The Warfare Thesis
I am listening to some lectures by Dr. Lawrence M. Principe, Professor of the History of Science and Technology and Professor of Chemistry at Johns Hopkins University. The lecture series is titled, Science and Religion. I have (so far) found his lectures to be quite enlightening and helpful. The second lecture in the series concerns the “Warfare Thesis”, a particular formulation of the historical relationship between science and religion. This concept was essentially unheard of until the late 19th century, when it was advanced by two men - John William Draper and Andrew Dickson White.
According to Dr. Principe, this formulation rests on shaky, often fabricated foundations and was “contrived for quite specific political, professional, and racist purposes. Despite these facts, this model of the interactions between science and religion is very commonly encountered today. This model states that throughout history, religion and science have been opposed to each other and have always been at war. Religion is portrayed as having stymied the advance of science. Principe maintains that no serious science historian believes this theory today.
Richard Dawkins seems to hold this view however. Here is an excerpt from a promo for a TV program by Dawkins last month:
Richard Dawkins is astounded that religious faith is gaining ground in the face of rational, scientific truth based on hard evidence…Professor Richard Dawkins challenges what he describes as ‘a process of non-thinking called faith’. Dawkins is well known for bringing to a wide audience the complex scientific concepts that underpin evolution. His first book, The Selfish Gene was an international bestseller.
He describes his astonishment that, at the start of the 21st century, religious faith is gaining ground in the face of rational, scientific truth. Science, based on scepticism, investigation and evidence, must continuously test its own concepts and claims. Faith, by definition, defies evidence: it is untested and unshakeable, and is therefore in direct contradiction with science.
In addition, though religions preach morality, peace and hope, in fact, says Dawkins, they bring intolerance, violence and destruction. The growth of extreme fundamentalism in so many religions across the world not only endangers humanity but, he argues, is in conflict with the trend over thousands of years of history for humanity to progress – to become more enlightened and more tolerant.
More to come…