in which scientists negotiate the complex frontiers between their scientific and religious beliefs. Distinguished cosmologists, physicians, biologists and computer scientists of different faiths explore the connections between the domain of science and the realms of ethics, spirituality and the divine. Through essays and frank interviews, they offer honest, stimulating, and often intensely personal thoughts about life's most impenetrable mysteries. This unique volume presents radical new approaches to the religion/science debate and highlights the continued importance of the "spiritual quest" in a world transformed by the developments of science.

Contents

Preface, Kirk Wegter-McNelly

Introduction, W. Mark Richardson

1. Science, Spirituality and Religion: An Exploration of Bridges and Gaps, Jocelyn Bell Burnell

2. Must Not the Judge of All the Earth Do Justice? God's Nature and the Existence of Genetic Diseases in Man, Kenneth S. Kendler

3. Theology for Nerds, Kevin Kelly

4. Science and Religion: Separate Closets in the Same House, Allan Sandage

5. Does Science Offer Evidence of a Purpose and a Transcendent Reality?, Cyril Domb

6. What Price Reductionism?, Martinez J. Hewlett

7. Scientific Reduction: Adversary or Ally?, Robert B. Griffiths

8. Computer Science, the Informational, and Jewish Mysticism, Mitchell P. Marcus

9. The Islamic Worldview and Modern Cosmology, Bruno Guideroni

10. Darwinism and Atheism: A Marriage Made in Heaven?, Michael Ruse

11. An Historical Reality that Includes Big Bang, Free Will, and Elementary Particles, Geoffrey F. Chew

12. The Horrors of Humanity and the Computation of the Self, Michael A. Arbib

13. The Universe, Life, and Consciousness, Andrei Linde

14. God, Approximately, Brian Cantwell Smith

15. The Challenges and Possibilities for Western Monotheism, Arthur Peacocke

16. One Quest, One Knowledge, George Sudarshan

Some Concluding Reflections, Philip Clayton

ISBN-13: 978-0415257671
ISBN-10: 0415257670

Available from Routledge and Amazon