AP/HUMA /SC/STS Science and Religion in Modern Western Culture. Fall 2015

Transcription

1 AP/HUMA /SC/STS Science and Religion in Modern Western Culture Fall 2015 Course Director: Bernard Lightman Course Times: Thursdays 11:30-2:30 Location: TEL 0004 Course Description: Ordinarily, when we consider the relationship between modern science and religion, our thoughts are dominated by a series of vivid scenes from the past. We may remember the heroism of the seventeenth century scientist, Galileo who, when forced by the Catholic Church to abjure his belief in the heliocentric world system, defiantly murmured under his breath, yet the earth still moves, as he was led away from his trial. Or the famous debates of 1860 on the validity of evolutionary theory, which pitted the biologist T. H. Huxley against Bishop Samuel Wilberforce, may come to mind. Perhaps we may even recall the sensational Scopes trial of the twentieth century as symbolic of the relations between science and religion. Dramatic, confrontational episodes such as these have come to symbolize our sense that ever since the seventeenth century there has been a war between supporters of science and the upholders of religion. But does the conflict thesis really capture the historical reality? In this course we will examine the relationship between science and religion through a study of the implications of scientific thought for significant intellectual developments from the seventeenth century to the present. We will focus on the words and thoughts of major thinkers who tried to articulate their views on the relationship between science and religion, starting with the ideas of the seventeenth and eighteenth century intellectuals who investigated the consequences of Newtonian science for the religious perspective. Next, we will discuss the disruption of the harmonious relationship between science and religion in the nineteenth century by new discoveries in geology and Darwin s theory of evolution. Then, we will study important twentieth century developments including the challenges presented by relativity theory, quantum physics, modern astronomy, and creationism to the peaceful co-existence of science and religion. Finally, we will examine the relationship between science and unbelief as well as the sciencereligion issue outside of the west. Throughout the course we will question the validity of the conflict thesis, or even its opposite the harmony thesis, to accurately describe the historical relationship between science and religion. Course Requirements: There will be one three-hour discussion class per week. These sessions will focus directly on the assigned readings. All members of the class will be expected to have 1

2 read the assigned readings with care and forethought, and to come to class prepared to discuss the reading with the other members of the group. Grading System: Research essay 30% Oral report 20% Final take home essay 30% Class participation 20% The research paper will be pages in length and must be based on a topic connected with the relationship between science and religion. No paper will be accepted which has not been mutually agreed upon in principle and you are required to hand in a bibliography and preliminary outline in advance. This would include a statement of your thesis or central argument. The research paper must be typed, double-spaced, with a 12-point Times New Roman font. Guidelines for the assignment will be distributed. Each student will be responsible for presenting one oral report. Students may select a reading from the supplementary reading list or, in consultation with the instructor, another relevant reading. Reports should be about twenty minutes in length and should be tied into the class reading which is assigned for that particular day. Class participation includes an assessment of contributions to discussion, preparation of reading assignments, class exercises, and additional reading or writing exercises as required. Required Books: The following books have been ordered through the York University Bookstore (all paperback): Peter Harrison (ed.). The Cambridge Companion to Science and Religion (Cambridge) David Lindberg and Ronald L. Number (eds). When Science and Christianity Meet (University of Chicago Press) Ronald Numbers (ed.). Galileo Goes to Jail and Other Myths About Science and Religion (Harvard UP) Ronald Numbers and John Brooke (ed.). Science and Religion Around the World (Oxford UP) There will also be a course kit to buy from the bookstore. 2

3 Course Schedule and Reading Assignments: Thursday September 10 Introduction Thursday September 17 Movie: Inherit the Wind ACADEMIC INTEGRITY TEST DUE RESEARCH ESSAY ASSIGNED Thursday September 24 The Historiography of Conflict Numbers, Ronald L. Introduction, Galileo Goes to Jail, 1-7. John William Draper, History of the Conflict Between Religion and Science (London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner, & Co., 1890), v-vii, xiii-xvi, , , [first published in 1874] Harrison, Peter. Science and Religion : Constructing the Boundaries, Journal of Religion 86 (2006), [on line] Thursday October 1 The Move to the Heliocentric Model Galileo. Letter to Madame Christina of Lorraine, in Stillman Drake (ed.), Discoveries and Opinions of Galileo (Garden City, New York: Doubleday, 1957), [in course kit] Lindberg, David. Galileo, the Church, and the Cosmos, in When Science and Christianity Meet, Danielson, Dennis. That Copernicanism Demoted Humans from the Center of the Cosmos, Galileo Goes to Jail, Shackelford, Jole. That Giordano Bruno Was the First Martyr of Modern Science, Galileo Goes to Jail, Finocchiaro, Maurice. That Galileo Was Imprisioned and Tortured for Advocating Copernicanism, Galileo Goes to Jail,

4 Thursday October 8 The Scientific Revolution Newton. Newton s Philosophy of Nature, Ed., H.S. Thayer (N.Y.: Hafner Co., 1953), [in course kit] Efron, Noah. That Christianity Gave Birth to Modern Science, Galileo Goes to Jail, Osler, Margaret. That the Scientific Revolution Liberated Science from Religion, Galileo Goes to Jail, Principe, Lawrence. That Catholics Did Not Contribute to the Scientific Revolution, Galileo Goes to Jail, Davis, Edward B. That Isaac Newton s Mechanistic Cosmology Eliminated the Need for God, Galileo Goes to Jail, Henry, John. Religion and the Scientific Revolution, in The Cambridge Companion to Science and Religion, Thursday October 15 The Enlightenment Brooke, John Hedley. Modern Christianity, in Science and Religion Around the World, Broman, Thomas H. Matter, Force, and the Christian World View in the Enlightenment, in When Science and Christianity Meet, Thursday October 22 Darwin and Evolution Darwin, Charles. The Autobiography of Charles Darwin, ed. Francis Darwin (N.Y.: Dover Publications, 1958), chapters 2 and 3. [in course kit] Topham, Jonathan. Natural Theology and the Sciences, in The Cambridge Companion to Science and Religion, Livingstone, David. Re-placing Darwinism and Christianity, in When Science and Christianity Meet, Moore, James. That Evolution Destroyed Darwin s Faith in Christianity Until He Reconverted on his Deathbed, in Galileo Goes to Jail, Livingstone, David. That Huxley Defeated Wilberforce in Their Debate over Evolution and Religion, in Galileo Goes to Jail,

5 Roberts, Jon. That Darwin Destroyed Natural Theology, in Galileo Goes to Jail, Thursday October 29 Reading Day No Class Thursday November 5 Modern Physics Einstein, Albert. Religion and Science and Science and Religion, in Ideas and Opinions (New York: Three Rivers Press, 1982), 36-40, [in course kit] Heisenberg, Werner. Fresh Fields and Positivism, Metaphysics, and Religion, in Physics and Beyond (N.Y.: Harper and Row, 1972), 70-81, [in course kit] Hiebert, Erwin, N. Modern Physics and Christian Faith, in David C. Lindberg and Ronald L. Numbers (eds), God and Nature: Historical Essays on the Encounter between Christianity and Science (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1986), [in course kit] Stanley, Matthew, That Einstein Believed in a Personal God, in Galileo Goes to Jail, Thurs, Daniel Patrick, That Quantum Physics Demonstrated the Doctrine of Free Will, in Galileo Goes to Jail, Brooke, John, Modern Christianity, in Science and Religion Around the World, Thursday November 12 Creationism Morris, Henry. Scientific Creationism (El Cajon, California: Master Books, 1985), [in course kit] Numbers, Ronald L. The Creationists, in David C. Lindberg and Ronald L. Numbers (eds), God and Nature: Historical Essays on the Encounter between Christianity and Science (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1986), [in course kit] Numbers, Ronald L. That Creationism Is Uniquely American Phenomenon, Galileo Goes to Jail, Numbers, Ronald L. Scientific Creationism and Intelligent Design, in The Cambridge Companion to Science and Religion, Thursday November 19 NO CLASS RESEARCH ESSAYS DUE 5

6 Thursday November 26 Unbelief and Secularization Huxley, Thomas Henry. Science and Religion, Builder 18 (1859), [in course kit] Lightman, Bernard. Unbelief, in Science and Religion around the World, Brooke, John Hedley. That Modern Science Has Secularized Western Culture, in Galileo Goes to Jail, Numbers, Ronald L. Science without God: Natural Laws and Christian Beliefs, in When Science and Christianity Meet, Thursday December 3 Science and Religion in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East Subbarayappa, B. V. Indic Religions, in Science and Religion around the World, Lopez, Jr., Buddhism, in Science and Religion around the World, Feierman, Steven and John M. Janzen. African Religions, in Science and Religion around the World, Ihsanoglu, Ekmeleddin. Modern Islam, in Science and Religion around the World, TAKE HOME EXAM HANDED OUT Thursday December 10 Option Review Class Place to be determined 6

7 PLEASE NOTE: PLAGIARISM IS A SERIOUS OFFENCE. Plagiarism means passing off someone else s work as your own. When writing a paper, all direct quotations, paraphrases, information, interpretations, ideas, and opinions taken from another person s work must be identified. Use quotation marks and footnotes whenever you use someone else s exact words. Footnotes are also required in cases when you have borrowed ideas, even if you are not using the author s exact words. For York University s guidelines, see "POLICIES, PROCEDURES AND REGULATIONS. SENATE POLICY ON ACADEMIC HONESTY" at The Academic Integrity Tutorial is at: Seminar Participation Guide: Participation marks make up a significant portion of your grade. I will make every effort to ensure that all students are able to participate in seminars. But if you have persistent difficulty participating, speak to me. You should read the assigned material for seminar discussion carefully and with reflection. Come to seminars with reading completed and questions and comments prepared. Be ready to explain your ideas and to listen and respond to the ideas of others. The following criteria will be used to assess your participation: A student who receives an A for participation typically comes to each meeting with questions about the readings already in mind. The student raises these issues for other members to discuss and listens to contrary opinions. An A student engages other students in discussion of their ideas and responds to the comments of others with ideas that carry the discussion to a different level. A student who receives a B for participation typically attends nearly all tutorials and has completed all the reading assignments on time but does not always arrive prepared with questions and reflections, instead waiting passively for others to raise interesting issues. Other B students are courteous and articulate in expressing their own views but do not relate their comments to the general direction of the discussion or respond to the opinions and ideas of others. A student who receives a C typically attends most meetings, listens attentively, and gives some indication of having prepared but rarely enters into the discussion. Students with a record of inconsistent preparation and attendance should not expect more than a 7

8 D. Students who are consistently unprepared and make no effort to enter into discussions should expect a failing participation grade. Poor attendance will also result in a failing participation grade. 8