Can Reductionism Rule Out Truth in Religion?
A number of contemporary thinkers have
supposed that far from being in dialogue with theology Darwinism has utterly
disproved the claims of religion about the ultimate nature of reality.
Evolutionary thinking has given rise to a renaissance of explicit conflict
between scientific and religious claims (see also the ‘conflict’ or ‘warfare’
hypothesis).
The idea that Darwinism invalidates the
truth-claims of religion stems from certain presuppositions. In particular the
idea derives from a reductionist tendency within modern biology.
One type of reductionism forms an essential
component of the scientific method (see an examination of reductionism). More
ambitious types give rise to conclusions which cannot be sustained except by
assumptions which themselves deny the possibility of religious truth. See for
example:
Can
Darwinism rule out truth in religion?
Richard Dawkins and
E.O.Wilson against the possibility of the truth of religion.
Cross-explanatory reductionism.
For another example of the over-application
of reductionism see the particular case of genetic reductionism.
Reductionism, then, is a proper part of
science but has to used within, rather than across, explanatory frameworks. It
must also be held in balance with the concept of emergence.
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link | Feedback | Contributed by: Dr.
Christopher Southgate
Source: God, Humanity and the
Cosmos (T&T Clark, 1999)
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