Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Science, God & Robert Sawyer
Stephen Jay Gould called science and religion "nonoverlapping magisteria," insisting that some things are properly matters of science and others are only considered as questions of faith. Archie Bunker did say one thing that SF-author Robert Sawyer agrees with: "You want to know what faith is? Faith is when you believe something nobody in their right mind would believe — that's what faith is!"
So Gould's dichotomy, filtered by Bunker's definition, leaves us with an untenable position: some questions are best answered by science, and other questions can only be addressed if you're willing to consider the irrational.
Sawyer flat-out rejects that. He's convinced that science is the only legitimate way of knowing. Not received wisdom from putative holy texts. Not mystical insight. Science.
Read more:
http://www.sfwriter.com/cgborder.htm
So Gould's dichotomy, filtered by Bunker's definition, leaves us with an untenable position: some questions are best answered by science, and other questions can only be addressed if you're willing to consider the irrational.
Sawyer flat-out rejects that. He's convinced that science is the only legitimate way of knowing. Not received wisdom from putative holy texts. Not mystical insight. Science.
Read more:
http://www.sfwriter.com/cgborder.htm
Comments:
<< Home
Calculating God by Robert Sawyer is definitely a fun read with many of the arguements for an intelligent creator of the universe argued from the unusual viewpoint of aliens that believe in God. The aliens don't impute omniscience or omnipotence to their god, however, it/he/she is just a really good engineer who has been around for a long time. All of the scientific arguements for a universe designed to support life can be found in the book in a easily readable form.
I couldnt disagree more on his statement - my path to faith was not through blindness but through rational and pragmatic assessments of the evidence - I wouldnt make a blind decision on this sort of matter because I am a scientist
Post a Comment
<< Home