Abstract
Scientific activity tends to reflect particular worldviews and their associated value outlooks; and scientific results sometimes have implications for worldviews and the presuppositions of value outlooks. Even so, scientific activity per se neither presupposes nor provides sound rational grounds to accept any worldview or value outlook. Moreover, in virtue of reflecting a suitable variety of worldviews and value outlooks, perhaps including some religious ones, science is better able to further its aim. An extended argument is made that, although the materialist worldview has de facto been widely associated with the development of modern science, the scope of scientific inquiry is improperly limited when constraints, derived from materialism, are generally placed upon admissible scientific theories. Some implications for science education are sketched in the conclusion.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsPreview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Altieri MA (1987) Agroecology: the scientific basis of alternative agricultures. Westview, Boulder
Altieri MA (1995) Agroecology: the science of sustainable agriculture, 2nd edn. Westview, Boulder
Altieri MA, Yurjevic A, Von der Weid JM, Sanchez J (1996) Applying agroecology to improve peasant farming systems in Latin America. In: Costanza R, Segura O, Martinez-Alier J (eds) Getting down to earth: practical applications of ecological economics. Island Press, Washington
Archer M, Collier A, Porpora D (2004) Transcendence, critical realism and god. Routledge, London
Armstrong DM (1968) A materialist theory of the mind. Routledge & K. Paul, London
Churchland P (1999) Eliminative materialism. In: Perry J, Bratman M (eds) Introduction to philosophy: classical and contemporary readings. Oxford University Press, New York
Collier A (2003) On christian belief. Routledge, London
COMEST – World Commission on the Ethics of Science, Technology (2005) The precautionary principle. UNESCO, Paris
Cottingham J (2005) The spiritual dimension: religion, philosophy and human value. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Dawkins R (2006) The god delusion. Houghton Mifflin, Boston
Dennett D (1987) The intentional stance. MIT Press, Cambridge
Dennett D (2006) Breaking the spell: religion as a natural phenomenon. Viking, New York
Donagan A (1987) Choice: the essential element in human action. Routledge & Kegan Paul, London
Douglas H (2000) Inductive risk and values in science. Philos Sci 67:559–579
Dupré J (1993) The disorder of things: metaphysical foundations of the disunity of science. Harvard University Press, Cambridge
Galilei G (1623) The assayer. In: Discoveries and opinions of Galileo, translated with an introduction and notes by Stillman Drake, Garden City, NJ, Doubleday, 1957
Gauch HG (2007) Science, worldviews and education. Sci & Educ. doi:10.1007/s11191-006-9059-1
Lacey H (1999a) Is science value free? Values and scientific understanding. Routledge, London
Lacey H (1999b) Scientific understanding and the control of nature. Sci & Educ 8(1):13–35
Lacey H (2004) Is there a significant distinction between cognitive and social values? In: Machamer P, Wolters G (eds) Science, values and objectivity. Pittsburgh University Press, Pittsburgh, pp 24–51
Lacey H (2005a) Values and objectivity in science. Lexington, Lanham, MD
Lacey H (2005b) On the interplay of the cognitive and the social in scientific practices. Philos Sci 72(5):977–988
Lacey H (2006a) A Controvérsia sobre os Transgênicos: Questões Científicas e Éticas. Idéias e Letras, São Paulo
Lacey H (2006b) O Princípio de Precaução e a Autonomia da Ciência. Sci Stud 4(3):373–392
Lacey H, Schwartz B (1996) The formation and transformation of values. In: O’Donohue W, Kitchener R (eds) The philosophy of psychology. Sage, London
Mahner M, Bunge M (1996) Is religious education compatible with science education? Sci & Educ 5(2):101–123
Mariconda P, Lacey H (2001) A Águia e os Estorninhos: Galileu sobre a Autonomia da Ciência. Tempo Social 13:49–65
Maxwell N (2004) Is science neurotic? Imperial College Press, London
McMullin E (1999) Materialist strategies. Sci & Educ 8(1):37–44
Overbye D (2007) Free will: now you have it, now you don’t. The New York Times, 2 January 2007, F1, 4
Porpora D (2006) Methodological atheism, methodological agnosticism and religious experience. J Theory Social Behav 36:57–76
Rachlin H (1994) Behavior and mind. Oxford University Press, New York
Silver LM (2006) Challenging nature: the clash of science and spirituality at the new frontiers of life. HarperCollins, New York
Taylor C (1985) Human agency and language: philosophical papers, vol 1. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Taylor C (2002) Varieties of religious experience: varieties of religion today. Harvard University Press, Cambridge
Tierney J (2007) An early environmentalist embracing new ‘Heresies’. The New York Times, 27 February 2007, F1, 3
van Fraassen B (1980) The scientific image. Oxford University Press, Oxford
van Fraassen B. (2002) The empirical stance. Yale University Press, New Haven
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2007 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Lacey, H. (2007). The Interplay of Scientific Activity, Worldviews and Value Outlooks. In: Matthews, M.R. (eds) Science, Worldviews and Education. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-2779-5_10
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-2779-5_10
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-90-481-2778-8
Online ISBN: 978-90-481-2779-5
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and LawEducation (R0)