Description: The popular field of 'science and religion' is a lively and well-established area. It is however a domain which has long been characterised by certain traits. In the first place, it tends towards an adversarial dialectic in which the separate disciplines, now conjoined, are forever locked in a kind of mortal combat. Secondly, 'science and religion' has a tendency towards disentanglement, where 'science' does one sort of thing and 'religion' another. And thirdly, the duo are frequently pushed towards some sort of attempted synthesis, wherein their aims either coincide or else are brought more closely together. In attempting something fresh, and different, this volume tries to move beyond tried and tested tropes. Bringing philosophy and theology to the fore in a way rarely attempted before, the book shows how fruitful new conversations between science and religion can at last move beyond the increasingly tired options of either conflict or dialogue.
Brief description: Peter Harrison is Director of the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities at the University of Queensland. He was formerly Andreas Idreos Professor of Science and Religion in the University of Oxford. He is the author of The Bible, Protestantism and the Rise of Natural Science (Cambridge, 1998), and The Fall of Man and the Foundation of Science (Cambridge, 2007). In addition, he edited The Cambridge Companion to Science and Religion (Cambridge, 2010).
Review Quotes: 'This volume will provide something of a touchstone for future work in science and religion, and I commend it to PhD students and researchers.' Joanna Leidenhag, Studies in Christian Ethics