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I shall argue that a Christian academic and scientific community ought to pursue science in its own way, starting from and taking for granted what we know as Christians.

(This suggestion suffers from the considerable disadvantage of being at present both unpopular and heretical; I shall argue, however, that it also has the considerable advantage of being correct.)

Now one objection to this suggestion is enshrined in the dictum that science done properly necessarily involves methodological naturalism or (as Basil Willey calls it) provisional atheism.

This is the idea that science, properly so-called, cannot involve religious belief or commitment.

My main aim in this paper is to explore, understand, discuss, and evaluate this claim and the arguments for it.

I am painfully aware that what I have to say is tentative and incomplete, no more than a series of suggestions for research programs in Christian philosophy.

Alvin Plantinga--1997

Basic Philosophy Books Dialogues Home Papers

The Philosophy,
Science, and Faith Page

(fi los' o fe)
n., pl. phi los o phies. (Abbr. phil., philos.)
1. The investigation of causes and laws underlying reality.
2. Inquiry into the nature of things based on logical reasoning rather than empirical methods.
3. The critique and analysis of fundamental beliefs as they come to be conceptualized and formulated.
4. The synthesis of all learning.
5. The science comprising logic, ethics, aesthetics, metaphysics, and epistemology.
We are primarily interested with the contribution of philosophy to a Christian View of Nature and the Scientific
Enterprise

Raphael's "School of Athens" fresco in the Vatican

One way to dig into the subject is to examine some of the recent philosophical offerings in Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith (PSCF). The dialogues offer instructive ways to deal with hard questions.

Papers

a friendly discussion

Roy Clouser, "Prospects for Theistic Science," PSCF 58 (March 2006): 1-15.
- Pierre Le Morvan, "Is Clouser's Definition of Religious Belief Itself Religiously Neutral?," PSCF 58 (March 2006): 16-17.
- Hans Halvorson, "Comments on Clouser's Claims for Theistic Science," PSCF 58 (March 2006): 18-19.
- Del Ratsch, "On Reducing Nearly Everything to Reductionism," PSCF 58 (March 2006): 20-22.
- Roy Clouser, "Replies to the Comments of Le Morvan, Halvorson, and Ratzsch on "Prospects For Theistic Science," PSCF 58 (March 2006): 23-27.
Del Ratzsch, Science and Design (2006) Interviewed by the Galilean Library.

Kevin S. Seybold, "The Untidiness of Integration: John Staplton Hapgood," PSCF 57 (June 2005): 114-119.

Ben M. Carter, "Richard Dawkins and the Infected Mind," PSCF 57 (June 2005): 120-125.

J. P. Moreland, "A Christian Perspective on the Impact of Modern Science on the Philosophy of Mind," PSCF 55 (March 2003): 2-12.

Jack Collins, "Miracles, Intelligent Design, and God - of - the - Gaps," PSCF 55 (March 2003): 22-29.

Keith Miller, "The Similarity of Theory Testing in the Historical and “Hard” Sciences" PSCF 54 (June 2002): 119-123.

Del Ratzsch, "Cradled Science: Examining the Cosmos in the Context of Faith," Journal of Adventist Education 64 5 (2002): 9-12. (used by permission) An excellent introduction to current philosophy by the Calvin College philosopher.

Carter, Ben M., The Problem of Epistemology and Cosmic Models PSCF 54.2:114-118 (6/2002)

Dennis L. Feucht, "Determinism and the Semi-decidability of a Free Choice," PSCF 51 (September 1999): 158-160.

George L. Murphy, "Does the Trinity Play Dice?" PSCF 51 (March 1999): 18-25.

Kennell J. Touryan, "Are Truth Claims in Science Socially Constructed." PSCF 51 (June 1999): 102-107.

Robert T. Pennock, "The Prospects for a Theistic Science," PSCF 50 (September 1998): 205-209.

Alvin Plantinga

Alvin Plantinga, "Methodological Naturalism?" PSCF 49 (September 1997):143.

David F. Siemends, Jr., "On Moreland: Spurious Freedom, Mangled Science, Muddled Philosophy," PSCF 49 (September 1997): 196.

Alfred North Whitehead

Keith Abney, "Naturalism and Non-teleological Science: A Way to Resolve the Demarcation Problem Between Science and Non-science," PSCF 49 (September 1997): 162.

J. P. Moreland, "Complementarity, Agency Theory, and the God-of-the-Gaps," PSCF 49 (March 1997):2

Robert C. O'Connor, "Science on Trial: Exploring the Rationality of Methodological Naturalism," PSCF 49 (March 1997): 15.

Phillip E. Johnson, "The Religion of the Blind Watchmaker," 45 (March 1993): 46.

Dialogues
- Discussion of the thesis of Walter R. Thorson in the March 2002 issue of PSCF
             Thorson, Walter R., "Legitimacy and Scope of “Naturalism” in Science: Part 1. Theological Basis for a “Naturalistic” Science, PSCF 54 (March 2002): 2. [PDF]
             Thorson, Walter R., "Legitimacy and Scope of “Naturalism” in Science: Part 2. Scope for New Scientific Paradigms," PSCF 54 (March 2002): 12. [PDF]
              Dembski, William A.. "Can Functional Logic Take the Place of Intelligent Design?" [Response to Thorson 54.1] PSCF 54 (March 2002): 22. [PDF]
              Drees, Willem B., "Can We Reclaim One of the “Stolen Words”?" [Response to Thorson 54.1] PSCF 54 (March 2002): 24. [PDF]
              Hawk, William, "Is God Transcendent or Immanent in Creation?" [Response to Thorson 54.1] PSCF 54 (March 2002): 26. [PDF]
              Haarsma, Loren, "Can Many World Views Agree on Science?" [Response to Thorson 54.1] PSCF 54 (March 2002): 28. [PDF]
              Crouch, Catherine H., "Is Scientism the Predominant Religion of Scientists? [Response to Thorson 54.1] PSCF 54 (March 2002): 30. [PDF]
              Finger, Thomas, "Is the Boundary Between Science and Theology Distinct?" [Response to Thorson 54.1] PSCF 54 (March 2002):   32. [PDF]
              Bowman, Richard, "Can We Trust the Logic of Function?" [Response to Thorson 54.1] PSCF 54 (March 2002): 34. [PDF]
              Miller, Elva B., "Does Design Tip the Scales?" [Response to Thorson 54.1] PSCF 54 (March 2002): 35. [PDF]
              Vibert, Peter, "What Is Logic of Functional Organization? [Response to Thorson 54.1] PSCF 54 (March 2002): 36. [PDF]
              Mills, Gordon C., "Are the Standards of Evidence Realistic? [Response to Thorson 54.1] PSCF 54 (March 2002): 37 [PDF]
              Trenn, Thaddeus, "What Is the Deep Structure of “Naturalism”?" [Response to Thorson 54.1] PSCF 54 (March 2002): 39. [PDF]
              Sire, James W., "Method or Metaphysics?" [Response to Thorson 54.1] PSCF 54 (March 2002): 40. [PDF]

Finally: Thorson Replies... ["Response to Dembski et al." 54.1] 42 [PDF]
- Are Evangelical Scientists Practical Atheists? ASA scientists answer the charge
- Michael Poole, A Critique of Aspects of the Philosophy and Theology of Richard Dawkins
  Richard Dawkins, A Response ,
  Pool Responds to Dawkins
Basic Philosophy
Understanding Epistemology: Part 6

A great deal of our knowledge of the world is gained via our perceptual faculties of sight, hearing, touch, and so forth. For example, my knowledge that I am presently at my desk writing these words is itself largely perceptually gained through, for example, my sight of the computer before me, and my touch of the computer keyboard on my fingers as I type. If we know much of what we think we know, then we must have a great deal of perceptual knowledge. As we will see, however, it is far from obvious that we do have widespread perceptual knowledge of the world around us, at least as that knowledge is usually understood. Duncan Pritchard, TPMOnline
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Outstanding collection of materials.

Books
Jitse M. van der Meer ed., Facets of Faith & Science, Vol 1: Historiography and Modes of Interaction (New York: University Press of America, 1996).
Dal Ratzsch, Philosophy of Science (Downers Grove IL: InterVarsity Press, 1986).

Date of last entry: 05/17/2007

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