Science, religion & myth
Adam Frank traces the common ground
Traditional philosophical opponents, science and religion have found a common ground in mythology, University of Rochester professor Adam Frank said at Concordia recently.
“Science and religion, in the West, have been at odds for a long time,” said Frank, who teaches physics and astronomy. “The reason for this is that the findings of science come into conflict with religious beliefs, particularly with fundamentalist interpretation of scripture. This is a paradox, in many ways, because the men and women who founded science in the west were deeply religious.”
Frank cited the examples of Giordano Bruno, who was the first to claim that the planets revolve around the sun — instead of vice versa — and was burned at the stake by the Catholic Church for this heresy. He also insisted that other stars in the universe must have planets around them. Galileo went further in proving these claims. House arrest was his reward, and that only because he was too popular to burn at the stake.
In the 19th century, Charles Darwin successfully challenged creationism with his theories of evolution. Frank is puzzled because that particular battle has been revived in the U.S.
“Our president recently announced that it would be a good idea to teach ‘creation science’ — which is a complete contradiction in terms — in the schools. Several leading scientists have written to the government saying that there is no such thing as creation science.”
Religious people pit scripture against specific scientific findings. “That is fatally flawed; you cannot compare specific results in science to some pre-conceived notion of the way the world is built.
“In honest science, you don’t have pre conceived notions, or you come in with a willingness to discard them.”
Frank suggested that the area in which science and religion may find some concordance is in the search for meaning. “This is the ultimate goal of science: we want to know the fundamental nature of time, space and matter.”
Frank says that both religion and science have been involved in myth-making in the pursuit of truth.
“Mythologies always have some truth to them; they are used by their respective cultures as a way of understanding the world. The story scientists tell about the Big Bang is a narrative about the origins of the universe.”
Frank feels that what truly separates us from the [other] animals is the search for truth that characterizes both religion and science.
“We human beings are extraordinary in our aspiration for the truth; after all, we are just animals who have evolved the brains that we have. I want to know not only what truth we have learned, but also how we got there.”
Frank’s lecture was presented by Concordia’s Science College.