Science and Religion

1
Science and Religion

• Natural Enemies OR A Match Made in the Heavens?

2
Aristotelian-Ptolemaic-Galenic (ancient times to
15th century)

• Each object is unique with unique properties
• The world is static and unchanging
• Geocentrism, crystal spheres, heavenly circular
  motion
• Four humors (blood, black/yellow bile, phlegm)
  and treatments
• Assoc. w/Scholasticism medieval universities
• Synthesized into Christianity by RCC

3
Neo-Platonic-Hermetic-astrological challenge
(15th-17th centuries)

• Assoc w/Renaissance revival of Plato, Pythagoras
• Belief in mathematical harmony, music of the
  spheres
• Paracelsusinterest in chemicals in body that
  reflect those in nature
• Uniform cosmological forces that govern all
  phenomenon
• Compare to Cartesian view of inert matter studied
  by non-physical mind
• Interest in astrology (Cardano and Kepler)

4
Newtons Synthesis Standing on the Shoulders of
Giants

• Life and personality (apple, By always
  thinking, A vast undiscovered ocean)
• Three laws of motion inertia, Fm x a, equal
  opposite reactions
• Universal law of gravitation (F gM1M2/d2)
• Study of alchemy religious beliefs (God is
  everywhere present)
• Other deeds Royal Mint, Royal Society,
  calculus, optics, knighted
• 2nd most important in history

5
Spinoza and Monism

• Study of Cartesian dualism
• Rejects this separatism in favor of monism (
  God)
• Ethics Demonstrated in a Geometric
  Mannerrational ethics
• Humans can be studied like nature because all
  from same substance
• Unhappiness comes from ignorance of causes of
  human behavior
• Persecuted and rejected by Jewish and Christian
  communities (an atheist?)

6
Pascal Balancing Reason and Faith

• Genius credentials 32 Euclidean theorems by 9,
  adding machine, triangle, conic sections
• Interest in Jansenism and spiritual conversion
• Penseeseffort to show that humans are between
  everything (neo-Platonism) and nothing
  (Calvinism)
• man is a reed, but a thinking reed
• God can be shown by rational means, but
  ultimately a matter of faith (Pascals Wager)

7
Towards Deism and Atheism

• Separation of mind and matter eliminates need for
  spiritual connection
• A mechanistic view of the world (vs. a vitalistic
  one)
• God as the supreme clockmaker
• Gloss of neo-Platonism, cosmic spirit stripped
  away, left with particles in motion