NOTES ON THE ALLEGED CONFLICT BETWEEN RELIGION AND SCIENCE

Abstract. I interpret several key events in the history of the relationship between Christianity and science and conclude that there is no reason for assuming a fundamental conflict between science and religion. Christian theologians should feel confident in using the science of our day to retell the story of God's creation of the world.     

HOLISTIC BIOLOGY: WHAT IT IS AND WHY IT MATTERS

Recent developments toward a more holistic biology do not eliminate reductionism and determinism, but they do suggest more complex forms of them, in which there are multiple, interacting influences, as there are in complex or chaotic systems. Though there is a place in biology for both systemic and atomistic modes of explanation, for those with a theological perspective the shift to complex explanations in biology is often welcome. It suggests a more subtle view of divine action in which God's purposes are affected through engagement with the complex systems of creation rather than by discrete interventions. It also invites us to connect the biological interdependence with the interdependence in the nature and purposes of God, and it is consonant with a mystical vision of the unity of all things.     

“THE MYSTERY OF HUMAN UNIQUENESS”: COMMON SENSE,SCIENCE, AND JUDAISM

Uniqueness implies singularity, incomparability. Nonetheless, as applied to everything within the human lifeworld, including ourselves, uniqueness is relativized. This becomes clear in the tension between “commonsensical” and “scientific” perspectives on the human. Our commonsense approach posits that human beings are unique among animals—unique because of our properties, most especially our consciousness, as well as because of our significance and value. From a scientific perspective, however, the uniqueness of the human—if it can be affirmed at all—is possibly a matter of degree, not kind. Additionally, the scientific perspective prescinds from judgments of the value of the human. To join these perspectives, without giving up on the importance of either one, is a philosophical and theological challenge. A Jewish approach to the challenge is offered here.     

ON McCAULEY'S WHY RELIGION IS NATURAL AND SCIENCE IS NOT: SOME FURTHER OBSERVATIONS

Robert McCauley's Why Religion Is Natural and Science Is Not provides a summary interpretive statement of the standard model in cognitive science of religion, what I have previously called the HADD + ToM + Cultural Epidemiology model, along with a more general argument comparing religious cognition to scientific thinking and a novel framework for understanding both in terms of the concept of the maturationally natural. I here follow up on some observations made in a previous paper, developing them in light of McCauley's own response to my previous arguments.     

PRECURSORS OF THE EUREKA MOMENT AS A COMMON GROUND BETWEEN SCIENCE AND THEOLOGY

Abstract. "Eureka moments" can be said to be based on intuition, but their deeper foundations are phylogenetic evolution and subconscious gestalt processes, as analyzed by the late Nobel laureate Konrad Lorenz. By incorporating Lorenz's findings, modern epistemology could avoid three common errors which have crept into the discussion. Those errors are: (1) that epistemology is language-dependent; (2) that epistemology is primarily subjective; and (3) that epistemology is creative and not methodological.     

THE CREATED CO-CREATOR: WHAT IT IS AND IS NOT

Abstract In this article I briefly assesses Philip Hefner's concept of the created co‐creator by considering both what it does and does not claim. Looking at issues of reductionism, biological selfishness, biology and freedom, and environmental ethics, I point out strengths and weaknesses in Hefner's conception of the created co‐creator.     

家庭环境类型与青少年亲子冲突解决的关系

以北京829名普通中学生为被试.探讨了家庭环境类型与亲子冲突解决的关系.结果表明: (1)高亲密度、高情感表达、低矛盾性的家庭在亲子冲突解决的关系目标上的得分显著高于其它类型家庭;低亲密度、低表达性、高矛盾性的家庭在权力、公平、自认和自主目标上的得分显著高于其它类型家庭. (2)高亲密度、高表达性、低矛盾性的家庭更多使用积极的冲突解决策略;低亲密度、低表达性、高矛盾性的家庭更多使用消极的冲突解决策略.说明不同家庭环境类型下的青少年亲子冲突解决有不同的特点.     

HUMAN INDIVIDUALITY AND THE GAP BETWEEN SCIENCE AND RELIGION

Abstract. Personality may play a role in disputes between religion and science. Personality is influenced by sixteen basic desires and core values, which provide the psychological foundation of meaningful experience. How we prioritize these sixteen desires is what makes us individuals. Religious persons may place a low priority on the desire for self‐reliance (they enjoy being in need of others), whereas nonreligious scientists may place a high priority on self‐reliance. These differences may motivate religious persons to find meaning in images of psychologically supportive deities and may motivate nonreligious intellectuals to find meaning in abstract scientific principles. To bridge the schism between religion and science, we need to appreciate the extent to which spirituality is an individual experience.