Here's the quote about science/spirituality I found in Doug Gwyn's But Who Do You say that I am? Quakers and Christ Today - Pendle Hill Pamphlet #426
"...some nontheist and other universalist Friends still hold to a modernist sense of progress, an ever-upward-and-onward human destiny. This view is often couched in a scientistic outlook. By this I mean science as an ideological world-view, rather than a rigorous method of investigating the world. Scientism often views Christianity and all premodern religions as superstitions to be cast off and outgrown. By contrast, science itself can complement religious faith, investigating how the world works, without needing to confirm or deny religious covictions regarding divine wisdom and purpose." P.24-25. (Underlining mine - Polly)
What do you think?
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ReplyDeleteAs one of the nontheist Friends that he speaks of, I have this optimistic view of technological and moral progress. This book speaks of the same (although I haven't read it yet): http://www.abundancethebook.com/
ReplyDeleteThe scientism label is usually pejorative, and often from those who prefer to compartmentalize science and religion into distinct, non-overlapping spheres, as Gwyn does here. Michael Shermer presents scientism in a somewhat more favorable light, but also the connection to man's search for meaning -- "providing spiritual sustenance for those whose needs are not being met by these ancient cultural traditions": http://www.michaelshermer.com/2002/06/shamans-of-scientism/
One of these "Shamans of Scientism" (who also doesn't like that label) is Sam Harris, who aims to break down this compartmentalism and use the word "science" to refer to the body of reliable human knowledge and the methods we use to add and revise it -- he says, "I am, in essence, defending the unity of knowledge—the idea that the boundaries between disciplines are mere conventions and that we inhabit a single epistemic sphere in which to form true beliefs about the world." http://www.samharris.org/blog/item/clarifying-the-landscape
A more prominent advocate of compartmentalizing science from religion is Stephen Jay Gould, who wrote about non-overlapping magesteria.
ReplyDeleteSince religion and science happen in the same human brain, I assume they are part of a whole. I read Stephen Jay Gould's "Rocks of Ages" where he put forward the non-overlapping magisteria idea and felt he had pulled up way short of what he was capable of.
ReplyDeleteStill, our brain is where we shape and form our mind through processes widely varying across different cultures and religions, resulting in considerable variety in how our minds work. Rather than relying on inward turned cultures built on the inspirations of a few gifted people, perhaps we can move to a time when we can shape our world views and spiritual life based on objective knowledge developed through the shared process of science, with its combination of curiosity, skepticism, and cooperation.