Science and Religion: Some Historical Perspectives

By: John Hedley Brooke

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Synopsis: One of the most fascinating and enduring issues in the development of the modern world is the relationship between scientific thought and religious belief. It is common knowledge that in Western societies there have been periods of crisis when new science has threatened established religious authority. The trial of Galileo in 1633 and the uproar caused by Darwin's Origin of Species(1859) are two famous examples. Taking account of recent scholarship in the history of science, Professor Brooke takes a fresh look at these and similar episodes, showing that science and religion have been mutually relevant in such a rich variety of ways that simple generalizations are not possible. Standing back from general theses affirming "conflict" or "harmony," which have so often served partisan interests, the author's object is to reveal the subtlety, complexity, and diversity of the interaction of science and religion as it has taken place in the past and in the twentieth century. Instead of treating science and religion as discrete definable entities, his approach is sensitive to shifting boundaries and willing to consider the contexts in which particular forms of science could be used both for religious and secular ends. The result is that, without assuming specialist knowledge, Brooke provides a wide-ranging study from the Copernican innovation to in vitro fertilization.