Abstract
The single problem that has led Homo globalis to shy away from the investigation of its worldviews more than any other is the thorny problem of the tensions between religion, secularism, and science. The rude awakening described in the previous chapter and the realization that religions can lead to a type of intransigence, which only allows for fighting, has led many of us to think that dialogue between religion and science is impossible.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Notes
Jewish fundamentalism was more focused with arguing for the eternal right of Jews to live in the greater Israel or the necessity to implement halakhic restrictions on daily life in Israel. Hence it was less concerned with science and rationality in these years. For the rise of Jewish Messianic fundamentalism, see Ravitzky, A. (1997). Messianism, Zionism, and Jewish religious radicalism. Tel Aviv, Israel: Am Oved.
See also Harris, S. (2004). The end of faith: Religion, terror, and the future of reason. New York, NY: Norton.
See also Dennett, D. C. (2005). Breaking the spell: Religion as a natural phenomenon. New York, NY: Viking.
See also Hitchens, C. (2007). God is not great: How religion poisons absolutely everything. New York, NY: Twelve Books.
See also Onfray, M. (2007). Atheist manifesto. New York, NY: Arcade.
See also Dawkins, R. (2006). The God delusion. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin.
See also Dawkins, R. (1976). The selfish gene. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. This book achieved a rare feat in intellectual history. Dawkins wrote it in his thirties to present the basic tenets of evolutionary biology in accessible terms. His logical reconstruction of this theory as centered on the gene as the unit of evolutionary selection became the center of what is often called neo-Darwinism and has become a canonical text in the history of science.
For a celebration and assessment of Dawkins’s contribution thirty years later, see the essays in Grafen, A., & Ridley, M. (2006). Richard Dawkins: How a scientist changed the way we think. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
See, for example, Dawkins, R. (1998). Unweaving the rainbow: Science, delusion, and the appetite for wonder. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin.
There are some points where I believe Dawkins’s position needs further refinement. His juxtaposition between science and religion has its problems, because they are not seen by all as actually competing with each other. For a thoughtful, if at times overly polemical, critique, see Eagleton, T. (2009). Reason, faith, and revolution: Reflections on the God debate. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. It should be added that Dawkins at times simplifies the epistemological complexity of science.
For a classical statement of this complexity, see Rorty, R. (1980). Philosophy and the mirror of nature. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press; see especially part 2.
Dawkins, R. (1976). The selfish gene. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
See Lévy, B-H. (2008). Left in dark times: A stand against the new barbarism. New York, NY: Random House.
See Finkielkraut, A. (1995). The defeat of mind. New York, NY: Columbia University Press.
See Atran, S. (2002). In gods we trust: The evolutionary landscape of religion. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
See Walzer, M. (1997). On toleration. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
Shlam, S. (2005). Be fruitful and multiply [Documentary]. Israel: New Israel Foundation for Cinema and Television.
See Elias, N. (1976). The civilizing process: Sociogenetic and psychogenetic investigations. Oxford, UK: Blackwell.
See McDougall, J. (1989). Plea for a measure of abnormality. New York, NY: International Universities Press
Bollas, C. (1989). Forces of destiny. London, UK: Free Association.
I have analyzed this in depth in Strenger, C. (2006, May). Freud’s forgotten evolutionary project. Psychoanalytic Psychology, 23(2), 420–429.
See Sulloway, F. (1979). Freud, biologist of the mind. New York, NY: Vintage.
See Atran, S. (2002). In gods we trust: The evolutionary landscape of religion. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press
Dennett, D. C. (2005). Breaking the spell: Religion as a natural phenomenon. New York, NY: Viking.
This and the following are based on what I consider the most comprehensive account of the evolutionary basis of religion: Atran, S. (2002). In gods we trust: The evolutionary landscape of religion. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
Atran, S. (2003). The genesis of suicide terrorism. Science, 299, 234–239.
Copyright information
© 2011 Carlo Strenger
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Strenger, C. (2011). Religion and Science. In: The Fear of Insignificance. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230117662_9
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230117662_9
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, New York
Print ISBN: 978-0-230-11375-6
Online ISBN: 978-0-230-11766-2
eBook Packages: Palgrave Political & Intern. Studies CollectionPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)