Science and Religion: friends or foes?

Mall, Anwar

Science and Religion: friends or foes?

dc.contributor.author	Mall, Anwar
dc.date	2014-06
dc.date.accessioned	2014-08-04T07:03:03Z
dc.date.available	2014-08-04T07:03:03Z
dc.date.issued	2014-08-04
dc.description.abstract	This three-lecture course will trace the historical relationship between science and religion, explore the ‘conflict hypotheses’ related to them and reflect on the successes of science. In recent decades science and religion seem in conflict, particularly with increasing evidence supporting Darwin’s theory of evolution. Evolutionary biologists have provoked people into considering what evidence for evolution means in relation to religious practice. In response, religious proponents have sprouted intelligent design theories, angrily taking legal action against the teaching of evolution in schools. But there are significant conciliatory positions on both sides of the divide, such as Stephen J. Gould’s theory of non-overlapping magisteria, in which science deals with the ‘how’ of life, and religion its meaning. It is generally agreed that science has contributed enormously to the progress of humanity especially since the 1600s. Despite our comforts derived from technological innovation, there is still little knowledge of and much suspicion about scientific activity, with scientific concepts difficult to grasp, their presentation ‘unfriendly’ and scientists ridiculing religion as an outdated dogma, made obsolete by evolutionary theory. From the perspective of a scientist, this course will explore some of the great ideas of science, some of its failings and its heady relationship with religion. The first lecture will include focus on the biological sciences, the second will deal more specifically with science and its relationship with Christianity and Judaism and the third with the historical status of science in the Muslim world and personal experience of views of science amongst local Muslims. LECTURE TITLES 1. The value of science: its current relationship with religion 2. Science in Christian and Jewish societies 3. Muslims and science: a personal view Recommended reading Coyne, J. 2009. Why Evolution is True. New York: Viking Press. Dawkins, R. 2006. The God Delusion. London: Bantam Press. Feierman, J.R. Ed. 2009. The Biology of Religious Behaviour: The Evolutionary Origins of Faith and Religion. Santa Barbara: Praeger. Haag, J., Peterson, G. & Spezio, M. Eds. 2012. The Routledge Companion to Religion and Science. Oxon: Routledge. * Only podcasts for lecture 1 & 2 are available for this lecture series. This lecture series was part of the 2014 UCT Summer School programme http://www.summerschool.uct.ac.za/	en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitation	2014. <i>Science and Religion: friends or foes?.</i> http://hdl.handle.net/11427/5976	en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitation	. 2014. <i>Science and Religion: friends or foes?.</i> http://hdl.handle.net/11427/5976	en_ZA
dc.identifier.citation	Mall, A. 2014-08-04. Science and Religion: friends or foes?. Recorded lecture. UCT Summer School Lectures 2014. University of Cape Town.	en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris	TY - Other AU - Mall, Anwar AB - This three-lecture course will trace the historical relationship between science and religion, explore the ‘conflict hypotheses’ related to them and reflect on the successes of science. In recent decades science and religion seem in conflict, particularly with increasing evidence supporting Darwin’s theory of evolution. Evolutionary biologists have provoked people into considering what evidence for evolution means in relation to religious practice. In response, religious proponents have sprouted intelligent design theories, angrily taking legal action against the teaching of evolution in schools. But there are significant conciliatory positions on both sides of the divide, such as Stephen J. Gould’s theory of non-overlapping magisteria, in which science deals with the ‘how’ of life, and religion its meaning. It is generally agreed that science has contributed enormously to the progress of humanity especially since the 1600s. Despite our comforts derived from technological innovation, there is still little knowledge of and much suspicion about scientific activity, with scientific concepts difficult to grasp, their presentation ‘unfriendly’ and scientists ridiculing religion as an outdated dogma, made obsolete by evolutionary theory. From the perspective of a scientist, this course will explore some of the great ideas of science, some of its failings and its heady relationship with religion. The first lecture will include focus on the biological sciences, the second will deal more specifically with science and its relationship with Christianity and Judaism and the third with the historical status of science in the Muslim world and personal experience of views of science amongst local Muslims. LECTURE TITLES 1. The value of science: its current relationship with religion 2. Science in Christian and Jewish societies 3. Muslims and science: a personal view Recommended reading Coyne, J. 2009. Why Evolution is True. New York: Viking Press. Dawkins, R. 2006. The God Delusion. London: Bantam Press. Feierman, J.R. Ed. 2009. The Biology of Religious Behaviour: The Evolutionary Origins of Faith and Religion. Santa Barbara: Praeger. Haag, J., Peterson, G. & Spezio, M. Eds. 2012. The Routledge Companion to Religion and Science. Oxon: Routledge. * Only podcasts for lecture 1 & 2 are available for this lecture series. This lecture series was part of the 2014 UCT Summer School programme http://www.summerschool.uct.ac.za/ DA - 2014-08-04 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town KW - Science KW - Religion KW - Evolution KW - Intelligent design KW - conflict hypothesis LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2014 T1 - Science and Religion: friends or foes? TI - Science and Religion: friends or foes? UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/5976 ER -	en_ZA
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/11427/5976
dc.identifier.vancouvercitation	. 2014. <i>Science and Religion: friends or foes?.</i> http://hdl.handle.net/11427/5976	en_ZA
dc.language	eng	en_ZA
dc.publisher.institution	University of Cape Town
dc.relation.ispartofseries	UCT Summer School Lectures 2014	en_ZA
dc.rights	Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International	en_ZA
dc.rights.uri	http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/	en_ZA
dc.subject	Science	en_ZA
dc.subject	Religion	en_ZA
dc.subject	Evolution	en_ZA
dc.subject	Intelligent design	en_ZA
dc.subject	conflict hypothesis	en_ZA
dc.title	Science and Religion: friends or foes?	en_ZA
dc.type	Other	en_ZA
uct.type.filetype
uct.type.filetype	Image
uct.type.publication	Teaching and Learning	en_ZA
uct.type.resource	Recorded lecture	en_ZA