Philosophy of Science for Theologians: An Introduction

ISBN-13: 9783631569511 / Angielski / Twarda / 2009 / 302 str.

Gijsbert van den Brink

Opis

This book tells the story of the philosophy of science from its inception in the aftermath of the first World War to its current stage, and relates this story to the status of theology. In doing so, it fills a remarkable gap in the literature. The unexpected resurgence of religious issues in often heated discussions since the beginning of the 21st century gave a new urgency to the question of the academic treatment of religion(s). Is it still adequate to allow for the academic study of religion only in a distanced and matter-of-fact way, without people's own views of life being brought into play and confronted with each other? Or can we also have a viable form of theology that starts from a basic religious commitment, but nevertheless fully satisfies academic standards? There is a wide debate on topics like these - but seldom this debate is conducted in a way that is informed by the state of the art in the philosophy of science.

Spis treści

Contents: History of the philosophy of science - Theology as an academic discipline - Science and religion - The idea of progress - Logical positivism - Karl Popper - Thomas Kuhn - Imre Lakatos - Theory-ladenness of observation - Perspectivity - Theory of modal spheres - Christian faith and spirituality - Wolfhart Pannenberg - Nancey Murphy - Ian Barbour

O autorze

The Author: Gijsbert van den Brink taught Philosophy of Science and Philosophy of Religion at the Faculty of Theology, Utrecht University. At this moment he is Associate Professor in Dogmatics at the VU University Amsterdam, and Extraordinary Professor in the History of Reformed Protestantism at the Faculty of Humanities, Leiden University.