This study clarifies the theoretical issues of the relationship between science and religious thought, and establishes models for how they relate in practice, using Darwinism as a case study. After describing four methods for analyzing the general relationship between science and religion, four models are established which can be used to organize the ways science and religion do relate in practice. The key to establishing the models is the hermeneutical approach taken, and it is argued that the approach must be based on the specific issues raised by the scientific theory under consideration. Darwin's theory of evolution culminated an epistemological and methodological revolution in modern science. Religious and scientific thinkers are analyzed in terms of how they responded to that revolution. When this approach is taken, a historical continuity between nineteenth- and twentieth-century responses is established. "Religion Against Darwinism" opposes the epistemology of Darwinian science, and the opponents describe Darwinism as bad science as well as atheism. "Religion Of Darwinism" embraces the modern scientific method, and looks to it to supply the religious meaning in life. "Religion and Darwinisticism in Concert" accepts some aspects of Darwinian evolution, but synthesizes Darwinism and religion in a broader philosophical system that "corrects" either the epistemology or content of Darwin's theory. "Religion Above Darwinism" represents the true Darwinian position, for it accepts the epistemological pluralism that is the essence of Darwin's method and theory. The conclusion argues that these four models, focusing on the religious response to the epistemological and methodological issues, can be used to analyze the relationship between religious thought and any scientific theory. There may be a fifth model which recognizes the epistemological plurality of human knowledge, but which bridges those spheres through the use of metaphors in religious thought. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 46-04, Section: A, page: 1004. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1985.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_75565 |
| Contributors | WILKINS, WALTER JETER, III., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 589 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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