Galileo goes to jail : and other myths about science and religion

If we want nonscientists and opinion-makers in the press, the lab, and the pulpit to take a fresh look at the relationship between science and religion, Ronald Numbers suggests that we must first dispense with the hoary myths that have masqueraded too long as historical truths. Until about the 1970s, the dominant narrative in the history of science had long been that of science triumphant, and science at war with religion. But a new generation of historians both of science and of the church began to examine episodes in the history of science and religion through the values and knowledge of the actors themselves. Now Ronald Numbers has recruited the leading scholars in this new history of science to ­puncture the myths, from Galileo’s incarceration to Darwin’s deathbed conversion to Einstein’s belief in a personal God who “didn’t play dice with the universe.” The picture of science and religion at each other’s throats persists in mainstream media and scholarly journals, but each chapter in Galileo Goes to Jail shows how much we have to gain by seeing beyond the myths. (20090515) That the rise of Christianity was responsible for the demise of ancient science / David C. Lindberg That the medieval Christian church suppressed the growth of science / Michael H. Shank That medieval Christians taught that the earth was flat / Lesley B. Cormack That medieval Islamic culture was inhospitable to science / Syed Nomanul Haq That the medieval church prohibited human dissection / Katharine Park That Copernicanism demoted humans from the center of the cosmos / Dennis R. Danielson That Giordano Bruno was the first martyr of modern science / Jole Shackelford That Galileo was imprisoned and tortured for advocating Copernicanism / Maurice A. Finocchiaro That Christianity gave birth to modern science / Noah J. Efron That the scienfitic revolution liberated science from religion / Margaret J. Osler That Catholics did not contribute to the scientific revolution / Lawrence M. Principe That René Descartes originated the mind-body distinction / Peter Harrison That Isaac Newton's mechanistic cosmology eliminated the need for God / Edward B. Davis That the church denounced anesthesia in childbirth on biblical grounds / Rennie B. Schoepflin That the theory of organic evolution is based on circular reasoning / Nicolaas A. Rupke That evolution destroyed Darwin's faith in Christianity : until he reconverted on his deathbed / James Moore That Huxley defeated Wilberforce in their debate over evolution and religion / David N. Livingstone That Darwin destroyed natural theology / Jon H. Roberts That Darwin and Haeckel were complicit in Nazi biology / Robert J. Richards That the Scopes trial ended in defeat for antievolutionism / Edward J. Larson That Einstein believed in a personal God / Matthew Stanley That Quantum physics demonstrated the doctrine of free will / Daniel Patrick Thurs That "intelligent design" represents a scientific challenge to evolution / Michael Ruse That creationism is a uniquely American phenomenon / Ronald L. Numbers That modern science has secularized Western culture / John Hedley Brooke

myth 2. That The Medieval Christian Church Suppressed The Growth Of Science

myth 3. That Medieval Christians Taught That The Earth Was Flat

myth 4. That Medieval Islamic Culture Was Inhospitable To Science

myth 12. That René Descartes Originated The Mind- Body Distinction

myth 16. That Evolution Destroyed Darwin's Faith In Christianity—until He Reconverted On His Deathbed

myth 21. That Einstein Believed In A Personal God

myth 25. That Modern Science Has Secularized Western Culture

ryan T. Anderson - Weekly Standard

the Authors Necessarily Spend The Bulk Of Their Time Debunking Attacks On Religion In The Name Of Science, But They Also Clear The Muddy Waters Left Behind When Pro-religion Forces Try To Obscure The Scientific Record...as Numbers Points Out In His Introduction, Fewer Than Half Of The Contributors Are Religious Believers At All; And Of Those, There Are Only Two Evangelicals, One Catholic, And One Jew. In Other Words, They Have No Axe To Grind, And Their Only Agenda Is To Set The Historical Record Straight. Given All Of The Polemics Published Today, This Is A Breath Of Fresh Air.

If we want nonscientists and opinion-makers in the press, the lab, and the pulpit to take a fresh look at the relationship between science and religion, Ronald Numbers suggests that we must first dispense with the hoary myths that have masqueraded too long as historical truths. Until about the 1970s, the dominant narrative in the history of science had long been that of science triumphant, and science at war with religion. But a new generation of historians both of science and of the church began to examine episodes in the history of science and religion through the values and knowledge of the actors themselves. Now Ronald Numbers has recruited the leading scholars in this new history of science to puncture the myths, from Galileo's incarceration to Darwin's deathbed conversion to Einstein's belief in a personal God who "didn't play dice with the universe." The picture of science and religion at each other's throats persists in mainstream media and scholarly journals, but each chapter in Galileo Goes to Jail shows how much we have to gain by seeing beyond the myths. - Publisher. If we want nonscientists and opinion-makers in the press, the lab, and the pulpit to take a fresh look at the relationship between science and religion, Ronald L. Numbers suggests that we must first dispense with the hoary myths that have masqueraded too long as historical truths. Until about the 1970s, the dominant narrative in the history of science had long been that of science triumphant, and science at war with religion. But a new generation of historians both of science and of the church began to examine episodes in the history of science and religion through the values and knowledge of the actors themselves. Now Ronald Numbers has recruited the leading scholars in this new history of science to puncture the myths, from Galileo's incarceration to Darwin's deathbed conversion to Einstein's belief in a personal God who "didn't play dice with the universe." The picture of science and religion at each other's throats persists in mainstream media and scholarly journals, but each chapter in Galileo Goes to Jail shows how much we have to gain by seeing beyond the myths Ronald Numbers has recruited the leading scholars in this new history of science to puncture the myths, from Galileo's incarceration to Darwin's deathbed conversion to Einstein's belief in a personal God who "didn't play dice with the universe." The picture of science and religion at each other's throats persists in mainstream media and scholarly journals, but each chapter in Galileo Goes to Jail shows how much we have to gain by seeing beyond the myths. --from publisher description Af forlagets beskrivelse: Ronald Numbers has recruited the leading scholars in this new history of science to puncture the myths, from Galileo's incarceration to Darwin's deathbed conversion to Einstein's belief in a personal God who "didn't play dice with the universe." The picture of science and religion at each other's throats persists in mainstream media and scholarly journals, but each chapter in Galileo Goes to Jail shows how much we have to gain by seeing beyond the myths

Ronald Numbers has recruited the leading scholars in this new history of science to puncture the myths, from Galileo's incarceration to Darwin's deathbed conversion to Einstein's belief in a personal God who "didn't play dice with the universe." Each chapter in Galileo Goes to Jail shows how much we have to gain by seeing beyond the myths.

Examines episodes in the history of science and religion through the values and knowledge of the actors themselves. This book includes Galileo's incarceration, Darwin's deathbed conversion, and Einstein's belief in a personal God who 'didn't play dice with the universe'.