After Science and Religion: Fresh Perspectives from Philosophy and Theology

by Peter Harrison (Editor), John Milbank (Editor)

Overview

The popular field of 'science and religion' is a lively and well-established area. It is however a domain which has long been characterised by certain traits. In the first place, it tends towards an adversarial dialectic in which the separate disciplines, now conjoined, are forever locked in a kind of mortal combat. Secondly, 'science and religion' has a tendency towards disentanglement, where 'science' does one sort of thing and 'religion' another. And thirdly, the duo are frequently pushed towards some sort of attempted synthesis, wherein their aims either coincide or else are brought more closely together. In attempting something fresh, and different, this volume tries to move beyond tried and tested tropes. Bringing philosophy and theology to the fore in a way rarely attempted before, the book shows how fruitful new conversations between science and religion can at last move beyond the increasingly tired options of either conflict or dialogue.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781009058452
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	05/19/2022
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Peter Harrison is Director of the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities at the University of Queensland. He was formerly Andreas Idreos Professor of Science and Religion in the University of Oxford. He is the author of The Bible, Protestantism and the Rise of Natural Science (Cambridge, 1998), and The Fall of Man and the Foundation of Science (Cambridge, 2007). In addition, he edited The Cambridge Companion to Science and Religion (Cambridge, 2010).
John Milbank is Emeritus Professor of Theology and Religious Studies at the University of Nottingham, where he is President of the Centre of Theology and Philosophy. His influential publications include Theology and Social Theory (1990) and Radical Orthodoxy (1999).

Table of Contents

Introduction: After Science and Religion Paul Tyson; I. Modern Historians on 'science' and 'religion': 1. Science and religion as historical traditions Peter Harrison; 2. The nineteenth century origins of the problem: naturalistic metaphysics and the dead ends of Victorian theology Bernard Lightman; II. Beyond 'Science and Religion': 3. Science and theology: where the consonance really lies David Bentley Hart; 4. Religion, science and magic: re-writing the agenda John Milbank; 5. Science, beauty, and the creative word Janet Soskice; 6. Questioning the science and religion question Michael Hanby; 7. Truth, science, and re-enchantment Catherine Pickstock; 8. Understanding our knowing: the culture of representation Rowan Williams; III. Philosophical Problems with 'Science' and 'Religion': 9. Consciousness, intention, and final causation Simon Oliver; 10. The problem of the problem of scientism: on expanding the scope of scientific inquiry D.C. Schindler; IV. Before Science and Religion: 11. Lessons in the distant mirror of medieval physics Tom McLeish; 12. Physics as spiritual exercise Pui Him Ip; 13. Making art: meaningful materials and methods Spike Bucklow.

Editorial Reviews

'This volume offers a set of historical studies that challenge naïve disciplinary distinctions between science and religion, combined with Anglo-Saxon theological and philosophical speculation. It's a book that can be expected to engage fans and critics alike of those who – as many in this book do – look back to pre-modern ways of wrestling with some vital issues.' William B. Drees, Professor of the Philosophy of the Humanities, Tilburg University

'The starting point of this excellent volume could sound familiar: all sciences have built in theologies. If that is right, what then should come next in the study of science and religion? Harrison and Milbank have assembled a broad array of answers to that question, united as these are by an approach that might be characterised as theology-engaged science. It's a perspective that interrogates and deconstructs the basic categories of science and religion, telling the stories behind those terms by recounting moments at which the boundaries of each were in flux. This book offers a fresh and promising way of using history to challenge modernity's disciplinary boundaries by showing that scientific theories are already engaged in metaphysical and theological debates.' John Perry, University of St Andrews

From the Publisher